DIY Turbopump Controller

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John Futter
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by John Futter »

Nicolas
Those lines on the LCD look like swear words
LOL
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Nicolas Krause
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Nicolas Krause »

Just a quick update on this project since the last post I made is well over a year ago. At the time the project was just a bit beyond my capabilities as an engineer, work picked up and I didn't have the time to dedicate to it to make any real progress so it's mostly sat uncompleted on my desk. I've since come back to the project now with some improved engineering skills and step 1 is improving the schematic layout and writing up some documentation for myself. I'll likely re-route the board since I think I can do a better job now and then move back to implementing the firmware. Here's the updated schematic for the microcontroller section, but other parts are well underway!
Microcontrollerschematic.JPG
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Nicolas Krause
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Nicolas Krause »

The schematics for the device have been successfully updated! They're quite a bit neater than they were previously, and much easier to read! A master schematic details the connections between 3 sub-schematics which helps greatly with organisation.
Capture1.JPG
micro.JPG
moto.JPG
power.JPG
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Dennis P Brown
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Dennis P Brown »

Fascinating work; so, what chip is that main processing chip in the second diagram? I have no experience with digital chips and that certainly looks very specific.
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Nicolas Krause
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Nicolas Krause »

It's a standard chip for controlling a 3-phase motor, the IR2130, the other chips essentially condition a clock signal so that the IR2130 turns the set of transistors to the right on and off in the correct sequence.
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Dennis P Brown
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Dennis P Brown »

Thanks and I have just enough knowledge to understand that answer. Rather nice design there!
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Nicolas Krause
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Nicolas Krause »

All credit for the design goes to John Futter! It's his schematic this is based off of, I've had to make some minor modifications to account for differences in parts and the interface with the microcontroller I've chosen. Since it runs off of 3.3V instead of 5V some protection has had to be added in certain locales.
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Richard Hull
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Richard Hull »

The great thing about designing and debugging your own homemade controller is that you will never be without a controller and can fix it immediately should problems arise in future. The doers always wins and spends less without the overburden of a costly repair at the hands of the OEM.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
Rex Allers
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Rex Allers »

Nicolas,
I really do appreciate your efforts to make a generic turbo controller/driver. But in your Feb 9 post with several schematics, I can't read many details in the shared images -- like I can only guess about most of the text identifying parts and values.

So not enough resolution in the schematic images you shared. Also, a suggestion, png is a better format for line drawings and text than jpg.

If you feel comfortable, I'd appreciate seeing better quality images of your design.
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Nicolas Krause
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Nicolas Krause »

Hi Rex,

I appreciate the encouragement! My intent with the photos had just been to provide a marker for progress rather than a reference for people to build one themselves. I'm writing documentation for the device as I go and plan to provide the entire set of schematics and PCB design files on my github once complete under an open source license of some sort. I can provide you with the current schematic files, or images of them, I'm currently specc'ing parts for the design, so there's a caveat that some small changes might still occur. Let me know which you'd prefer!
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Rex Allers »

Thanks for the clarification on your plans. I'm happy to wait until you get to a point where you want to share.
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Dennis P Brown
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Dennis P Brown »

Spec'ing parts is a tremendous addition and I really appreciate anyone that can do something like that!
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Nicolas Krause
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Re: DIY Turbopump Controller

Post by Nicolas Krause »

Hi All,

Just an update on the status of the project. I've finished specc'ing components and the schematics are now in a state I'm comfortable showing them off in. You can view the complete schematics for the project here. There are still a few notes on pages for myself and as I move through things I'll re-upload and clean them up. The core modifications to John Futter's original circuit are contained within the MCU-Pico schematic. I've selected a Raspberry Pi Pico as the brains for the operation for no other reason than I had a few lying around. Since it's a 3.3V microcontroller, I've added some protective circuits to allow interfacing with the other 5V ICs on the board.

The current BoM comes to $248.27 CAD. The single most expensive component is the high power transformer at $100, I've currently selected a Hammond unit off of Digikey. If anyone is aware of a centre tap 35V-0V-35V transformer that is cheaper and would work in this application I'd be much obliged.

If anyone has any questions I'm happy to answer them! Or alternatively if anyone notices anything that seems suspect, please let me know!
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