Meanwell LDD driver: for those who want to dim to 0 using Arduino

easternlethal said:
where should i physically mount everything?
Click to expand...

I've been a fan of off the shelf boxes from Polycase.com and others. (Budd Ind, etc).

However, to fit optimally in those boxes requires designing PCBs that fit them perfectly :)

Got any pictures? Everyone I'm sure would love to see what you've built, the more info the merrier.

My current light project is a pendant-style, which includes custom MPCB on a heatsink, with the whole stack (lighting, heatsink, fan, driver, controller) stacked on top of each other in the footprint of an 80mm fan. I'm using M4 threaded rods to hold the whole deal together.
 
okay I will start a thread and share my build as it comes along. Right now all my controller components are mounted on a perfboard and housed in a plastic lunchbox.

I've successfully tested my controller on a couple of 3v leds but my aquarium will need much more. So I've decided to to use 90 3.2v 350ma leds (instead of the multi chips or larger wattage leds).

They will be attached to a long aluminium heatsink (90 inches) that is also suspended from threaded rods, which are themselves cantilevered off vertical steel pipes. It's going to look very industrial, especially since my aquarium frame itself is made of aluminium t slots. But I like the look. Anyway I am hoping that doing it this way will not require me to use any fans (but we will see), but it will mean that I should probably not put my components on top of the lights.
:-)
 
Last edited:
007Bond said:
I built a "Jarduino" controller just had to upload the code to a arduino.
Click to expand...

looks great!

my controller doesn't use a tft or have nearly as many features. right now it's just a small lcd with mechanical switches and trims. But I'm trying to go for the "analog" look :-) if i need some inspiration for more code I will definitely hit you up.
 
Last edited:
I've always just preferred the idea of using a WebUI. Obviously complicates the design in a different way, but using a RaspberryPi as a base is a cheap alternative.
 
Okay this is the controller for my nano tank. It's an all in one controller/driver combo that uses a board that's based on the a6211 so it's perfect for a nano tank. I am supplying it with 12v so I can power the arduino and driver without any dc conversion and with that it can achieve 36W.

I am now working on this fella's bigger brother that will run off 36v so will post up photos when it's ready (probably in another thread).
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20150124_160559.jpg
    IMG_20150124_160559.jpg
    51.6 KB · Views: 7
  • IMG_20150124_160538.jpg
    IMG_20150124_160538.jpg
    61.2 KB · Views: 5
easternlethal said:
Okay this is the controller for my nano tank. It's an all in one controller/driver combo that uses a board that's based on the a6211 so it's perfect for a nano tank. I am supplying it with 12v so I can power the arduino and driver without any dc conversion and with that it can achieve 36W.

I am now working on this fella's bigger brother that will run off 36v so will post up photos when it's ready (probably in another thread).
Click to expand...


Nice case you found!
 
Does anyone know if i can make my storm x ramp up and down the fan automatically on a time or temp limit? The fans come on full blast during my dawn settings and i don't need them that powerful until my all my leds and t5's are on. I would still like them on at sawn and dusk just not at 100% of the setting I have them at.
 
Ligershark said:
Does anyone know if i can make my storm x ramp up and down the fan automatically on a time or temp limit? The fans come on full blast during my dawn settings and i don't need them that powerful until my all my leds and t5's are on. I would still like them on at sawn and dusk just not at 100% of the setting I have them at.
Click to expand...
You can use one of O2's SCW fan circuits to do the PWM ramping, though be warned that some fans don't like being pulsed like that (they make an odd whirring noise).
 
jedimasterben said:
You can use one of O2's SCW fan circuits to do the PWM ramping, though be warned that some fans don't like being pulsed like that (they make an odd whirring noise).
Click to expand...

I currently use a coarlux fan control board which is fed power by an scw and it has pwm ramping. I am able to set a speed for my fans. My problem is once I set the speed on the controller thats it, thats the speed for my fans as long as my leds are on. I want ramping throughout the day like my leds. I am using 4 pin pwm fans so there is no noise. Does your bluefish controller allow the fans to automatically ramp up throughout the day? What does 02's scw circuit board look like?

easternlethal said:
or just attach a sensor to the case and turn on the fans when it gets above a certain temp.
Click to expand...

I have a sensor on the case. I do not believe the storm x has the coding for if temp greater than x degrees then fan greater than x speed. I want the fans on throughout the day, just able to ramp up over a few hours like my leds do.


I am just trying to find out if anyone played with the code or uses a storm x and was able to ramp their fans up throughout the day, cause I can't find it or know how to do it. I couldnt tell you the first thing about editing or writing code.
 
Ligershark said:
I currently use a coarlux fan control board which is fed power by an scw and it has pwm ramping. I am able to set a speed for my fans. My problem is once I set the speed on the controller thats it, thats the speed for my fans as long as my leds are on. I want ramping throughout the day like my leds. Does your bluefish controller allow the fans to automatically ramp up throughout the day? What does 02's scw circuit board look like?
Click to expand...
Are you using PWM fans? Are you using the 'Fan Power and Control board' or 'Fan PowerPWM board'?
 
Ligershark said:
I currently use a coarlux fan control board which is fed power by an scw and it has pwm ramping. I am able to set a speed for my fans. My problem is once I set the speed on the controller thats it, thats the speed for my fans as long as my leds are on. I want ramping throughout the day like my leds. I am using 4 pin pwm fans so there is no noise. Does your bluefish controller allow the fans to automatically ramp up throughout the day? What does 02's scw circuit board look like?



I have a sensor on the case. I do not believe the storm x has the coding for if temp greater than x degrees then fan greater than x speed. I want the fans on throughout the day, just able to ramp up over a few hours like my leds do.


I am just trying to find out if anyone played with the code or uses a storm x and was able to ramp their fans up throughout the day, cause I can't find it or know how to do it. I couldn't tell you the first thing about editing or writing code.
Click to expand...

Use one of the led channels to provide the pwm signal. the fan board takes care of the speed of the fan but may be noisy using a two or three wire fan. Draw back is that it may not kick in soon enough depending on your heat load and ramping profiles. (those can be tweaked, for example I have mine set to 4hrs instead of the default 2hrs.) That way you could have the fans on an hour before the LEDs start to ramp up. If you want the fans on right away in the morning but off at night you'll need a separate relay or transistor to turn them off at night via the fan pin on the storm x board (and a slight modification to the code so they come on at sunrise and don't go off until night mode) I'm using this configuration now and it works great.

I've been working for a while to add temp control to the fan coding but the sketch is so large that it will require striping out something to make room for the extra code (probably part of the user interface coding or the strings that write output to the display but I haven't gotten that far yet)

I'll probably just end up using a separate arduino for fan control so I can have a smarter sketch to control the fans in increments based on temp and time of day.

Edit: I just saw your using 4 wire fans. If they default to on at about 30% under low pwm as many do then just controll them from the LED channel and use the fan on/off pin on the storm to turn them off at night via the fan board. connect the fan's pwm wire to your storm directly and let the board shut off the power (set the fan speed to max in the software in this case) so speed is controlled by the LED channel and power to the fan is just switched on/off by the fan control board.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
DIY 100g+ LED Reef Light - Arduino build
Replies
16
Views
13K
saf1
S
B
180g DIY LED Build with LDD Drivers..Questions & Future Build thread
Replies
3
Views
2K
Brien H
B
chrishet
Full Spectrum LED Build-MakersLED-Meanwell LDD-Apex Control
2 3
Replies
46
Views
13K
DrewPalmer04
DrewPalmer04
Back
Top