Reliable and Flexible Switching System

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Chris posted this 30 September 2017

A Reliable and Flexible Switching System is second to none, it is the most important piece of Hardware one could have on your bench!

I was lucky enough to share some data with a friend that had worked on this same concept with one of his friends, Back then, the idea was called the: Quadratron

 

Funny enough TheOldScientist has done some videos on this:

 

I have also build a few versions of my own inception of the: Quadratron which is now called IPC-quadra

 

Version One:

 

Version Two:

 

 

I have another H Bridge I use also, this is not related to the Quadratron. It is a Custom Built, Salvaged from an Old UPS, 3000VA:

 

I think it is important to not, this is very handy, but its not a necessity, cheaper and easier options exist. EBay has some good options. Variable Frequency and Duty Cycle are the absolute most important.

High Voltage and Current is not necessary.

I personally find a Microcontroller is a good cheap option! Easy to use, Plug and Play if you don't mind the pun! I have built all my own software:

 

I think if we combined our skills, we as a team could come up with a community based project that is better and cheaper than all options presented!

China could do cheap PCB's, We could build our own software!

We could find a cheap Microcontroller.

Let me know if you're keen to look into this!

   Chris 

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Kritischer posted this 05 June 2023

Long story shorter: I replaced the 1N5822 with the 1N5819 and the channel started working! Perhaps the incorrect reversed Zener (that was fixed) created a situation where one of the 1N5822's became damaged, so the new 1N5819 resolved something.

I knew it was working when I heard the metglas cores clink together. The DC power supply was set to 3V However, the current on the power supply was high.. like 4A so I shut down the PS to check a few things. I was switching on the high side of the inductive load FYI. The MOSFET I was using had an Rds of 65mΩ.

Before I use both POC's I wanted to see if I could make a transformer first so I put one of the 1N5822's on one of the POC's and connected a 40W lightbulb (too high a rating?). Making slight changes to frequency and duty cycle had a big difference on the current being drawn, very sensitive. I wasn't able to see any light glowing as a swept across frequency with a 50% duty cycle. I tried both POC's with a diode in both directions and still didn't see any light.

Full disclosure, I then accidentally damaged the C3M0065090D  due to negligence. I had shorted one of the POC's and was trying to measure across a 1Ω resistor...

Yes. Stupid.

Since I will need another channel, I built another one this time using an IRPF460 which has an Rds of 270mΩ.

That channel is less touchy so I put the IRPF460 on the first channel (which now doesn't work again). I'm going to change some parts out later but that's my fault. The circuit (second channel) does work.

The main contributing reason (besides negligence) of why I think I blew a channel is because I still can't see what's going on using the scope.

I wanted to start this post by saying I made progress. I expect to still need to spend time getting to the point where I can light a light as a transformer. Troubleshooting that probably doesn't belong here.

When you say ground lift plug, do you mean these?

Is this an example of how I would connect the Ground of an unused channel to the lift plug? I will try this later too.

Overall I'm extremely grateful for your thoughtful comments and that I got something to work, but understand that I need to re-read your latest troubleshooting steps when I'm on the bench. There's more to learn from those comments.

I did end up connecting the Honda Generator. The circuit still worked and I did see less noise when probing... but I'm still not doing something right if I can't see the signal coming out of the MCP1403 of a working device

I'm almost to the point where I can start to spend time tuning the device itself. You can expect those questions to go in their relevant post by topic.

thaelin posted this 05 June 2023

Hey there:

   Just for the record, I am now coming up along side of you with a amcc 0400 and 200 turns l2 and l3. Figure 20 turns for l1. Long time trying to use what at hand and didn't work as I wanted. Will be starting my own thread but wanted to give encouragement any way I can.

thay

 

 

donovan posted this 07 June 2023

Hi,

Yes, that is just the ground lift plug I use!

When grounding the scope, use only the ground clip at the end of the scope probe.

99.99% of time when using multichannel scopes, I will remove the ground leads from all the scope probes except Channel One, (which would be my trigger channel......)

It is more important to have no ground loops as opposed to maybe a little bit more noise on the other channels.

I have trained a few people in my time......and I think it also is more important, to just put up with a little noise.....rather than be lead down the garden path by accidental ground loops.

Grounding by itself is a life time of learning to understand all the nuances.

Great job!!!

Donovan

Kritischer posted this 07 June 2023

Thank you all again tremendously for the thoughtful comments and guidance.

 

I have had repeated success using the 2nd (top) channel.

I changed diodes, resistors, and the RK0515 on the bottom most recently. 

Now that I know where to probe across easiest (pin 1 of IL610 and one side of 1kΩ off pin 6) the signal presence is obvious and clean. I'm now positive (or have at least convinced myself) that I damaged the other IL610's. I should probably swap the one from the top, but I hate these chinsy dip sockets and don't want to push my luck. I ordered more IL610's expedited because I need at least 2 channels this time around.

I had the setup ringing last night while trying to light a bulb as a regular transformer. I didn't get there yet but the switching definitely works and the rise times are < 20nS. I saw upwards of 140V p2p from a 4.5V input from the PS. I need to get better at taking scope shots for my next post, which may be here or somewhere else on the forum. 

Tinker posted this 27 January 2024

Hi all, @Chris, just wondering if you have gerber files for the lastest switching PCB or happy to purchase if you still have some available? I read through this thread a couple of times and watched most of the videos however please excuse my ignorance with the next few questions/clarifications as I’m still pretty new to this.   So if I understand correctly the board has a power supply of approx 5V to run it’s circuit, it takes a PWM signal from any function generator source (Ardunio or dedicated Function Generator), and switches an external power supply based on the PWM signal. 

So;

  1. Does it switch positive and negative from the power supply? From what I could see in one example you were  switching the negative only.
  2. Is there a max voltage and/or current that can be switched?
  3. Is there a max frequency for switching?
  4. You mentioned this is 4 channels, do we need all 4 for our experiments or is this just for redundancy/backup?

Thanks in advance. If this is not relevant to this thread please IM me.

Neale

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Chris posted this 27 January 2024

Hi Neale,

Gerbers are attached to this thread, you will need to read through the thread.

Both High Side and Low side switching can be done.

The rest depends on your application, what mosfets you put in.

Best Wishes,

   Chris

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Tinker posted this 28 January 2024

Ooops, rookie mistake on my part. I saw the post box at the bottom of page 1 and thought that was it. My apologies, am continuing to read. Lesson learnt!

 

Neale

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Phil posted this 28 January 2024

Hi Neale,

I can send you a PCB for free as I have a spare.

PM me your address and I'll send it ASAP.

I can probably add some components with it as well.

Cheers,

Phil

Tinker posted this 20 February 2024

Good afternoon from Australia,

Now that my 4-channel switching setup is built and operational I've begun replicating simple experiments and thoroughly enjoying the process. Having already gained a lot of knowledge, I decided to revisit some videos in search of fresh insights. During my viewing of "Non-Inductive Coil Experiment - Video One" by @Chris, the Capacitor Protection Block was mentioned, prompting me to quickly recognise that it's cheap insurance for my power supply.  I have looked around the internet for ideas and I'm hoping some members can lean in with what they use and perhaps offer some circuits.  Thanks in advance.

 

Neale

PS -  I have 4 spare circuitboards available if anyone would like them, no charge. @Chris perhaps you can assist in allocating them or is it first to IM me?

 

This is the Capacitor block. - looks straight forward but just want to confirm. Thanks again

I need this

Chris posted this 21 February 2024

Hey Neale,

Sorry for the late reply, been busy.

The Capacitor Array and Protection Diodes are not important, but yes they can:

  1. Protect your Power Supply.
  2. Show, that Power coming back does occur by Blocking the returning Power, via the Diodes.
  3. Change the state of operation of your machine.

 

You need to be careful with these sorts of things, because a simple Cap Bank and Diodes can change the operation of the whole Circuit, which can throw you off track, so beware of this!

Its a very simple circuit, here is a pic of the PCB:

 

Pretty straight forward.

Best Wishes,

   Chris

Arya posted this 04 June 2024

Hello Chris,

I sent the gerber file for build and got this response:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We do our best to anticipate the default naming schemes from many PCB design packages. However, if you have problems, this is a naming scheme that is known to work.

Kindly update the Gerber with correct naming & format so that we can process your order. Also,

Can we know which software you are using for PCB design?

Filename --- Corresponding
Layer boardname.GTL --- Top Layer
boardname.GBL --- Bottom Layer
boardname.GTS --- Top Soldermask
boardname.GBS --- Bottom Soldermask
boardname.GTO --- Top Silkscreen
boardname.GBO --- Bottom Silkscreen
boardname.GKO/GM1 --- Board Outline
boardname.G2L --- only if you are uploading a 4 layer board
boardname.G3L --- only if you are uploading a 4 layer board
boardname.XLN --- Drills drill map /drill drawing Ensure the correct implementation of hole positions, attributes and quantities (highly recommend providing this layer)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please advise.

Thanks.
Arya

Phil posted this 04 June 2024

Hi Arya,

Is this for the Four Channel Isolated Mosfet Driver board?

This is what I renamed my files to, as per ISLab's recommendations on page 3.

"H-Bridge 1.2.drl"   Drill hole layer

"H-Bridge 1.2.gk0"   Board outline layer

"H-Bridge 1.2.gbk"   Bottom copper (solder side) layer

"H-Bridge 1.2.gtl"   Top copper (component side) layer

"H-Bridge 1.2.gbs"   Bottom (solder side) solder mask layer

"H-Bridge 1.2.gts"   Top (component side) solder mask layer

"H-Bridge 1.2.gto"   Silk screen (component outline) layer

Ensure that the file "H-Bridge 1.2.inf" is updated with the above labeling.

I sent the zipped file off to JLPCB with no issues.

Regards,

Phil

 

 

 

 

Arya posted this 05 June 2024

Hi Phil

The filenames you mentioned are different from the files in the zip file found here: https://www.aboveunity.com/thread/reliable-and-flexible-switching-system/?order=all#comment-0986e747-b640-47be-b33c-ac60000890ac

Files in zip file:
H-Bridge 1.2.drl
H-Bridge 1.2.gb0
H-Bridge 1.2.gb1
H-Bridge 1.2.gb2
H-Bridge 1.2.gb3
H-Bridge 1.2.gb4
H-Bridge 1.2.gb5
H-Bridge 1.2.inf

Filenames you suggested:

H-Bridge 1.2.drl
H-Bridge 1.2.gk0
H-Bridge 1.2.gbk
H-Bridge 1.2.gtl
H-Bridge 1.2.gbs
H-Bridge 1.2.gts
H-Bridge 1.2.gto
H-Bridge 1.2.inf

What would be the mapping of these files?

gb0 --> gk0
gb1 --> gbk
gb2 --> gtl
gb3 --> gbs
gb4 --> gts
gb5 --> gto

Does this look good? Please advise.

Thanks!
Arya

Arya posted this 06 June 2024

Hi Phil,

What would be the mapping of these files?

gb0 --> gk0
gb1 --> gbk
gb2 --> gtl
gb3 --> gbs
gb4 --> gts
gb5 --> gto

Does this look good? Please advise.

Thanks!
Arya

Phil posted this 06 June 2024

Hi Arya,

I just cross referenced the original files with mine and that mapping looks good.

Phil

Arya posted this 07 June 2024

Thanks, Phil!

I renamed the files and sent it to the manufacturer. They want to know which software was used to design the PCB. Apparently, they don't support .gb files. Hopefully, the renamed ones will work.

Phil posted this 07 June 2024

I'm not sure of which program Chris used for the design, but ISLab made mention of the change to the file naming convention.

  • Most current PCB makers require the file names extensions to follow the new naming convention: TOP.GTL, BOTTOM.GBL, TOPMASK.GTS, BOTTOMMASK.GBS, TOPSILK.GTO, BOTTOMSILK.GBO, DRILL.DRL, where the extension must correspond to the kind of content in the file, but the file names can all be the same. So:

With these two corrections you will have no problems viewing or uploading for PCB manufacture.

When you place the components, note that the screen markings (on the version 3 boards) have two mistakes:

  • The markings of D2 and D3 are interchanged in all four channels
  • The first Diodes incoming from the PSU are marked D1, D2, D3, D4 respectively on the four channels, when they should have been the same D1 or D6 as in the parts list, or D11 as in the circuit diagram.
  • D5 is wrongly named both in the circuit diagram and in the parts list, and should actually be: 1N4733 (5V1 Zener)

As Chris said, when in doubt, follow the circuit diagram.

Regards,

Phil

Gucio posted this 07 June 2024

I have been using the "Eagle" program for years, an intuitive and professional program. Generates "gerber" files with one click. "JLCPCB" or "PCBWay" have no problem with gerber files. I sincerely recommend "EAGLE"

Grzegorz

Arya posted this 08 July 2024

Hello All,

Need help with verifying the mapping of components with their representation on the circuit. Please review and edit if required.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/183Ad53_b0s5D_yLJopRp_yjf74_yIcExSX3VHfxelbI/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks.
Arya

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Chris posted this 08 July 2024

Hey Loz,

Awesome! Looks really nice!

Yes, R5, the resistor I mentioned above, did you change it to a 680R Resistor? I think that might be an option for improvement?

I am also finding the same thing, heating of the Regulators, you may remember the post with this circuit:

 

I think this is the first place to look, I went off the original schematic, using the values that was supplied.

I hope this helps some!

   Chris

 

Hey Arya,

This is the circuit we worked out.

Best Wishes,

   Chris

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