Solar tracker, stepper motor, and circuit wiring help. Possible slip ring.

Thread Starter

ElectEng

Joined Sep 3, 2019
42
Hello everyone,

I need help trying to find a way to wire everything so the wires do not break.
Here is a rough sketch of what I am trying to build. Overall I guess I could go without slip rings and just program my microcontroller to track the motors so they do not spin all the way around. I already have this planned for the top stepper motor so the tracking circuit card is not damaged by the "goal post" holding assembly. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Wiring Question.png
 

Bernard

Joined Aug 7, 2008
5,784
Slip rings might be easier on the nerves but I have a similar situation where slip ring was out & relied on a
absolute reading Gray code rotary encoder on moving member with position read with 4 bit magnitude comparator, MM74HC85, which gives E, = , W directions to H bridge DC motor driver. After over 2 years it has not wrapped up the feed threw wires.
 

Sensacell

Joined Jun 19, 2012
3,432
Good mechanical design is about simple.


Skip the slip ring idea- expensive, noisy and unreliable.
Put some mechanical hard stops on the axis so it cannot go around and around, winding up the wires.
Consider another type of motor, steppers are power hogs.
 

KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,063
Hello everyone,

I need help trying to find a way to wire everything so the wires do not break.
Here is a rough sketch of what I am trying to build. Overall I guess I could go without slip rings and just program my microcontroller to track the motors so they do not spin all the way around. I already have this planned for the top stepper motor so the tracking circuit card is not damaged by the "goal post" holding assembly. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 188231
Does this use external power or is it self contained with a solar panel charging a battery? If it is the latter, mount everything, including the battery behind the panel and rotate the whole lot. That way, you have no wires to twist and flex.
 
Top