Ok well here is my dilemma.

I repair automatic pinsetting equipment. The issue I'm having is within the automatic triggering system.

The triggering system runs on 32v DC. However due to the cost of the solenoid that controls it, I was hoping to use an AC solenoid instead which I have an abundant access to.

I did hook it up to an AC solenoid to see what would happen and here's the results. The AC solenoid does fire, but the triggering system would respond erratically meaning that it would not always complete the triggering cycle.

This is the breakdown of the triggering system. It has a 24v AC input from the transformer, then within the triggering control box it generates a 32v DC output for the control of the 2 triggering solenoids and the emitter and receivers. I plan on using one of the DC solenoids.

Can I use a RC snubber to block out the noise that the AC sol generates so the triggering will not be inconsistant.

Triggering operation on the pinsetter:
1. Ball is thrown, and rake sol drops the rake.
2. Emitter/receiver beam is broken from ball, and maachine is triggered by the other sol.

 

What are the relative resistances of the two (AC versus DC) solenoids? If the new resistance is too high, the solenoid may not have enough force. If it's too low, you may be over loading the driver or power supply.

 

Phil... deriving a DC power pulse from an AC source is erratic because the triggering point along the AC waveform is random. Thus, the current ramp-up is not consistent.

Regards, Phil Corso