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[Build Guide] DIY Fan Controller [2 x 35W manual control version ready] - Page 6

post #51 of 116
7/5/12 at 6:49am
  • Ganf
  • Overclocker in Training
I need to make one of these, but if I do I need to remove the potentiometer and just bring the PWM signal from a fan header on my motherboard, or somewhere else in my case, that I can control with software. I kind of doubt that that PWM signal is going to be 45khz, so what kind of changes would I need to make if it were lower or higher? Just some generalizations would be nice, I don't have specifics yet so we don't need to get into them.
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post #52 of 116
7/5/12 at 7:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganf View Post

I need to make one of these, but if I do I need to remove the potentiometer and just bring the PWM signal from a fan header on my motherboard, or somewhere else in my case, that I can control with software. I kind of doubt that that PWM signal is going to be 45khz, so what kind of changes would I need to make if it were lower or higher? Just some generalizations would be nice, I don't have specifics yet so we don't need to get into them.

It's not going to be quite that simple, I am planning an automated version that will do exactly this, but I haven't spent much time on it yet. Basically there are 2 ways, I can think of, to do it:
  1. Use a microcontroller (e.g. PIC16F628 or something like that) then just use AD converter and have the PIC generate the output PWM.
  2. Other option, and this is probably the one I'm going with as it's not easy for everyone to program a PIC even if I provide the HEX file, source etc. This option is to use a triangle generator and a comparator to change the frequency of the PWM signal from motherboard.


Small diagram for the theory of option 2:

360

The motherboard PWM frequency is probably 20KHz, I believe that is the standard (?) I'll do some more research and check. However what frequency is not so important, it will be converted to an analog voltage using a lowpass filter then compared with the triangles of the right frequency will generate a new PWM with approximately the same value, just at the correct frequency.
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post #53 of 116
7/5/12 at 7:48am
  • Ganf
  • Overclocker in Training
And so I have subscribed. I'll be waiting to see this version finished before I commit myself to anything.
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post #54 of 116
7/5/12 at 7:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganf View Post

And so I have subscribed. I'll be waiting to see this version finished before I commit myself to anything.

Thanks smile.gif .. I think I might have something within the next week or two.

I kind of got stuck because I only have super cheap and not good enough for this and then super high end opamps that are way overkill for this.
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post #55 of 116
7/5/12 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jvjessen View Post


The motherboard PWM frequency is probably 20KHz, I believe that is the standard (?) I'll do some more research and check.

It's supposed to be 25KHz nominal. See here.
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post #56 of 116
7/5/12 at 11:50am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ARandomOWL View Post

It's supposed to be 25KHz nominal. See here.

Thanks smile.gif That is exactly the document I was looking for.
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post #57 of 116
7/10/12 at 11:34am
449449449449449Great work Mr jvjessen! Inspiring stuff! Had a go at it, Ferric Chloride is messy! Didn't turn out too bad I think. Took some liberties with your circuit. Added an on/off switch for each channel so they are independent of each other and I found that a 0.25W 100R resistor burns easily! biggrin.gif Pushed that up to a 5W power resistor. It still gets toasty but doesn't burn! It is also difficult to find a 3uH cap, so had to adapt the circuit schematic to accommodate 3x1uH caps. Etched the PCB the ghetto way! Hand drawn, drilled and tinned! Going to sleeve the wires and use heat shrink to neaten it up then mount it in an old stiffy drive chassis! The controls are going to be mounted on the front of my chassis for ease of access. Thanks for the inspiration! Got some parts and I am busy turning my Cooler Master 600W power supply into a modular one with some funky sleeving and heat shrink. Keep up the great work! thumb.gif +rep
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post #58 of 116
7/10/12 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by intrepidza View Post

449449449449449Great work Mr jvjessen! Inspiring stuff! Had a go at it, Ferric Chloride is messy! Didn't turn out too bad I think. Took some liberties with your circuit. Added an on/off switch for each channel so they are independent of each other and I found that a 0.25W 100R resistor burns easily! biggrin.gif Pushed that up to a 5W power resistor. It still gets toasty but doesn't burn! It is also difficult to find a 3uH cap, so had to adapt the circuit schematic to accommodate 3x1uH caps. Etched the PCB the ghetto way! Hand drawn, drilled and tinned! Going to sleeve the wires and use heat shrink to neaten it up then mount it in an old stiffy drive chassis! The controls are going to be mounted on the front of my chassis for ease of access. Thanks for the inspiration! Got some parts and I am busy turning my Cooler Master 600W power supply into a modular one with some funky sleeving and heat shrink. Keep up the great work! thumb.gif +rep

Nice!, I think you did a great job on the circuit board, it's always difficult and messy to make those smile.gif

You are absolutely right about the resistor, it dissipates up to 1.4W, I didn't dimension that correctly in my pursuit for more watts redface.gif If you are not going to run huge amount of fans and push it to the limits, the resistor can safely be increased to 300-500 ohm, but anyway, you already built it smile.gif

And, warm welcome to OCN smile.gif

I will try making the eagle files available, that should make it easier if anyone wants to make changes to it.

Cheers
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post #59 of 116
7/10/12 at 12:47pm
Can I ask why you are using only 100R for gate pull-up? A value of 1k should be sufficient unless the MOSFET has an unusually high gate capacitance. Using 1k, only 0.144W will be dissipated in it during T(on) and a 0.25W resistor can be used.
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post #60 of 116
7/10/12 at 12:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by intrepidza View Post

Great work Mr jvjessen! Inspiring stuff! Had a go at it, Ferric Chloride is messy! Didn't turn out too bad I think. Took some liberties with your circuit. Added an on/off switch for each channel so they are independent of each other and I found that a 0.25W 100R resistor burns easily! biggrin.gif Pushed that up to a 5W power resistor. It still gets toasty but doesn't burn! It is also difficult to find a 3uH cap, so had to adapt the circuit schematic to accommodate 3x1uH caps. Etched the PCB the ghetto way! Hand drawn, drilled and tinned! Going to sleeve the wires and use heat shrink to neaten it up then mount it in an old stiffy drive chassis! The controls are going to be mounted on the front of my chassis for ease of access. Thanks for the inspiration! Got some parts and I am busy turning my Cooler Master 600W power supply into a modular one with some funky sleeving and heat shrink. Keep up the great work! thumb.gif +rep

Just another quick comment on your build, I'm afraid the inductors you are using are too small, the ones I use are rated at 3A+ you might want to consider changing them, but worst case the ones you have will just burn out and no further damage will be done.

Here is a pic of mine:

444
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