I have a Tic 36v4 and I want to control the max current setting from an arduino between 1A and 4A
Reading the documentation I am unsure as to the number to set, some parts of the documentation say its a 7 bit unsigned so a value of 0 to 127 to set mA 0 to 9000ma and some parts say the arduino library just needs the number in mA
ie tic.setCurrentLimit(uint16_t limit) so I could say in the arduino code tic.setCurrentLimit(4000) ? to set 4A across the coils ? My problem seems to be that if I set 4A via the tic command centre and run the motor, it gets warm but not too bad. However if I set tic.setCurrentLimit(4000) and run it from the arduino , the motor gets very hot very quickly ( too hot ) . So the arduino command is def pushing a lot of current through, when 4Amp via the control center is acceptable. My motor is rated at 4 to 5A. Its a 57A3 Nema 23
I just want to confirm the correct command to use in the Arduino code please.
Many thanks
Hello.
The current limit setting on the Tic and the setCurrentLimit() implementation in the Tic Arduino library are different. Essentially, if you use the setCurrentLimit() function in the Arduino library, you should be able to specify the current limit in units of mA and not worry about the details of how the current limit setting on the Tic works.
I recommend reading the library documentation for the setCurrentLimit() command. Since the current limit setting works differently on the various Tic models, please note that you should call setProduct() to specify which Tic you are using (e.g. tic.setProduct(TicProduct::Tic36v4); ). As described in the library documentation, not all current limits are achievable, but if you specify a current limit that is not achievable for the Tic you are using, it will round down to the next usable value. If you want to understand more about which values are not achievable, you can find information about it in the “Current limit” heading of the Setting reference" section of the Tic user’s guide, but in short, the 36v4 has a resolution of about 71mA for the current limit setting.
I would not expect a difference between setting the current limit to 4000mA in the Tic Control Center or through the Tic Arduino library. By default, the Tic 36v4 will prevent you from setting a current limit above 4000mA, so unless you override this protection using the “Enable unrestricted current limits” setting, you should not be able to set it higher than that. What value gets returned if you read the current limit with the getCurrentLimit() function in the Arduino library after setting it to 4000mA?
Brandon
