Note 5438
Note 5438
Load
-1Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
RAB =
50
1.6 = 0.08
1000
Eq. (1)
If the load in circuit (1) is a solenoid that draws 0.5 A from the power supply Vs,
the voltage drop between points A and B is non zero:
Eq. (2)
The signal at the controller input will then appear to have changed by 0.04V.
TTL specifications are that logic 0 is between 0 and 0.7 volts, so the 0.04V will
not have an impact.
However, when the 0.5A current through the solenoid is interrupted by the
switch, the current can drop from 0.5A to 0 in less than 1 s. This rapid change
in current in the ground line can induce a voltage due to the self-inductance of
the wire. Normally an inductance is associated with a coil, but a straight wire will
also have an associated inductance. The formula for the self-inductance of a
straight wire at high frequency is given by:
2l 3
L = 0.002l log e H
r 4
Eq. (3)
Where l is the length of the wire in centimeters and r is the radius of the
conductor in centimeters. For wire AB, the inductance is calculated to be 27 H.
When the current through the load is interrupted, the current changes from 0.5A
to 0 in 1 s, and the voltage between points A and B is:
V AB = L
di
dt
V AB = 27 10 6
0.5
10 6
Eq. (4)
.V
V AB = 135
The voltage calculated is a peak voltage, but in a digital circuit the reaction of the
circuit occurs within nanoseconds.
Impedance of a signal wire can be shown to cause similar problems. Some
amplifiers are sensitive to certain values of input impedance. This is seen in the
cable length limitations for a device, where the cable length limit is due to known
impedance limitations of the output amplifier.
Capacitive (Electrostatic) Coupling
Capacitance is defined as a voltage charge on one device causing a resultant
voltage rise on another device in close proximity. Capacitive coupling in a digital
circuit occurs when a voltage on one signal wire creates a voltage on another
-2Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
signal wire. Capacitive coupling is also called crosstalk, a term originating from
telephone wiring technicians. Capacitive coupling is a problem since the state of
a digital circuit is based on voltage levels of only a few volts. A variation of 2
volts means the difference between logic 0 and logic 1.
A common source of relatively high voltage is a coil in a high power relay or
solenoid. When the current to the relay coil or solenoid is rapidly severed the
collapsing magnetic field causes a large voltage spike. Figure (2) shows a 12V
relay with a 100mA current in the coil.
100
mA
INPUTS (TTL)
GALIL
OUTPUTS (TTL)
12V
CONDUIT LENGTH L
MACHINE
CONDUIT
LOAD
INSULATION
CORE
-3Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
When the relay is toggled open, the resulting voltage spike will resemble Figure
(3).
-4Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
ENCODER WIRE
EXPOSED TO FLUCTUATING
MAGNETIC FIELD
MAGNETIC FIELD
ISOBARS
ENCODER
DC MOTOR
TRANSFORMER
SHARED
CONDUIT
TRANSFORMER OUTPUT
WIRES (AMP POWER)
AMPLIFIER
CAPACITOR
-5Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
As can be seen, a sensitive encoder wire passes through a conduit with the
amplifiers DC power supply. Assuming a typical transformer, the voltage signal
present on the power leads would look similar to Figure (5).
-6Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
Figure (6) shows the voltage signals present on the encoder wire that passes
through the magnetic field. Wave 1 shows the Channel A encoder input, and
Wave 2 shows the reference ground.
-7Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
-8Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
-9Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
3. Shielding
Wire shielding is the best method for reducing capacitive noise on a signal wire.
Shield connections should drain to Earth ground, and should not be connected to
the signal ground of the circuit. Shields should only be connected at one end.
Figure (12) shows proper shield connections.
- 11 Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
current is not a workable solution. Also, low frequency magnetic fields are not
significantly reduced by metal enclosures or shielding.
Increasing the distance between the power wires and the signal wires is the best
method of reducing this type of problem. Inductance between two circuits is
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the circuits, so
doubling the distance between the wires reduces the inductance by a factor of
four.
Twisting of the power wires can also reduce the inductance between the circuits
and is highly recommended. For example, a DC brush servo motor has two
power wires connecting the motor to the servo amplifier. Figure (13) shows
standard, untwisted power leads.
- 12 Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
- 13 Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
3. Design Considerations
Unfortunately, in many cases the only test of a circuits susceptibility to noise is to
place the control system into operation. Since industrial environments vary a
great deal, it is impossible to completely predict noise problems. If you see any
of the following symptoms, then noise is a possible cause:
1. Noise On Encoder Wires
If the controller reports no position error, but the motor is out of position, then
noise is being picked up on the encoder signal lines. The cause can be a ground
loop problem obscuring the encoder pulses, indicated by overtravel. If there is
enough noise on the encoder lines, the noise spikes can be counted as if they
were real encoder pulses. This usually results in undertravel. Encoders that
have differential line driver outputs (A+, A-, B+, B-) are much more noise
resistant. Termination of differential signals further improves the noise immunity.
The terminating resistor value is a function of the devices output circuit drive
- 14 Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
capacity. Quadrature encoding is also much more noise immune than simple
pulse and direction. If you do use a single ended output, make sure to leave the
A- and B- open. Connecting these inputs to ground will disable the encoder
inputs.
2. Servo Motor Oscillation
This is usually a problem during initial setup, and encoder noise again can cause
this. One other common cause is a bad wiring connection. Many servo
amplifiers will have a differential input, for example the Galil MSA-12-80 has a
Vref+ and Vref- input as well as signal ground. The Galil controllers all have
single ended outputs, however, and it is intuitive to connect the unused Vrefinput to ground. However, the Vref- input is already pulled to ground through a
resistor on the MSA-12-80 input circuit. Impedance coupling on the ground wire
is amplified by this connection because a small ground current now becomes a
voltage on the servo amplifiers input.
3. Controller sporadically resets, loses communication, or crashes to monitor
prompt (>)
This is a very serious problem, and occurs for a very simple technical reason. All
Galil controllers have circuitry on board that monitors the +5V supply voltage.
When this voltage drops below 4.75 V, the circuitry resets the on-board
processor. Two items can potentially cause this. Ground loops, as discussed
before, can be the cause. Another potential source is the power supply itself;
many modern, inexpensive switching power supplies can contain high frequency
(100kHz) noise on any or all of the supply voltages. Use an oscilloscope to
determine if the power supply is causing such disturbances.
In Pentium-based computers rated at greater than 133 MHz, a special active
mode is enabled during high-intensity graphical operations, such as screen
refresh and rapid mouse moves. When switching into and out of this mode, the
CPU can produce a voltage surge or drop on the 5 volt supply line. A highquality power supply can absorb these voltage spikes.
Here are some suggestions to help avoid noise problems in a motion control
system design:
Avoid long ground wire paths and especially avoid large loops of ground
wiring
Twist pairs of power wires from DC power supplies and DC brush motors to
avoid inductive coupling
Keep low-level signal wires as far away as possible from high power wires
Do not connect motion controllers A- or B- encoder inputs to ground with
single-ended encoders
Do not connect the negative (Vref-) inputs to ground on a servo amplifier
Use diode snubber across relay and solenoid coils to reduce inductive kick
back voltage
- 15 Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com
Place filter chokes around signal wires and/or ribbon cables to filter high
frequency noise
Use the shortest ribbon cabling possible, or use twisted pair ribbon cables
Dont connect shield wires to the controller ground, and dont connect
controller ground to earth
If the AC power line is shown to be noisy, install an isolation transformer on
the incoming line or a Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) with a line
conditioner/filter.
Check the 5 Volt supply line on PC power supplies for spikes or surges if a
bus-based controller is resetting or losing communication intermittently
Although the suggestions related in this discussion are proven techniques for
reducing system noise, occasionally a system will continue to function poorly. If
any further assistance is required, feel free to contact Technical Support at Galil
Motion Control at 1.800.377.6329 or at support@galilmc.com.
- 16 Galil Motion Control, Inc. 3750 Atherton Road Rocklin, CA 95765 USA 800-377-6329 Ph: 916-626-0101 Fax: 916-626-0102 www.galilmc.com