Standard Thermal Control Products
Mini Fan Controller C600
Degree Controls announces the availability of the C600, a unique fan controller, which controls and modulates fan RPM based on measuring the real-time air velocity. This is an ideal way to ensure the linear air velocity determined during system design is available and maintained in the actual system while external factors like filter clog, inlet blockage, or different populations of components and cabling, affect the airflow rate.
The user programs the desired air velocity set point at the sensor location, which is derived empirically during the prototyping or analysis stage of the product. The sensed air velocity is compared to the set point in order to generate a PWM control input to the fan. In this fashion, the C600 increases and decreases fan RPM in order to maintain the desired air velocity.
The controller also communicates to a host systeme by means of I2C or UART, and can provide the air velocity, air temperature, as well as the PWM signal generated, all in real-time.
Should your cooling fan(s) be unable to generate the desired flow requirement, then the controller would initiate a low flow alarm to the system. Because the C600 also measures air temperature, a second configurable over-temp alarm can be initiated to the system. If, within a system, there is access to monitor fan RPM, it is possible to predict filter clog by comparing the fan RPM to the sensed air velocity over time.
Advanced users will also implement the C600 to control fan speed using a temperature set point, instead of an air velocity set point. In this case, the C600 will modulate fan RPM to maintain the desired temperature using a tunable PI loop.
The controller is extremely compact, less than 1 square inch, using 7 pins on a standard 0.1" centers. The component is mounted directly to the PCB, wherever air velocity or temperature is most critical in the system.
If long term reliability, acoustic noise, and power consumption are critical concerns in an application, implementing the C600 fan controller is the most effective way to ensure thermal performance is met, while optimizing these variables.
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