PWM
PWM a.k.a. Pulse-width modulation is a voltage waveform usually seen in power electronics such as motor drives and power supplies.
The main idea in PWM is to switch input voltage either fully on or off so rapidly that output device "feels" only the average voltage caused by pulsed voltage.
Contents
Pros and cons in power applications
Pros
- Very high efficiency due to low losses in electronics
- Usually very little heat sinking needed
- Easy to produce in digital circuits
- Robust
Cons
- Increased EMI noise compared to linear voltage
Usage in GD products
Motor output
All GD motor drives produce PWM signal to motor. I.e. if drive supply voltage is 48VDC, then motor output pins will be driven either to 0V or 48V at switching rate of 15-20kHz.
Inductance of motor coils will average the PWM pulses to equivalent DC. If motor inductance is very low, additional inductor is needed between drive and motor phases.
As command signal
In some drive models, PWM signal can be used also as reference signal to replace analog signal (the +/- 10V control). In this case PWM voltage is typically 3-5V and the duty cycle of signal determines the amplitude.
Compared to analog input in VSD products 0% PWM duty cycle equals -10V, 50% equals 0V and 100% equals +10V.
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