Fan Power

[RcDawson]

Hi I was wondering how I would power a fan to keep electrical parts cool.
They are currently connected to the digital side car with PMW cables.
We simply need them to run whenever the cRIO is on.

Any Ideas?

Greg.
Team 2972

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by RcDawson

Hi I was wondering how I would power a fan to keep electrical parts cool.
They are currently connected to the digital side car with PMW cables.
We simply need them to run whenever the cRIO is on.

Any Ideas?

Greg.
Team 2972

What size fan are we talking about?
Small muffin fans? Large props?

[theprgramerdude]

Why power the electrical components like the Crio? This is an honest question, as I am confused as to any possible reason. I would imagine components like the Jaguars/Victors or distribution board may need the cooling due to huge currents, but for control components?

[roystur44]

Greg,

We use a spike to control the fans. We place the KOP fans over the drive train motors to increase air flow over the motor casings. Cool air over the motors really helps out if you run hot especially in practice mode. Anything you can do to cool the motors down will increase your efficiency.


Roy

[nighterfighter]

If you want to go really advanced, you could set up a thermometer to measure the temperatures, then hook the fans up to a Victor/Jaguar to control how fast they spin, thus regulating your temperature...

[theprgramerdude]

Originally Posted by nighterfighter

If you want to go really advanced, you could set up a thermometer to measure the temperatures, then hook the fans up to a Victor/Jaguar to control how fast they spin, thus regulating your temperature...

I do believe the fans do not operate with a reverse voltage, as do the brushed DC motors.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

The simplest solution is to run the fans from a single circuit breaker on the power distro board. They will turn on when the robot is turned on. The electrical rules require a #18 wire be connected to the PD but you may buss several fans together and then tie them to the #18. Insulation is required on the exposed wiring, the use of heatshrink tubing is highly recommended.
Using a Spike to control fans under software control is an acceptable option as well.