marsh28 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I've got a DC wash motor I want to use to control some animatronics. However, plugging the thing directly into an AC controller would obviously be no bueno and blow a triac. Does anyone have any suggestions about how I could create some type of relay between the Motor and the LOR AC controller output? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Laff Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I'm not sure but I think you can use lor's CMB 24 dc board to control small dc motors . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need more lights Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Is it 12V? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 If a "wash motor" is a windshield wiper motor, then your best solution is a CMB-16D (or CMD-24D). This would allow you to control the speed. You could also get a simple relay with a 120v coil and hook it up to an AC controller, or get a low-voltage relay powered by a wall-wart, plugged into an AC controller. The disadvantage of the 120v coil relay is you need to insulate it carefully to keep hazardous voltages hidden. The disadvantage of the low-voltage relay is that there are more things to go wrong. Both of these solutions require that you don't dim the AC channel, or it could damage the relay or the wall-wart. The DC board solutions don't have these disadvantages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Gotta keep in mind the amperage draw too when controlling them thru an LOR controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) Is it an actual washing machine motor? I thought those were always ~AC~, however, if it's an 120VDC motor, there is a way to control it via a regular ~AC~ LOR CTB16PC or compatible LOR ~AC~ Controller. Very easy, get a 120V Full Wave Diode Bridge {I've used 50V ones, but 120V would be better}, just connect the ~AC~ {marked with ~} terminals from the Full Wave Diode Bridge, then connect the +{positive} output of the FWDB to the +{positive} side of the motor, the -{negative} output from the FWDB would be connected to the -{negative} side of the motor. This keeps the motor connected properly polarity wise and also sends the 120V"DC" to the motor from the 120VAC output from the controller. If it's a 12VDC motor, it can still be done, just connect a 12V Voltage Regulator +{positive} input of the FWDB +{positive} side, the VR's -{negative} input to the -{negative} output of the FWDB and to the -{negative} side of the DC motor, the 3rd leg, the +{positive} output of the 12V VR would then go to the motor +{positive} side. {VR = Voltage Regulator / FWDB = Full Wave Diode Bridge} Note: if it happens to be a 5VDC motor, just use a 5V Voltage Regulator in place of a 12V one. I've used these methods for years and never had an issue. Just make sure the amperage load doesn't exceed the controllers rating capacity and you should be good to go. Edited February 10, 2016 by Orville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh28 Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 I should have said wiper motor. It looks like this. wiper motor I guess the LOR DC board would work with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 40 minutes ago, marsh28 said: I should have said wiper motor. It looks like this. wiper motor I guess the LOR DC board would work with this? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh28 Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh28 Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 18 hours ago, Steven said: If a "wash motor" is a windshield wiper motor, then your best solution is a CMB-16D (or CMD-24D). This would allow you to control the speed. You could also get a simple relay with a 120v coil and hook it up to an AC controller, or get a low-voltage relay powered by a wall-wart, plugged into an AC controller. The disadvantage of the 120v coil relay is you need to insulate it carefully to keep hazardous voltages hidden. The disadvantage of the low-voltage relay is that there are more things to go wrong. Both of these solutions require that you don't dim the AC channel, or it could damage the relay or the wall-wart. The DC board solutions don't have these disadvantages. Steven, the low voltage relay is intriguing. Do you have a link for a possible source? although the CMB sound nice, I don't want to spend that kind of money on controlling one wiper motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 17 hours ago, Santas Helper said: Gotta keep in mind the amperage draw too when controlling them thru an LOR controller. The data for the wiper motor in question claims it draws 1.5A unloaded. I've heard that a typical wiper motor will draw up to 15A when stalled (jammed), but you could limit the current to a safe level by powering it through 20 feet or so of a single pair from a Cat5 cable. 1 minute ago, marsh28 said: Steven, the low voltage relay is intriguing. Do you have a link for a possible source? although the CMB sound nice, I don't want to spend that kind of money on controlling one wiper motor. You can get an automotive relay like this one from Mouser, and a simple 12v power supply. I will point out that the CMB16D is less than $100, and once you have it you can also use it for RGB LED lights and strips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh28 Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 29 minutes ago, Steven said: The data for the wiper motor in question claims it draws 1.5A unloaded. I've heard that a typical wiper motor will draw up to 15A when stalled (jammed), but you could limit the current to a safe level by powering it through 20 feet or so of a single pair from a Cat5 cable. You can get an automotive relay like this one from Mouser, and a simple 12v power supply. I will point out that the CMB16D is less than $100, and once you have it you can also use it for RGB LED lights and strips. Steven, could I just use the 12v power supply that they sell with the wiper motor I linked to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 4 minutes ago, marsh28 said: Steven, could I just use the 12v power supply that they sell with the wiper motor I linked to? Yes. You could simply have the motor powered by a single power supply that is plugged into an AC channel. With this simple setup, the motor won't park (return to home position) when the power is removed, but if you don't need that feature, this is the easiest way to go. You have to be careful that you never dim the channel, because that could damage the power supply. (You should have a backup power supply just in case.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Need more lights Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 http://www.alliedelec.com/american-zettler-inc-az2280-1c-120af/70132401/ I run a old computer power supply as a main source and use the LOR to switch my motors with these. Don't ever dim them, but you can run the supply on the 5V side too and still use these relays if you want 2 speeds, just don't turn the 12 and 5 on at the same time. DC doesn't care about ground...ground is ground, Just switch the hot side.(+) and common ground the (-) side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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