Hello, I have an issue, Im trying to power a solenoid with 2 sources. The first source is a hoist controller off amazon. I wanted a wireless remote and figured that was the cheapest way. Second source is my UR10 cobot, from what I understand is that this gives out a 24v signal but I has its own separate ground. More importantly, I do not want power being sent back to the cobot (If i just spliced the 2 inputs.). Current plan is to use a relay, but in a way that im not sure is right. I want to have power come in to the NC and the NO plugs and then, where the power normally enters, Ill attach the positive of my pneumatic solenoid. From there I will attach the switched power from my cobot to one side of the coil and the other to my cobot ground.
Will this work as a way to isolate my robot from the 24v system that controls my pneumatics? Im sure a PLC is probably the right choice but im not making money off of this so its hard for me to throw a bunch of money at it. If theres a better way, I would love to hear it. I just bought a UR10 from an auction so I could learn programing and other automation. So feel free to state the obvious.
Relays are a great way to do what you’re describing. Just let the UR’s output turn the relay on and off, and pass the 24v from the other power supply across the contacts and you’re golden. Same basic principle for controlling larger voltage sources from a small voltage device such as turning a 120v outlet on and off from a 5v microcontroller.
Additionally, the power supply in the robot controller is designed to take input power from a secondary source, and is often ADVISED to do this for exactly the reason you’re describing: Get the UR on the same circuit as other equipment. You do this by just removing the jumper wires that are in the 24 and 0 terminals on the controller and wire in the external power supply. But if you feel uncertain about that, then the relay is a perfectly fine approach.