Voltage clamping

General discussion of using Roboclaw motor controllers
Post Reply
akash
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:00 am
Voltage clamping

Post by akash »

Hello,
I recently started working on Roboclaw 2x7A and came across voltage clamping circuit which is required for power dissipation in case of regenerative braking. I am using Roboclaw for actuation of linear actuator which carries load of around 1 kg. I read in user manual that voltage clamping dissipates heat in case of voltage spike or if back emf causes spike more than maximum voltage set by me. My power supply is 24 volts and my maximum voltage is set to 26 volts but during my operation I observed that my voltage starts dropping for providing more current which should be equal to stall current of motor and voltage dosen't rise at all in any condition , so I guess my voltage clamping circuit is never activated. I had already connected voltage clamp circuit on S5. I also did as told in manual to suddenly stop motion of motor from high speed still I can see voltage dip on main battery voltage and there was no spike which is rise in voltage.Also I tried stopping motion of linear actuator by some external interference but still it dosen't cause any voltage spike. Is it like in my case I don't need any voltage clamping circuit or I am not testing it as per conditions required for activating clamp circuit ? If so how to test this setup in any other way ?
User avatar
Basicmicro Support
Posts: 1594
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:45 pm
Re: Voltage clamping

Post by Basicmicro Support »

Your motors may never enter regen. If your motors are small and the load has low momentum this can be the case. For heavily geared motors or motors that cant be back driven(many linear actuators) regen may never happen. If that is the case then, no, you wont need to have the clamping circuit installed.

Post Reply