control a clippard solinoid valve in a car

jaspittman

i am trying to control a cylinder that will be powered by compressed Co2. the Co2 will be regulated to under 50 psi. i need to know how to power a clippard proportional valve (http://www.clippard.com/store/byo_electronic/byo_proportional_valves.asp). they can be powered 0-5, 0-10 and 0-20 volts. i am using a pic bs2 to trigger the valves but it will not have the amps to power it. do i us a transistor and power it with the cars battery. if so what kind. can i get the 0-10 volt valve and use some kind of voltage regulator to power it.

Twisted Pair

Jaspittman,

Without knowing all the details and specs of your project I would use the 0-20 solenoid to stay within the voltage range of your power supply that you intend to use. As far as switching the solenoid, a transistor or SSR in the current range of your load might be a good place to start. There is some helpful information regarding switching in the Process Control book, page 67. Also, more information about transistors can be found in the What's a MicroContoller Book, page 263. These are free downloads from the Parallax Web Site. Hope this helps with your project....

Twisted Pair....

Chris Savage

I would actually recommend a simpler and safer schematic. That schematic leaves too much chance for issues. The resistor on the gate should be to ground, not the power supply and the inverter shouldn’t be in there at all. Not only does it invert the logic, but if the logic side isn’t powered the solenoid could be, which may be undesirable.

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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support