8 Key Elements of DC Solenoid Design Guide Technical Support
AS a professional leading DC solenoid manufacture, we think the optimal design of a DC Solenoid lies in below 8 key element points:
No.1 the Direction of Motion Required
Solenoids can be designed to provide a push, a pull, or a rotary movement. You need to define which action fits your application.
1.1 Open Frame Solenoid:
This type of solenoid uses a stroke operation with more control, making it suitable for a lot of industrial application. , like circuit breakers, camera shutters, scanners, coin counters, and gaming machines. Though it utilizes DC configuration, DC frame solenoids are compatible with AC power equipment.
1.2 The Holding Solenoid:
Fundamental of holding-typed electromagnet is to rapidly change the magnet field by controlling the current that passing through coil. After energizing, the magnet field will concentrated in the center of plunger, but other areas won’t actually generate any magnet force.
1.3 Latching-typed of electromagnet is kind of open frame type but with advantage of permanent magnet. Plunger will move toward to the center of solenoid body while energizing, but it will be still “holding” at the same position even after de-energizing because of the existing of generated magnet field. With the characteristic, customer could get the benefit of power saving, and also avoid the risk of coil being burnt out.
1.4 Tubular type solenoid, tubular solenoid has Linear push pull feature and is use in many starting devices, such as vehicle ignition systems, electric locks to enable the door to withstand significant forces when locked.
1.5 Rotary solenoids
Rotary function using a metal core situated on a grooved disc. The grooves are sized according to the slots and on, the core withdraws into the solenoid’s body and the disc core rotates. When it’s powered off, a spring pushes the disc core back to its starting position. Because they are more robust than other types of solenoids, rotary solenoids are often used in industrial applications like automated shutters and lasers.
1.6 Solenoid Valve;
Solenoid valves are used wherever fluid flow has to be controlled automatically. They are being used to an increasing degree in the most varied types of plants and equipment. The variety of different designs which are available enables a valve to be selected to specifically suit the application in question.
No.2 Solenoid Size
You need to identify the available space into which the solenoid will be installed—length, width, and height. Be prepared to understand that the space you have allowed may not be sufficient to meet the subsequent criteria you define below.
No. 3 Operating Stroke
The distance the solenoid plunger/armature must travel): The amount of force a solenoid can generate decreases exponentially with the distance that the solenoid plunger (armature) must travel. The maximum distance a solenoid armature can travel depends on the size of the solenoid. Smaller/shorter solenoids provide short strokes (< .25”), and larger/longer solenoids can provide more stroke (< 2”). You need to estimate how much mechanical movement will be required to achieve the desired result in your application.
No. 4 Actuation Force
Actuation Force is typically defined as the minimum amount of force required at the longest stroke in your application. You need to estimate how much force will be required to achieve the desired result in your application.
NO. 5. Duty Cycle
Duty Cycle is the amount of time the solenoid is energized (ON) versus the time it is de-energized (OFF). Duty Cycle is typically defined by terms such as Continuous Duty (100% ON Time), Intermittent Duty (25% ON, 75% OFF time), or Pulse Duty (< 10% ON time). The first step toward identifying the Duty Cycle your application may require would be to estimate how much time the solenoid must be energized (ON) in order to perform the required function. From a size perspective, a shorter duty cycle will enable one to achieve more pull-in force, at a longer stroke, for a given size solenoid, which may help to resolve size constraints in your application.
No. 6. Environmental Considerations
The three Key Environmental Factors you must define are:
Ambient Temperature:
The coil of a solenoid generates heat when power is applied. The hotter a solenoid becomes, the lower the actuation force it will be able to generate. The upper limit for the solenoid’s operating temperature is fixed by virtue of the insulation system that can be provided by the materials from which the solenoid is made. Higher ambient temperatures in a particular application will allow for less temperature rise of the coil, which will in effect, de-rate the ability of the solenoid to provide the force required. For this reason, it is necessary for you to define the ambient temperature in which the equipment you are designing will operate.
Humidity/Moisture/Dust:
Solenoids must be specifically designed to survive in extreme environments. High Humidity/Moisture environments require that the coil be protected from moisture ingression, and the exterior of the solenoid be protected against corrosion. High dust levels require that the solenoid armature be protected against dust ingression. Unfortunately, the cost of the solenoid increases when additional environmental protection is required. For this reason, it is important that you define what level of humidity (moisture), and dust protection your application will require, so that the most cost effective solenoid design can be selected.
Noise environment:
If there is noise due to environmental factors, it is necessary to add anti-collision devices, gaskets and other structures to the structure.
NO. 7. Solenoid lifespan
Product life: refers to each on-off time as a standard. The solenoid's housing and other key material can be replaced according to different design requirements and can reach millions of times for the desired solenoid lifespan.
No. 8. Electronic Wire Connection
Common connection included:
connection wires, PIN pins, terminals and connectors. Depends on different needs.
Connection wire:
A portion of the copper wire is reserved at the wiring head of the conductor and is not covered with glue. The copper wire is fixed during installation. Since the electromagnet is generally designed to be installed on the controller, the position of the bare wire on the head will be soldered, so that it is installed on the controller. Just solder directly onto the board.
Insert PIN:
Responsible for signal transmission. During the connector design process, contact is made by the mating and tail ends. The mating end usually consists of an elastic part and a rigid part to ensure the contact reliability between the connector plug and socket. Cable connections use board or wire-to-board interconnections.
Terminal:
The wire ends of a circuit are connected to the electronic components of electrical equipment to achieve signal transmission and power delivery. Common terminal types include screw terminals, crimp terminals, plug-in terminals, etc.
Connector:
Terminals can be divided into four types: welding wire type, crimping wire type, insulated threading type and solderless winding type. In printed circuit boards, contact termination forms can be divided into four types: direct welding, curved welding, surface mount and solderless press-fit type, which can form a male-female plug-in design with the PIN. No detailed description is given here.