Thread Number: 15774
Computer control Rollermatic or 1-18 |
[Down to Last] |
|
Post# 264457 , Reply# 1   2/11/2008 at 11:56 (5,890 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Assuming one can redesign the pulleys to boost the spin speed of a 1-18, You would also be increasing the agitation speed as well then which might not always be desirable. It would be much easier to research and implement changing the motor to a variable speed DC motor which would be controlled by the same computer (with a DC motor controller board installed in addition to the power relay board(s)). It's something I'm thinking about doing (long-term) to the Super Unimatic. is the overflowing rinse ability of the solid drum machines the way to go for really good wash/rinse? Yes and in my opinion the solid-basket overflowing filter system is by far the best of any filtering system. |
Post# 264478 , Reply# 3   2/11/2008 at 15:13 (5,890 days old) by fltcoils (South Bend, Indiana)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Here's a pic of the stratus. I don't know the price but it certainly is more compact than a lot of the industrial VFDs. |
Post# 264491 , Reply# 4   2/11/2008 at 16:04 (5,890 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
That's very cool bill! One question, would you still need to change the motor to a faster rpm motor? Since the top motor speed in a Rollermatic washer is 1725rpm which translates to a top spin speed of 660rpm in a 1/18 Rollermatic. Does changing the frequency make the motor rotate above its rated speed at 60hz? Now if you changed the motor to a 3450rpm motor your top spin speed in the 1/18 would be 1320 rpm! Now that would be cool to see. Something else to think about is this controller I found recently. I’m not sure but I think we can use this in other appliance applications instead of hooking up the machine to a whole PC computer. This seems to be a programmable relay that will allow you to use up to 8 possible components. The Super Unimatic has 12 components already so it wont work for that machine, but for less complicated "mosterization" of appliances this might work perfectly. There is a screen to allow you to select what ever cycle you have preprogrammed. You use a PC to design and transmit the cycle programs the relay box with the software that is included. I'm gonna check this out at some point when I tackle computerizing a vintage dishwasher someday. CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK |
Post# 264589 , Reply# 6   2/12/2008 at 08:20 (5,889 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Hey Bill, that is quite interesting. I didn't realize that there are AC motor controllers out there that can adjust the frequency of the power going to the motor and speed it up or slow it down. I LOVE THAT! So what I don't understand is how you would interface the Stratus board (that you pictured two posts above) with a PC. What is a "9600/8N1 RS485 interface"???
|
Post# 264612 , Reply# 7   2/12/2008 at 10:57 (5,889 days old) by jeff_adelphi (Adelphi, Maryland, USA)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 264640 , Reply# 9   2/12/2008 at 14:09 (5,889 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Fabulous Jeff, I was thinking of you and what you want to do to your Bendix and this Teco controller might be a good way to do it without a lot of computer programming. Might make for a fun dishwasher controller as well :) Bill first let me briefly explain how I’m controlling the Super Unimatic. For my 2 relay control boards (each board contains 8 individual relays) I am using two separate parallel ports, one port for each relay board. I send an ASCII number through my visual basic program using the inpout32.dll. Relay board #1 controls the following functions within the washer by assigning the following ASCII number assignments to each individual relay: Relay #1 is the Motor = 1 Relay #2 is the Spin Solenoid = 2 Relay #3 is the Heater = 4 Relay #4 is the Drain Pump = 8 Relay #5 is the Recirculation Pump = 16 Relay #6 is the Cold Water Solenoid = 32 Relay #7 is the Warm Water Solenoid = 64 Relay #8 is the Hot Water Solenoid = 128 So if I want to just run the Motor I send the relay board the number 1. If I want the machine to spin I send the relay board the 3. Because Motor = 1 and Solenoid = 2, so 1 + 2 = 3. So for another example if I want to wash with a heated reciruclation I want to run the Motor, Heater and Recirculation Pump. I would send the board the number 21. The number 21 is then sent via ASCII using the following syntax in Visual Basic: DoThis = 21 Out Val("&H378h"), Val(DoThis) The Val("&H378h") is the address of the parallel port that I want to send the number 21 out to, I have two choices since I have two parallel ports installed, either &H378h or &H278h. Now onto our current discussion at hand… Bill, thank you, I now realize you control this through the serial port. Visual Basic 6 comes with the MSCOMM control built in that allows you to pass ASCII strings to the serial port and out onto boards such as the Stratus. I assume you plug the adapter (that you posted a picture of) into the serial port of the computer and the other side of the adapter has a cord female jack that you plug a wire from the adapter into the J1 RJ45 jack on the Stratus board. Then all one would need to figure out is the correct syntax to use the MSCOMM module in VB6 to send string commands to adjust the frequency of the power to the motor. Unfortunately in reading the PDF document, I see a challenge to this idea. The rated max start up current for the Status board is 10amps. Unfortunately the Unimatic’s start up current is 24amps. I don’t know what the startup amperage for a Rollermatic is but it should be significantly lower than the Unimatic because the Rollermatic mechanism employs a slipping clutch for power transmission, unlike the Unimatic which is a direct drive clutchless mechanism. I suspect though even with the clutch the Rollermatic will still draw 14-15 amps for at least 30 seconds during the start of spin when the tub is full of water. This will still overload the board. The second challenge is just a thought and maybe my I’m incorrect in my assumption because I don’t know how the motor is going to behave when the frequency is dropped to less than 60hz. Maybe some of you guys know the answer to this… Generally most washing motors of this period use a start and run winding. The start winding is only in the circuit until the motor comes up to 90% of its full rated speed. The winding is cut out of the circuit by a centrifugal switch, so herein lies the problem… If we reduce the speed of the motor for a slower wash to 60% for example, the start winding will be energized during the whole cycle, wont this cause the motor to overheat? |