In the "A Day with" line...
A day at Manzanita ... a Few Evers have seen the Birthing Pit here, two
bay garage that has very little floor space left. Green Boxes stacked in
every corner at least 1/2 dozzen of them in some form of assembly.
Usually one or two on at time... doing something. Blocks of Black anti
static foam with PCBs partially stuffed of MK3(Sheer?... need parts!),
and controller PCBs, and racks of power boards. There's clipped leads
dusting the floor, and solder stations set up everywhere. I can't figure
out how I am going to stuff all this in a single bay garage just next
door when we buy the place up the hill in November.
Yesterday I got to see the PFC50 Sheet metal. WOW that's big!! It makes
the PFC20s look small. Then again being able to pick up a 10Kw charger
is a major packaging and power conversion accomplishment. It looks good,
and we can actually make it happen. It sports some really nifty copper
sculpturing work. The #4 DC cables don't radius bend very easly... but
1/2 by .125 inch Buss bar bends alot tighter. The Fuse is about 3 inches
long... and is larger than some I have seen in controller feed
lines.(It's DC rated!) I will have a green one for load and power
checkout Wensday I hope. The bare metal one is going to be mine, or the
shop's units. We have all the metal Powder coated, but we did not get
the silk screening done. So... NO logos, I have to find a die cut
sticker shop for these first 15 units. I can't let this much Bill Board
space leave my hands without some form of Add copy on it.
Funny problems with the PFC20 Buckenhancer.... we have the AC line very
nicely protected and regulated, It's right where I set the pot to... But
now the darn thing surges on the output!! It's kinda hard to believe
that I am making TOO MUCH output current. I get 35 amps into a 144 volt
load. This is rather hard on 30 amp fuses!! I dial it up for 27.5 output
amps at 120 and 240. This is the point where the buck enhancer earns
it's keep. At 120 input Well I pull exactly 23.5 line amps, swing it up
to 240 and , What was that??? the Max/min meter records a 34.5 amp point
while it's politley making 27.5 amp and pulling 23.5. Then I swing the
variac back toward 120, and at about 210 it's still pulling 23.5 while
making 30 then 32 then 33 then 34, And that's about where I save my
fuse. Simply put... on 208 or there abouts It would make about 7 amps
more than I want. Will the customer notice??? this one might not, but
anybody using a public 208 fed charge port would in a hurry!!! HUmmmm. I
have this problem of taking amps away from a client, If I know the amps
are available... But.... I don't want to be shipping $11 fuses all over
the world. And I can't expect the WAYlands of the world to keep the
output knob turned down, It's just not in there Genes.
With the new White board power stage... I can make the amps.... I have
1/2 inch wide 4 oz copper traces routed up to 1/4 inch bolt holes, this
should not warm up much even with 50 amps flowing. I have a box of
experimental 80 amps IGBTs... in hand, I also finally got the shipment
of the FAGOR hyper rectifiers yesterday. And I now Know that I can stuff
a 50 amp fuse and holder from the PFC50 into the PFC20 Case... I have
two problems..
1. It actually hurts to put marks and more screw holes in that pretty
green powder coating.
2. I can hear Joe Smalley Bitching at me that it's "only a 20 amp
charger".
I was running #37 last night, a NON BHed 20... and it was making 21
honest amps at 180 VDC into the 13 Yt powered Fiero... and the fans were
dithering in and out of idle mode. It was loafing at full ouput amps.
even at 415 output, and 240 VAC... it was making 5500 watts, the fans
were not at full speed. The new PCBs seam to make a lot less heat, and I
have the Stocker IGBTS and the cruddy Bridge rectifier in this one. I
have the nasty Mechatronic Fans... 31 CFM each, This may help a bit.
I had a return yesterday... Sigh.... it happens. It was #18 from
Portland. It's got lots of real EV miles on it, and it was now tripping
every GFI that it was plugged into. Great.... what moved, and shorted to
GND, and how bad was it??? Gray cloud forms over Rich's head.... Ok this
guy drives his EV dayly, this is a Priority 1 rebuild. DVM set to Ohms,
time to haul Ass.
Green to case 0 ohms OK passed.
AC White to Case Megs Passed .
AC BLack to Case Megs Passed.
DC White Pos to case Megs Passed.
DC Black Neg to case Megs Passed.
What no shorts???? Yup the Breaker is closed..???? Rich Scratches
head.
Lid off. 555 timer chip.. Leads bent? How the ??? Replaced.
The controller AMPS pot...Split, and Damaged??? what the heck heppened
here????
Main Rectifer... Yup 4 diodes Passed.
Q1 Still a Ig, still a diode
D4 Yup still a dual diode...
Q2 Still a Ig, Still a diode.
Well the power stage checks out...Nothing expensive blown....
About this time Dad shows up with the 50... Joy with perplextion....
What's wrong with this Charger?? replaced Pot with fresh one. the
leads were bent, the case was pulled apart at the rivets, and the leads
were internally shorted to the CASE of the pot, that is nutted to the
Case of the charger.... only when fully assembled. OK..... that means
that the 15 volt rail or the GND logic was shorted to GND and that's
what the GFIs look at... There's the path to GND. So... What else
died??
A full power test of the Power stage... makes.... 5600 watts. HEALTHY!!!
All safeties work.. but Man what a NOISE!!! Some Scope work, and ...
Well that's what the old PCBs do without the Rev3 Mode switch... I have
been spoiled with the new stuff. And this is only while bucking. HUmmm
Joe did a Darn good job on that new magic circuit.
Blue LED just lit... Fiero is ready for Abuse.. Yts are at 189.1 volts
and get this....0.3 amps. They are DIALED!!!
I put the #18's controller PCB back on, and gingerly applied power... NO
smoke... added current, and yup makes amps in a controlled fashion. Then
it makes that Bucking hiss almost squeels. That's odd. OH yea the
customer has it diled to 119.5 volts. Bucking like MAD. 5 months ago we
were happy we could get them to do this without getting in trouble, Now
if I even hear one , I am irritated!! This charger was assembled with
Orion Fans, nice and quite... You can't even hear them idle... I had to
look in the back to see if the Fans were really turning. After a couple
of Minutes of full amps... they slowly came to speed, Sheesh!! Still
really quite. They sure don't blow my shirt around like the Mechatronics
do.
The charger just passed all the tests with flying colors. I had Dad
take it back with him, giving the client about a 4 hour turn around. UPS
at 10am back in box by 2pm, on the way to Portland by 6pm.
Boy I have a renewed respect of How far we have come in the last 18
units shipped.
Now lets see.... the APT80GP60s, the Fagor 50 ampers, A Buck enhancer,
the proto Mechatronics...A 50 amp output fuse... I think #38 needs to
replace my trusty # 11 in Goldie. Hey I gotta have the hotest box...
But that leaves the First PFC50 for Joe at Woodburn..... Ummmm hard
choices.....
--
Rich Rudman
Manzanita Micro
www.manzanitamicro.com
1-360-297-7383,Cell 1-360-620-6266
