PWM BASED SPEED CONTROLLER FOR DC MOTORS

USING IC 555 TIMER

ABSTRACT

The aim of this project is to control the speed of the small dc motor using
PWM pulses based on IC 555 timer. In industry DC motor is widely uses for speed
control and load characteristics, its easy controllability provide effective and precise
output so application of DC motor is large for commercial purpose. Speed control of
DC motor is very crucial in application where required speed is precision and
correcting signal representing and to operate motor at constant speed, so we used
PWM method which are fulfill all requirements to speed control of DC motor. We can
control the speed of the DC motor by controlling the input voltage of the motor. For
that purpose we can use PWM, or pulse width modulation. This simple DC motor
speed controller circuit works with 12 volts and controls a DC motor using the 555
integrated circuit. To vary the speed of the DC motor, timer 555 was used as a PWM
(pulse width modulator). The speed variation is achieved with the P potentiometer.

INTRODUCTION

We use DC fans in many systems in our day to day life. For example, CPU
fans, fume extinguishers and many more appliances which we make use of are
operated by DC. Most of the times we will have a need to adjust the speed of the
motors to our requirement. Although some systems have an automatic adjustment
system for fan speed, not all systems possess this functionality. So, we will have to
adjust the speed of our fan ourselves occasionally.

To adjust the speed of our fan manually, there are multiple ways to do that. We
can adjust the speed by using a resistance in series with the motor. This is the simplest
of all ways but it is not usually preferred because if we want to use any devices like
microcontrollers or any other digital equipment for automating our DC fan speed, then
this method will not work in general. A more efficient way to proceed is by using
pulse width modulation technique to manage the speed of our DC motor.

BLOCK DIAGRAM

CIRUIT DIAGRAM
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

The DC bias 12 volt is directly fed to the DC motor and limited by R1 resistor
and then applied to timer IC 555, the control voltage pin 5 is not connected with any
components, timing components VR1, C2 is connected between pin 7 and threshold,
trigger pins, output is taken from pin 3 and connected with gate terminal of mosfet.
The diode D1 protects motor from back emf.

When we give supply to this circuit, the timer IC produce timing pulse at pin 3
depends on VR1 and c2 elements, this timing pulse controls the mosfet hence the
motor connected through mosfet is controlled, the pulse output from IC 555 has the
control of DC motor speed, by varying the pulse duration we can control speed of DC
motor.

In this circuit, the DC motor is operated by a 555 integrated circuit. The IC 555
in this circuit is being operated in astable mode. In this mode, the circuit can be used
as a pulse width modulator with a few small adjustments to the circuit. The frequency
of operation of the circuit is provided by the passive parameters of resistances and
capacitances attached to it. The resistance between pin-7 and pin-8, the resistance
between pin-6 and pin-7 and the capacitance between pin-2 and the ground govern the
frequency of operation and duty cycle of the ic 555 in astable mode. The duty cycle is
governed by the resistor which is in between pin-6 and pin-7 of the IC 555 timer. So,
by taking advantage of the circuits working, we can change the 555 astable
multivibrator into a pulse width modulator by using a variable resistor instead of a
constant resistor in between pin-6 and pin-7.

One of the best things about this circuit is that we can make it work as an
astable multivibrator with little hardware and by little cost which can save both the
cost involved in making it as well as the space on the printed circuit board is saved. if
we want a sophisticated pulse width modulator which works more accurately and
which can have more adjusting capabilities, then it is better to use a microcontroller
based pulse width modulator than the one which we are using now. However, the
circuit or the application for which we are using a pulse width modulator is not so
sensitive and hence does not demand so much of accuracy. In such a case, the circuit
which we are using with a bare IC 555 is better as it saves our monetary as well as
space resources in building the circuit.

The duty cycle of the circuit can be changed by changing the resistance between pin-7
and pin-6. If we increase the duty cycle, the speed of the motor increases and if we
decrease the duty cycle, the speed of the motor decreases.

According to the internal connection of the 555, DISCHARGE (pin 6) is like

an open collector in a transistor. When we provide the base current to the transistor the
DISCHARGE pin will become LOW. Here the base current is provided by OUTPUT
(pin 3) internally. This is the reason, when the output becomes HIGH correspondingly
the DISCHARGE (pin 7) will become LOW.

In our circuit we connected a pull-up resistor to the DISCHARGE (pin 7).

When the DISCHARGE (pin 7) become LOW the current from the pull-up resistor
will flow the ground and no current will flow to the gate of the MOSFET. Which
makes the MOSFET to TURN OFF. If the DISCHARGE (pin 7) becomes OPEN then
the current will flow to the gate of the MOSFET. Which makes the MOSFET to
TURN ON. In our circuit diagram the left part of the pot acts as R1 and right part as
R2 and the series capacitor as c1. Instead of R1 and R2 we used a single pot called R1.

To find the output frequency,

Frequency = 1.44 / (R1 * C1 )

IC NE555 TIMER

The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit (chip) used in a variety of timer, pulse
generation, and oscillator applications. The 555 can be used to provide time delays, as
an oscillator, and as a flip-flop element. Derivatives provide two (556) or four (558)
timing circuits in one package.
555 Timer IC is one of the commonly used IC among students and hobbyists. There
are a lot of applications of this IC, mostly used as vibrators like,
1. Astable Multivibrator,
2. Monostable Multivibrator, and
3. Bistable Multivibrator.
We can find here some circuits based on 5555 IC. This tutorial covers different
aspects of 555 Timer IC and explains its wRorking in details. So let’s first understand
what are astable, monostable and bistable vibrators.

ASTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR
This means there will be no stable level at the output. So the output will be
swinging between high and low. This character of unstable output is used as clock or
square wave output for many applications.

MONOSTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR
This means there will be one stable state and one unstable state. The stable
state can be chosen either high or low by the user. If the stable output is selected high,
then the timer always tries to put high at output. So when a interrupt is given, the
timer goes low for a short time and since the low state is unstable it goes to high after
that time. If the stable state is chosen low, with interrupt the output goes high for a
short time before coming to low.

BISTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR
This means both the output states are stable. With each interruption the output
changes and stays there. For instance the output is considered high now with
interruption it goes low and it stays low. By the next interruption it goes high.

IMPORTANT CHARACTERSTICS OF 555 TIMER IC

NE555 IC is a 8 pin device. The important electrical characteristics of timer are
that it should not be operated above 15V, it means the source voltage cannot be higher
than 15v. Second, we cannot draw more than 100mA from the chip. If don't follow
these, IC would be burnt and damaged.
Working Explanation
The timer basically consists of two primary building blocks and they are:
1. Comparators (two) or two op-amp
2. One SR flip-flop (set reset flip-flop)

As shown in the above figure there are only two important components in
timer, they are comparator and flip-flop. Lets understand what are comparators and
flip flops.

COMPARATORS
comparator is simply a device that compares the voltages at the input terminals
(inverting (- VE) and non-inverting (+VE) terminals). So depending on the difference
in the positive terminal and negative terminal at input port, the output of the
comparator is determined.
For example consider positive input terminal voltage be +5V and negative
input terminal voltage be +3V. The difference is, 5-3=+2v. Since the difference is
positive we get the positive peak voltage at the output of the comparator. For another
example, if positive terminal voltage is +3V and negative input terminal voltage be
+5V. The difference is +3-+5=-2V, since the difference input voltage is negative. The
output of comparator will be negative peak voltage.
 If for an example consider the positive input terminal as INPUT and the
negative input terminal as REFERENCE as shown in above figure. So the difference
of voltage between INPUT and REFERNCE is positive we get a positive output from
the comparator. If the difference is negative then we will get negative or ground at the
comparator output.

FLIP-FLOP
The flip-flop is a memory cell, it can store one bit of data. In the figure we can
see the truth table of SR flip-flop.
There are four states to a flip-flop for two inputs; however we need to
understand only two states of the flip- flop for this case.

Now as show in the table, for set and reset inputs we get the respective outputs.
If there is a pulse at the set pin and a low level at reset, then flip-flop stores the value
one and puts high logic at Q terminal. This state continues until the reset pin gets a
pulse while set pin has low logic. This resets the flip-flop so the output Q goes low
and this state continues until the flip-flop is set again. By this way the flip-flop stores
one bit of data. Here another thing is Q and Q bar are always opposite.
In a timer the comparator and flip-flop are brought together. Consider 9V is
supplied to the timer, because of the voltage divider formed by the resistor network
inside the timer as shown in the block diagram; there will be voltage at the comparator
pins. So because of the voltage divider network we will have +6V at the negative
terminal of the comparator one. And +3V at the positive terminal of the second
comparator.
One another thing is comparator one output is connected to reset pin of flip-
flop, so it the comparator one output goes high from low then the flip-flop will reset.
And on the other hand the second comparator output is connected to set pin of flip-
flop, so if the second comparator output goes high from low the flip-flop sets and
stores ONE.

Now if we observe carefully, for a voltage less than +3V at the trigger pin
(negative input of second comparator), the output of the comparator goes low from
high as discussed earlier. This pulse sets the flip-flop and it stores a value one.
Now if we apply a voltage higher than +6V at the threshold pin (positive input
of comparator one) , the output of comparator goes from low to high. This pulse resets
the flip-flop and the flip-flip store zero.
Another thing happens during reset of flip-flop, when it resets the discharge pin
gets connected to ground as Q1 gets turned on. Q1 transistor turns on because the
Qbar is high at reset and is connected to Q1 base.
In astable configuration the capacitor connected here discharges during this
time and so the output of timer will be low during this time.In astable configuration
the time during the capacitor charges the trigger pin voltage will be less than +3V and
so the flip-flop will store one and the output will be high.
 In an astable configuration as shown in figure,
The output signal frequency depends on RA, RB resistors and capacitor C. The
equation is given as,
Frequency(F) = 1/(Time period) = 1.44/((RA+RB*2)*C).
Here RA, RB are resistance values and C is capacitance value. By putting the
resistance and capacitance values in above equation we get the frequency of output
square wave.

High Level logic time is given as, TH= 0.693*(RA+RB)*C

Low Level logic time is given as, TL= 0.693*RB*C
Duty ratio of the output square wave is given as, Duty Cycle= (RA+RB)/(RA+2*RB).
555 Timer Pin Diagram and Descriptions
Now as shown in figure, there are eight pins for a 555 Timer IC namely,
1.Ground.
2.Trigger.
3.Output.
4.Reset.
5.Control
6.Threshold.
7.Discharge
8.Power or Vcc

Pin 1. GROUND:
This pin has no special function what so ever. It is connected to ground as
usual. For the timer to function, this pin must and should be connected to ground.

Pin 8. POWER OR VCC:

This pin also has no special function. It is connected to positive voltage. For the
timer to function to work, this pin must be connected to positive voltage of range
+3.6v to +15v.

Pin 4. RESET:
As discussed earlier, there is a flip-flop in the timer chip. The output of flip-
flop controls the chip output at pin3 directly. Reset pin is directly connected to MR
(Master Reset) of the flip-flop. On observation we can observe a small circle at the
MR of flip-flop. This bubble represents the MR (Master Reset) pin is active LOW
trigger. That means for the flip-flop to reset the MR pin voltage must go from HIGH
to LOW. With this step down logic the flip-flop gets hardly pulled down to LOW. So
the output goes LOW, irrespective of any pins.
This pin is connected to VCC for the flip-flop to stop from hard resetting.
Pin 3. OUTPUT:
This pin also has no special function. This pin is drawn from PUSH-PULL
configuration formed by transistors. The push pull configuration is shown in figure.
The bases of two transistors are connected to flip-flop output. So when logic high
appears at the output of flip-flop, the NPN transistor turns on and +V1 appears at the
output. When logic appeared at the output of flip-flop is LOW, the PNP transistor gets
turned on and the output pulled down to ground or –V1 appears at the output.
Thus how the push-pull configuration is used to get square wave at the output
by control logic from flip-flop. The main purpose of this configuration is to get the
load off flip-flop back. Well the flip-flop obviously cannot deliver 100mA at the
output. Well until now we discussed pins that do not alter the condition of output at
any condition. The remaining four pins are special because they determine the output
state of timer chip, we will discuss each of them now.

Pin 5. CONROL PIN:

The control pin is connected from the negative input pin of comparator one.
Consider for a case the voltage between VCC and GROUND is 9v. Because of the
voltage divider in the chip as observed in figure3 of page8, The voltage at the control
pin will be VCC*2/3 (for VCC = 9, pin voltage=9*2/3=6V ).
The function of this pin to give the user the directly control over first
comparator. As shown in above figure the output of comparator one is fed to the reset
of flip-flop. At this pin we can put a different voltage, say if we connect it to +8v.
Now what happens is, the THRESHOLD pin voltage must reach +8V to reset the flip-
flop and to drag the output down.
For normal case, the V-out will go low once the capacitor gets charge up to
2/3VCC (+6V for 9V supply). Now since we put up a different voltage at control pin
(comparator one negative or reset comparator). Capacitor should charge until its
voltage reaches the control pin voltage. Because of this force capacitor charging, the
turn on time and turn off time of signal changes. So the output experiences a different
turn on torn off ration. Normally this pin is pulled down with a capacitor. To avoid
unwanted noise interference with the working.
Pin 2. TRIGGER:
Trigger pin is dragged from the negative input of comparator two. The
comparator two output is connected to SET pin of flip-flop. With the comparator two
output high we get high voltage at the timer output. So we can say the trigger pin
controls timer output.
Now here what to observe is, low voltage at the trigger pin forces the output
voltage high, since it is at inverting input of second comparator. The voltage at the
trigger pin must go below VCC*1/3 (with VCC 9v as assumed,
VCC*(1/3)=9*(1/3)=3V). So the voltage at the trigger pin must go below 3V (for a 9v
supply) for the output of timer to go high. If this pin is connected to ground, the output
will be always high.

Pin 6. THRESHOLD:
Threshold pin voltage determines when to reset the flip-flop in the timer. The
threshold pin is drawn from positive input of comparator1. Here the voltage difference
between THRESOLD pin and CONTROL pin determines the comparator 2 output and
so the reset logic. If the voltage difference is positive the flip-flop gets resetted and
output goes low. If the difference in negative, the logic at SET pin determines the
output.
If the control pin is open. Then a voltage equal to or greater than VCC*(2/3)
(i.e.6V for a 9V supply) will reset the flip-flop. So the output goes low. So we can
conclude that THRESHOLD pin voltage determines when the output should go low,
when the control pin is open.

Pin 7. DISCHARGE:
This pin is drawn from the open collector of transistor. Since the transistor (on
which discharge pin got taken, Q1) got its base connected to Qbar. Whenever the
ouput goes low or the flip-flop gets resetted, the discharge pin is pulled to ground.
Because Qbar will be high when Q is low, So the transistor Q1 gets turns ON as base
of transistor got power.
This pin usually discharges capacitor in ASTABLE configuration, so the name
DISCHARGE.

PULSE WIDTH MODULATION

PWM have many of the characteristics of a control system. A simple method

to control the speed of a DC motor is to control driving voltage, when the voltage is
high the speed would be high. In many applications normal voltage control would
cause lot of power loss on control system, so PWM method is mostly used in DC
motor speed control application.

If duty cycle is more, then the speed of the motor will be high, if it is less , the
speed of the motor will be low. When applying PWM controlling method, keep in
mind that using a motor is as low pass system. PWM method is the high frequency
avoided and we know that large motor is mainly inductive so avoid high frequency,
hence will not perform well using high frequencies. This method work on low
frequency so lower frequency is better than higher frequency. .We can easily
understand by example. On an Off time is referred to as “duty cycle”. The figure 2
shows the waveforms of 10%, 50% and 90% duty cycle signal. As we can see in
figure 2, for 10% waveform 10% duty cycle signal in on and 90% off while a for 90%
waveform 90% duty cycle signal is on and 10% off. These signals are send to motor.
The end result of the PWM is that power is send to the motor and it can adjust from
0% to 100% duty cycle with stable control and high efficiency.

MOSFET IRF540

Third generation Power MOSFETs IRF 540 provide the designer with the best
combination of fast switching, ruggedized device design, low on-resistance and cost-
effectiveness. The TO-220AB package is universally preferred for all commercial-
industrial applications at power dissipation levels to approximately 50 W. The low
thermal resistance and low package cost of the TO-220AB contribute to its wide
acceptance throughout the industry.

IRF 540 MOSFET Pin Details

FEATURES

 Dynamic dV/dt Rating

 Repetitive Avalanche Rated
 175 °C Operating Temperature
 Fast Switching
 Ease of Paralleling
 Simple Drive Requirements
 Compliant to RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC
ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS

CONCLUSION

We have designed fixed speed control system for DC motor, which has
reliability, precision and adaptability for different system ratting with response. It
means the motor will run at fixed speed at any load condition. When amount of load is
applied the speed does not vary and software is made according to the requirement of
speed control. This designed system and implemented automatic speed control system
of DC motor, it control the speed of DC motor by using PWM method.
REFERENCES
[1]. Hughes Electrical And Electronic Technology, Edward Hughes, Ninth edition,
Pearson Education Ltd.
[2]. Power Electronics And Motor Control, W.Sheperd, L.N.Hulley and D.T.W.Liang,
Second edition.
[3]. Power Electronics Thyristor Controlled Power For Electric Motors, Raymond
Ramshaw.
[4]. Basic Control System Technology, CJ chesmond, First south Asian edition, Viva
books private limited.
[5]. Electric Motor Handbook, H.Wayne Beaty, James L.Kirtley, Jr., Mc Graw-Hill
Book Company.
[6]. Electronics In Industry, George M.Chute and Robert D.Chute, Fourth edition, Mc
Graw-Hill Kogakusha Ltd.
[7]. Power Electronics In Motor Drive, Martin Brown.
[8]. Pulse Digital And Switching Waveforms, Mildman and Taub, International
student edition.
[9]. Timer/Generator Circuits Manual, R.M.Marston.