TE Technology TC-36-25-RS232 User Manual

TE Technology Equipment

Table of contents

Document Outline

 THE LATEST REVISION OF THIS MANUAL IS AVAILABLE AT www.tetech.com. Verify that you are using the latest revision available.
 The TC-36-25 RS232 should not be used as a toy, or serious injury could result. The TC-36-25 RS232 should only be used for its intended purpose of providing temperature control of TE Technology’s thermoelectric devices only. The controller is intend...
 Do not use in an explosive or potentially explosive environment.
 Do not use the TC-36-25 RS232 to control capacitive or inductive loads or the controller could be damaged and/or overheat. Examples of capacitive or inductive loads include but are not limited to motors, fans, filters, and solenoids.
 Do not allow the electrical connections on the printed circuit board to touch any electrically conductive surfaces.
 Do not operate in an environment where the controller could come in contact with condensation, water, metal shavings, dirt or other contaminants, or electrically conductive materials.
 Use ESD (Electro Static Discharge) protection when installing and handling the controller.
 Do not touch any of the electrical connections or components of the TC-36-25 RS232 while the controller is energized. Doing so can disrupt the function of the controller.
 Do not use if the controller has been damaged in any way.
 Only qualified technicians should install and operate this controller with the appropriate personal protective equipment.
 Improper tuning of this temperature controller can lead to excessive thermal cycling and/or overheating of the thermoelectric device, either of which are known to reduce the lifetime of any thermoelectric device. Care should be taken to prevent the...
 The temperature controller base underneath the transistor-mounting area could exceed 60 C under normal operation. Use caution! Protect against accidental contact with hot surfaces.
 Use protection devices to prevent hazardous conditions and/or damage to equipment.
 Each power input that is used with the controller must be fused separately. Alternatively, a power supply with integral over-current protection may be used if it is appropriately sized for protecting the controller/TE device.
 The temperature controller is intended to be used with, or incorporated into, other machinery made by TE Technology, Inc. and must not be put into service until the relevant machinery into which it is to be incorporated into has been declared in con...
License Agreement
Setup Instructions
- 1.0 Initial Setup
-  Portions of the temperature controller (the aluminum frame near the output transistors, for example) can exceed 60 C during normal operating conditions. Temperatures greater than 60 C can result in a hazard to the user. Use caution! Protect again...
-  If the temperature controller is to be used under conditions such that its surface temperatures could possibly exceed 60 C, test the surface temperatures under the worst-case operating conditions of maximum ambient temperature and highest output cu...
-  NOTE: the maximum allowable ambient temperature for the controller is 60 C. Furthermore, the maximum allowable temperature of the controller base (underneath the transistor-mounting area) is 90 C.
-  When using one power supply for powering the controller and the TE device together, the power supply input voltage is passed directly through the controller to the TE device during the "ON" pulse. The user should choose an input voltage that is req...
-  When using two power supplies, the controller input power supply voltage must be ≥12 V but ≤36 V and provide a minimum of 200 mA current. The TE device power supply input voltage can be ≥0 V but ≤36 V, but it should be no greater than the rated inpu...
-  The TE device current rating should be no more than 25 A at the supplied input voltage regardless of whether you are using one power supply or using two independent power supplies. NOTE: the maximum allowable ambient temperature for the controller ...
-  The controller does have an internal 25 A fuse to limit current (Littelfuse PN: 142.6185.5256). This fuse provides a degree of protection to the controller. If the fuse needs replacing, be sure to compress the fuse holder tines to ensure the new fus...
-  When making a TE device from a single TE module, the maximum operating voltage is usually no more than 75% of the rated Vmax of the TE module for cooling applications. The 75% rule is based on the TE module being thermally connected to a “good” heat...
-  Power supply and TE Device wire leads should be kept as short as possible to minimize electrical losses and reduce the likelihood of generating unwanted electromagnetic interference. Use wires of a sufficient gage appropriate to the amount of electr...
-  Use protection devices to prevent hazardous conditions and/or damage to the load (e.g. cooling assembly, heater, etcetera) and other related equipment. Protection devices must operate independently of the temperature controller circuitry. Protecti...
-  Make sure the power supply is NOT energized while making electrical connections to the controller.
-  Make sure the power supplies are NOT energized while making electrical connections to the controller.
-  Do not mount the controller to a surface which is exposed to a source of heat, such as from electronics, machinery, or solar radiation.
-  Do not cover the controller with any object or otherwise restrict natural convection airflow around the controller. Doing so could cause the controller to overheat.
-  Do not mount the controller to an insulating surface. Doing so could cause the controller to overheat.
-  Do not operate the controller in such a manner as to cause the surface temperature of the circuit board or its frame to reach 70 C. Otherwise the controller might be damaged and there might be a risk of fire as a result.
-  Do not allow the controller to be exposed to water (such as from dripping or leaking water lines or from water-vapor condensation if the surface temperature of the controller is below the dew point temperature).
-  Do not allow metallic dust/shavings to contact the controller electronics.
- 2.0 Configuration Setup
-  If the alarm condition is recurring and the ALARM LATCH OFF is selected, the TE device could be damaged by thermal fatigue stress imposed by repeated long-term power cycling.
-  NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN ANALOG CURRENT LIMIT FEATURE!
- 3.0 Tuning Parameter Description
- 4.0 Calibration Parameter Description
- 5.0 Final Setup—Controller Tuning
- The tuning method follows the Ziegler-Nichols closed-loop tuning principals. The controller will first be set to a high proportional bandwidth setting with no integral or derivative function (integral gain and derivative gain = 0). Then, the bandwidt...
-  TE Technology’s standard thermoelectric cooling assemblies (TCA) have at least one fan on the heat sink. The standard configuration has the thermoelectric modules and fan(s) wired to a terminal block with jumpers across the terminals so that the fan...
- 6.0 Data Acquisition Features
- 7.0 Custom Software
Controller Wiring Diagram: One Power Supply Setup
Controller Wiring Diagram: Two Power Supplies Setup
Expansion Connector Wiring Diagram
Mechanical Package Drawing
Block Diagram
RS232 Communications Connections
Appendix A Troubleshooting Controller
APPENDIX B Troubleshooting Communications Port
APPENDIX C Serial Communications
APPENDIX D Thermistors for TC-36-25 RS232