6/7/2015

SpeedControllerforSmallCoolingFans

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HOME>>CIRCUITLAB
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Firstpublishedon:182014

SpeedControllerforSmallCoolingFans
PetreTZVPetrov
TechDrive
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2K

Small cooling fans are used in some equipment for cooling semiconductor devices.
Thecircuitgivenhereisofasimpleautomaticspeedcontrollerfora12V,0.6W(or
1.2W) cooling fan that increases the fans speed when temperature rises, and vice
versa.
Circuitandworking
Fig.1showscircuitdiagramofthespeedcontrollerforasmallcoolingfan.Resistor
R1 limits the initial current for the motor and lowers the speed of rotation, if
needed. The temperature control is done with one or more NTC (negative
temperature coefficient) thermistors connected in series with the electrical motor.
Thenumberofthermistorsdependsontheirpowerdissipation.
Usually you cannot find lowcost NTCs with enough power
dissipation.Thereforefouroftheminparallelareusedhere.This
way power dissipation and selfheating of the NTCs are reduced.
It is better to use NTCs with tolerance of 2%. The NTCLE100E3
areavailablewithnominalvaluesof3.3ohmto470kiloohmand
havemaximumpowerdissipationof0.5Wat+55C.
Table I shows easilyavailable NTC thermistors that can be used in the circuit. The resistors R2 through R5 are
equalisationandlimitingresistors.Theseresistorsareusuallybetween3%and15%oftheresistanceofthethermistors
at+25C.
LED1 is used as power on/off indicator for the circuit. LED2 indicates the
speed of rotation of the fan. If speed of the motor is high, LED2 glows
brightly, and vice versa. Diode D1 is used to prevent back EMF when power
supplyisremoved.
Connector CON1 is used for the power supply. It is better to have power
supply 10 to 25% higher than the nominal working voltage of the fan to
compensateforthevoltagedropacrosstheresistorsandthethermistors.
Voltage drop across resistor R8 is proportional to the current in the motor.
ConnectorCON2isusedtoconnectadigitalvoltmetertomeasurethevoltage
drop.
Constructionandtesting
An actualsize, singleside PCB for the circuit is shown in Fig. 2 and its
component layout in Fig. 3. After assembling the circuit on a PCB, enclose it
inasuitableplasticbox.

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SpeedControllerforSmallCoolingFans

Fig.1:Circuitdiagramofthespeedcontroller

Fig.2:AnactualsizePCBforthespeedcontroller

Fig.3:ComponentlayoutforthePCB
Download:http://www.electronicsforu.com/electronicsforu/circuitarchives/my_documents/my_files/Speed_Controller.zip
FixallthefourNTCthermistors(NTC1throughNTC4)atappropriatelocations,withintheequipmentwhoseheatistobe

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SpeedControllerforSmallCoolingFans
dissipated, for temperature sensing. On front panel of the speed controller fix switch S1 for power on/off, LED1 for
poweron/offindicationandLED2forfanspeedindication.Beforeusingthecircuit,verifythatvoltagesatvariouspoints
inthecircuitareasperTableII.
EFYnote.Allthefourthermistorsshouldbeofsametype.
The author was a researcher and assistant professor in Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria) and expertlecturer in
OFPPT(Casablanca),KingdomofMorocco.NowheisworkingasanelectronicsengineerintheprivatesectorBulgaria

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PostComment|7Comments

suleman 155daysago

amaizing
Reply
Rahul 136daysago

Useful
Reply

UdayKulkarni 115daysago

Itisreallyverygoodproject.ImtakingthisasmyMiniproject.Thanx....
Reply 1Reply
sowmya 107daysago

hiudayplscanuhelpmeinelectronicsifuknowanybasics...
Reply
AKHILJOSEPHDIOUS 89daysago

Whichsoftwareyouareusingtoproducethepcblayout.
Reply
SombaranGupta 29daysago

ididthisprojectwith10kiloohmNTCanditisworking.
Reply
NAVEEN 4daysago

IDIDCOMPLETETHISCKTWITH12OOHMTHERMISTERAND12VDCFAN.ITISWORKINGFINEANDITISVERY
MUCHUSEFULL.
Reply
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