How to test an electric motor.
Over the years we’ve seen a number of controllers that have been damaged by faults in the motor they are driving, so we thought we’d make a short video showing how to test an electric motor for short circuit and open circuit windings.
Train Mountain 2022 Triennial
The Train Mountain triennial in Oregon, USA is back and Steve will be there from 21-24th June 2022 and demonstrating 4QD products. Please do call by the stand in the vendor area for a chat. His cell phone number while in the US will be +44 745 335 1325.
Ditch Light Flasher Launched
Some US customers asked if we could make this – it’s a unit that provides a timed flashing action for ditch lights.
It’s available here.
Motorised Wheelie Bins
The guys over at Nervous Squirrel have used some of our Pro-160s to drive these funky motorised wheelie bins. They are for the Bureau of Silly Ideas – a street theatre company and we’re hoping to see them in action soon.
There’s a video of them in action here.
Hall Throttle Adaptor [for DNO]
A number of people asked if it was possible to use a Hall type throttle with a DNO controller. Hall throttles usually have a 1V – 4V output, but the DNO needs a 0V – 3V signal as a minimum.
This little adaptor board converts the output of a Hall sensor into something suitable to work with the DNO range.
Di-wheel Case Study
Here’s a case study that we’re really rather proud of. V O Vehicles asked us to design the control system for this unique pedal / electric, solar charged di-wheel taxi that they launched at the recent CENEX exhibition. The vehicle is quite complex with pedal torque sensing, a joystick for steering and reverse, a removable battery, and a phone as a display. We helped VO understand the options and trade-offs around the battery and motor, and also on how the different controls could be integrated. Our solution uses two of our Pro-160 controllers with the input signals being handled by our new dual channel interface module and a custom scaling board.
Pedal Car Conversion
We just love the colours of this pedal car conversion that one of our customers has done.
It’s using a Porter 10 and a pretty beefy LiPo pack so it should shift a bit!
Dual Channel Interface
It’s here….our new dual channel interface. This nifty board allows you to control two of our DNOs or Pro series from a dual axis joystick. It gives true single-handed control of speed and direction in skid steer vehicles. We used to make an analogue version of this years ago but this one is digital which makes it much more versatile. It can accept pot or hall inputs, and can operate with the throttle in center-off or single ended mode. The steering sensitivity can be adjusted via the trim pot. If you’re building a ride-on tank or Banana Splits type buggy this could be what you need.
Throttle Lever
We’ve been looking for a cost effective throttle lever for ages now and not found anything suitable, so we thought we’d have a go at building our own. 3D printed in tough rPETG, it’s got removable end stops and center detent. All metal parts are stainless, and it has a hall sensor that’s good for 10 million cycles. Easy to dismantle and all parts are replaceable. The end result is a substantial, chunky, throttle lever designed for applications where the odd knock is expected.
Electric Motor Dyno
Here’s an electric motor dyno we’ve been working on for a customer. It’s using a brushed motor to provide a load for a brushless one. We’re using our new rpm control software in a Pro-160 to manage the load speed while the torque is measured by the sensor.
The motor on the left is the load, it was surprising just how warm it got after only a few minutes operation.