Controller solenoid with ABB?

Lynxmotion
1

Hello guys,

I am wondering if it would be possible to control a 12 volt solenoid valve with a Basic Atom Pro and a mini ABB? I don’t think I could since the max voltage that the ABB (to my knowlege) is 5 volts…

Is there a way taht I could control the solenoid valves, like a relay that I could build myself?

Any help is appreciated :confused:

Sam

2

Hi Sam,

It is possible to switch the solenoid valve with a relay. Just take a simple 5V relay that can switch the amount of voltage and current that you need.

The best thing to do is use a solid state relais if the current isn’t to high. If you decide not to go with a solid state relais I should add a snubber network to protect the ATOM. A standard relay acts like a Inductor and can give a little discharge when the relay is switched off. It is possible that the discharge blows up the output of the atom. A snubber network can take care of the discharge. (There are Relays with a build-in snubber network)

I hope this gets you any further.

Xan

3

Here is another forum thread on this subject. The first circuit is a good general transistor switch. About 5 posts down is a beefier version using a power MOSFET which is possibly more approipriate unless you are using a very small solenoid. Read the entire thread as there are other details that may impact your application. :wink:

4

Ok, so I have a pretty good idea of waht I need here to make the relays and how it works! Thanks a lot.

Now, just one last question, if I have a microcontroller on a board ( like the mini ABB), how do I do to connect one of the output pins to the relay to be able to control it?

Thanks a lot guys! :wink: