IDEAS FOR DESIGN

Circle 522 point. This tends to drive A4 negative

Precision DC Motor
and thus reduce the voltage applied to
the motor, slowing it down.
By contrast, if Vr > (V3 - V1), then

Speed Controller a negative increment is dumped onto

C4 and the motor voltage and speed
are increased. The net result is for
W. STEPHEN WOODWARD A4 to converge on the single motor
Venable Hall, CB3290, University of North Carolina, voltage that makes F m =
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290; Internet: woodward@net.chem.unc.edu. R1/(R2R3C1) because only then is Vr
= (V3 - V1). Consequently, the equi-

O
ptical tachometers that pro- FVC with period-to-voltage con- librium tachometer frequency and
duce a frequency proportional verter A2. The motor speed setpoint is therefore motor speed is directly
to RPM are popular feedback adjusted with R1 as follows: The volt- proportional to R1 and independent
sources for precision analog motor age on integrator A2 (Vr) is a nega- of the absolute values of V1 and V3,
speed control. This usually involves a tive-going sawtooth with slope given removing any requirement for preci-
frequency-to-voltage converter by Ir/C1. Ir = (V3 - V1)R1/(R2R3), so if sion voltage references. Only the sta-
(FVC) to convert the tachometer 1/Fm is the period of the tachometer bility of the ratios of R1, R2, R3, and
output to a voltage that’s then input pulses, the peak-to-peak swing of Vr = C1 contribute significantly to the er-
to a conventional servo. Though it (V3 - V1)R1/(FmR2R3C1). ror budget of the controller. There-
typically works fine, it’s unnecessar- During the positive half-cycles of fore, Vs supply voltages from 20 V to
ily complicated and requires a the tachometer square wave, S3 con- 35 V give the same accuracy.
tachometer with a relatively high nects C3 to A2 so that the voltage on Dc stability of the controller is as-
pulse/revolution characteristic to al- C3 tracks the sawtooth. On every neg- sured by the relationships derived
low for both a reasonably fast loop ative square-wave transition, C3 is previously and by the error integra-
response and adequate ripple filter- connected to the summing point of A4. tion performed by A4. But, as in all
ing in the FVC. This happens in such a way that if Vr < servos, dynamic convergence is an-
The circuit shown circumvents (V3 - V1), then a positive increment of other matter. Damping of the system
those problems by replacing the usual charge is deposited on the summing response and stable, over-shoot-free

+30 V
+ Power
Optical +20 V + Vs
tachometer 0.01 mF S1 13 470 mF @ 35 V – supply
output 11 14 4053B 20 V < Vs < 35 V
TIP41C
> 4 V p-p 20k 7 Heat sink ' 10 W 1N4004
12 +20
+5
+15 S3
C4 R4 Q1
1 +15 1 mF
100k 2.7k 2.7k 9 16
fm 100k* Ir S2 10 6+8 2.7k 100k

Tachometer
T.T.W/Dial 1 R3 C1 2 1 3 5
R1 0.01 mF C2 0.01 mF 15 2.7k 4 0.1 mF
2 C3 C5 20 M
20k 13
0.01 mF 3 510 0.01 mF –A4 14 0.01 mF
6 12 1N4004
– 2 +20 V – 7
2.7k +
1
A1 + 3
V1 5 +A2 Vr
LT1058
+
100 mF
19.1k* 240 @6V +30 V
R2 V2 +15 V Q2
2k 10 4
+ +A3 8 220k 2N3904
CAL 100 mF 9
150
@ 16 V – 11
V3 +12.5 V
ELECTRONIC DESIGN / MARCH 17, 1997

1N4148
130
V4 +5 V
+
150 100 mF *1% tolerance
@6V

GND

A period-to-voltage converter is used in place of a frequency-to-voltage converter to reduce complexity in this optical tachometer.

182
 IDEAS FOR DESIGN
response to perturbation are pro-
vided by the C4/C5 ratio and R4 x C5
time constant. The values for these
parts, shown in the figure, worked
well in the prototype. Different mo-
tors connected to different loads
might require tweaking of these val-
ues. In general, the greater the
ELECTRONIC DESIGN / MARCH 17, 1997
184
C4/C5 ratio and R4 x C5 time con-
stant, the greater net damping and
tolerance of high load inertia.
One additional consideration is
what happens if the motor stops and
F m = 0. Because the feedback path
depends on charge transfers be-
tween C3 and C4, and since these
transfers cease if Fm = 0, some means
is needed to “jump-start” the servo.
Comparator A3 does this by slewing
A4 positive whenever Vr is allowed
to ramp below V4. Accurate charge
transfers in normal operation are
promoted by the crisp square wave
produced by Schmitt trigger S1.