I have a market garden greenhouse and I want to remotely control the opening and closing of the side vents. I already have a 0.4kW 380V three-phase motor. Is it possible to connect it to an ESP32 to control the opening, closing, and stopping of the motor?
Welcome! Yes!
No. Your question indicates that you have no idea how to build insulated 380V drivers between an Arduino and motor.
Instead you buy a motor driver and ask how to connect the Arduino to it.
You can use relay module and 3-phase contactor to switch on/off the motor.
For the rest you need to explain better though.
...and cause motor burn out after a short time.
To do what?
12V linear actuators are ideal choices for opening and closing greenhouse vents, and are easily and safely controlled by an Arduino plus a relay or suitable motor driver.
Did I miss something?
Is it reversible? Will it hold the vent open without power? How many RPM, most motors will be in the 3,000 RPM range, depending on you power cycles per second.
Three phase motors are reversed by exchanging any two of the three leads. They make devices called reversing contactors designed specifically for this job. They can be gotten with overload sensors that will kick it out if it gets overloaded. You will need to pick a control voltage for these and then get the appropriate drive for the Arduino. These can be gotten in separate NEMA enclosures which I recommend and the Arduino in another enclosure, placing them both in the same enclosure is asking for problems.
When you pick and install the reversing contactor get help from an electrician as it appears you could seriously damage or kill your self because of your apparent lack of experience.
When you do the design be sure you have limit switches that will turn it off if the end is reached. The Arduinos are not designed for this type of use.
And remember, three-phase motors start almost instantly, but the inertia will keep them turning for quite a while after power is removed.
That is an important detail, as asynchronic motors generate deadly amounts of heat during startup. I am not a fan of it, but for stuff like this, I would recommend a PLC and/or frequency control unit. Or use at least a softstarter.
No. Your question indicates that you have no idea how to build insulated 380V drivers between an Arduino and motor.
Instead you buy a motor driver and ask how to connect the Arduino to it.
I am sorry, but I agree. It looks like you don't have enough experience to build one yourself, you should buy one.
Hello, and thank you for all your replies! I'm not very familiar with three-phase installations, which is why I'm working with an electrician to help me with the installation. However, he's not at all familiar with Arduino, which is why I'm reaching out to your community.
Here are some details about my project: it's a tunnel with side openings, that is, an aluminum tube that unrolls or rolls up a tarpaulin to close or open the sides of the tunnel. I currently have two 380V, 0.4kW geared motors with two limit switches on each motor (up/down) connected to a manual control box (see photo). I'd like to be able to control the opening and closing of the openings remotely.
Yes it is reversible and yes it will hold the vent without power. Yes 3000rpm but with reductor it’s only 10rpm
Your choices are to have an engineer design and connect an Arduino-compatible interface to the manual control box, or purchase a computer interface from the company that made the motor and box.
For a commercial installation, it is best to hire/consult professionals(*). You can use the flag button (lower right of post) to ask a moderator move this thread to the Jobs and Paid Consultancy forum section.
(*) Check the terms of your insurance coverage.
You waited until post #29 to tell us about the speed reducer on the motor!
Yes you’re right, my bad !
I see that your manual control box has an 'AUTO' position.
I'm wondering whether that could be utilised in some way.
How does the Auto function work?
Does it use a temperature sensor, and open the vents when the temperature is above a certain threshold, and close them when the temperature falls below another threshold?
If so then it may be possible for an ESP32 to send 'fake' temperature sensor values to the control box, causing it to automatically open/close.
I've looked for information about your control box on the Anjou Automation website, but haven't yet found anything useful.
Yes exactly, the “auto” mode is controlled by this temperature sensor. I can set a temperature so the system open/close vent to match the temperature setting point.