I'm trying to complete a water flow system where I can control multiple fluid outputs based on sensor input. I am okay with the coding but not sure what arduino products / electronics I would need to complete this. The solenoids will be stopping/allowing flow at various places and the servos will be controlling 3 way valves.
40 12v 100mA solenoids - likely only 1 or 2 open at a time.
2 6v 300mA pumps
2 simple servos
input keypad?
flow and pressure sensors - I can manage getting these inputting through arduino based on available tutorials.
How would your recommend going about this? Thanks
Arduino mega with 2 motor shields (1 for the pumps and 1 for the servos)? I am not sure what kind of power supply to use based on this.
How much electronics experience do you have ?
Are you up to wiring circuits with fets or transistors or were you planning to use plug & play breakout boards for everything ?
I own an uno and have played around with it some, but otherwise no real electronics experience. Probably breakout boards if they are not too expensive, since they seem simpler.
How do feel about learning how to draw electronic schematics ? Could you force yourself to go to Fry's or someplace (or the web)
to buy a beginners book on how to draw schematics (or learn it online somewhere with a tutorial) ?
The reason I ask is that it would make our life SO MUCH EASIER if you could just grab a pen, draw a schematic , take a photo and post it. Otherwise we have to ask you to take a photo of your breadboarded circuit and then go through the whole drill of :
"is it the red wire or the blue wire ? tic toc tic toc.....( XD)
Everything would just go so much smoother .
Am I right Paul__B ?
Seems to me he is in the pre-circuit stage, so that isn't going to be helpful just yet.
"Breakout" boards are nice, if you can find one to do exactly what you want (and at a price you are prepared to pay). I want 32 channels to drive 24V relays with my TPIC6B595s. If I can't find such boards, then the fibreglass version of Vero may have to do.
I should be able to "daisy chain" several TPIC6B595s to control the solenoids right? I don't mind learning schematics and could use one of those schematic programs.. I just need a better idea of how to get started. I have an uno, solenoids, sensors, and a modified PC power supply currently.
There are several ways to do this. Are you referring to a 4x4 matrix ? I did one using the 74hc922 keypad encoder chip but you would probably be better off with a simpler solution.
Take a look at the link "ONEWIRE KEYPAD" in this post. http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=237226.new;topicseen#new
In the past I've tinkered with the 74HC259 latching multiplex chips. These could be used to control on/off things like solenoids and motors. You would probably need a transistor for each solenoid as the latching chips couldn't directly supply the 100ma solenoid requirement.
I have a 110 volt 18 watt air pump i am trying to run from a sainsmart 5v relay board but i think the EMI is surging. Would you recommend a metal oxide varistor or something else?
The lights on the arduino uno blink when the air pump turns on and off. This happens if I use the arduino to power the relay board or if i use a separate power supply for the relay board (by removing the jumper and connecting there). A 6v DC motor also connected to the relay board does not have this problem. Other devices connected to the circuit (servos) twitch when this happens.
It certainly sounds as if there is a problem in the wiring.
Some photos (must be perfectly focused) would be to the point.
Note that the wiring of that relay board is tricky. You connect "GND" to the relay supply, not the Arduino. "JD-VCC" (without the jumper) goes to the 5V powering the relays. "VCC" goes to the Arduino Vcc and the control inputs go to pins on the Arduino which are active LOW.
Specifically, you do not connect the Arduino ground to the relay supply ground; if you do the opto-isolators are meaningless.
gabennet:
I have a 110 volt 18 watt air pump i am trying to run from a sainsmart 5v relay board but i think the EMI is surging. Would you recommend a metal oxide varistor or something else?
Thanks again.
the only thing that is important here is that you have a mains powered device and your power dips when it is powered.
since it is only 18 watts, that is very odd. a normal AC motor can easily spike 5 times the current on a locked rotor on start. but 5 times 18 watts should not bring down the voltage on a 120v circuit.
since the motor and relay are really totally separate circuits, you can power your pump from a separate source entirely. different wall outlet. by doing this, you have removed the huge draw. now, if you experience the same voltage drop, then the problem lies within your circuit.
best thing to do is to make that sketch.
we are looking for :
110v power separate from everything else for the pump. only one wire goes through the relay.
separate power to the relay board, directly to the relay board. list capacity of power supply.
separate power to the UNO.
you might be able to power the motor separately
use a wall wart to power the relay
use the USB to power the UNO
when this thread started, it said 40 solenoids. your power supply needs to be able to handle that and still have something left.
you could use multiple wall warts and use one to power half of the relays or some such.
Paul__B:
It certainly sounds as if there is a problem in the wiring.
Some photos (must be perfectly focused) would be to the point.
Note that the wiring of that relay board is tricky. You connect "GND" to the relay supply, not the Arduino. "JD-VCC" (without the jumper) goes to the 5V powering the relays. "VCC" goes to the Arduino Vcc and the control inputs go to pins on the Arduino which are active LOW.
Specifically, you do not connect the Arduino ground to the relay supply ground; if you do the opto-isolators are meaningless.
FOCUSED pictures are important.
as for the relay board, it appears that it is one that does not allow separation of ground. there is only one ground connection, one Vcc connection and then the 4 signal inputs.
I did not find the data sheet or schematic that would show the use of the jumper.
dave-in-nj:
As for the relay board, it appears that it is one that does not allow separation of ground. There is only one ground connection, one Vcc connection and then the 4 signal inputs.
You need to look more closely at the photograph.
This worried me when I first came across these "opto-isolated" relay boards, though I bought a few (two-relay version). The opto- isolators would be completely useless (well, almost) if the grounds were connected together. Fortunately, you connect the ground only to the relay supply, and not the Arduino.
dave-in-nj:
I did not find the data sheet or schematic that would show the use of the jumper.
It isn't easy!
A contributor on the Amazon page cited provided that link.
"JD-VCC" (without the jumper) goes to the 5V powering the relays.
I don't see a separated screw terminal labeled "JD-Vcc" so the way I see it , to have opto-isolation, the jumper must be removed
and a female jumper plugged onto the JD-Vcc pin which you would connect to your Relay Vcc in order to have an isolated relay Vcc. Is that correct ?
raschemmel:
to have opto-isolation, the jumper must be removed and a female jumper plugged onto the JD-Vcc pin which you would connect to your Relay Vcc in order to have an isolated relay Vcc. Is that correct ?
