Technical Note 413

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

Two Position Microelectric

Valve Actuator (Control module serial numbers starting with EM2C)*
The microelectric actuator consists of a control module, a stepper motor/gearbox assembly, a manual
controller (use is optional), a universal AC input (100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz) to 24 VDC power supply,
and the interconnecting cables. The actuator is self-adjusting from 30 to 90 no valve alignment is
necessary. Once a valve is installed by tightening the clamp screw, the actuator senses the positive
stops within the valve and memorizes them in the first four moves.
The time it takes a valve to cycle from Position A to Position B
depends on the amount of rotation involved. To determine the
number of degrees in the angle of rotation, divide 360 by the
number of ports in the valve. Then consult the table at right.

  











  





   



    

     

Installation and Use

 



Getting Started

Figure 1 on the next page shows how to connect the various actuator components. There are four
connectors on the control module, keyed and sized to p
revent incorrect connection.

Cable and Connector Functions

Input power (20-30 VDC, with 24-28 VDC preferred) is supplied through
a coaxial connector: the inner pin is + voltage and the outer pin is
ground. The average DC current requirement is 2.5 amps. Standby
current draw is 60 milliamps. The actuator should not share a power
supply with other noise-sensitive electronics, as the high current draw
can cause problems.





 


inner

+20-30 VDC power

outer

Ground

  


Motor driver output is through the five-pin connector: pins 1, 2, 4, and

5 carry the stepper motor phase drive signals. Pin 3 is grounded and
tied to the cable shield to reduce electrical noise.

Phase B

Phase B

Ground

A three-pin connector is used for the RS-232 interface: pin 1 is ground,

pin 2 is transmit to the host computer, and pin 3 is receive from the
host. (A discussion on serial control of the actuator starts on page 3.)

Phase A

Phase A

The ten-pin connector is for the manual controller or for digital input/output signals; the actuator can
be controlled by either or both. The manual controller has a through port, so an additional cable can
provide simultaneous control by an external system. (Digital control of the actuator is discussed on
page 3.)
* Serial numbers are on the underside of the control module. (Figure 2) Actuators of this series, obsoleted in 2010, are further identified
by a metallic control module housing. If your actuator control module has a plastic housing and a serial number starting with E2CA,
please refer to Technical Note 421.
1

POWER SUPPLY
P/N PS24VDC-CE

TO 110 OR 220 VAC

(User must supply other
line cord configurations)

LINE CORD (IEC-320)

P/N I-W-17600

TO
EXTERNAL
CONTROL
SYSTEM

OPTIONAL
INPUT POWER CABLE
P/N I-22535-CE

BLACK / WHITE STRIPE

+24-28 VDC
GND
BLACK
DIGITAL INPUT/
OUTPUT CABLE
P/N I-22537
MOTOR DRIVER
OUTPUT CABLE
P/N I-22645

MOTOR/GEARBOX
ASSEMBLY
P/N EQMA (Highest speed)
EHMA (High speed and
Medium torque)
EDMA (High torque
ETMA (Highest torque)

PIN 1

MANUAL
CONTROLLER
(Use optional)
P/N I-22689

MOUNTING
BRACKET
P/N I-22596

PIN 1

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

POSITION POSITION
A
B

2 POSITION ACTUATOR
CONTROL MODULE
CLAMP
RING

PIN 1
CLAMP
SCREW

POSITION
INDICATOR
LIGHTS

P/N:
EQCA-CE (Highest speed)
EHCA-CE (High speed)
EPCA-CE (Medium torque)
EDCA-CE (High torque)
ETCA-CE (Highest torque)

POSITION

PIN 1

MANUAL CONTROLLER CABLE

P/N I-22537-01

TO COMPUTER

OPTIONAL
SERIAL PORT
(RS-232) CABLE
P/N I-22697

DB-9
CONNECTOR
(FEMALE)

Figure 1: Actuator and controller connections

2

PIN 1

Mounting

OK
OK

The actuator should be oriented so that any potential leakage of liquid

from the valve or fittings flows away from rather than into the actuator.
(below) Figure 2 provides the mounting dimensions for the stepper motor/gearbox assembly.
3.4" for EH
4.4" for ET

1.95"

3.24"

1.375"

2.7"

2.2"
.9"

3.9"

SERIAL
NUMBER
TAG

3.1"
.7"

.973"

1"

1"

.75"

8-32
MOUNTING HOLES*

CONTROL MODULE

The length of the 8-32 screws used for panel

mounting is not critical, as long as they extend
at least 1/4" into the actuator casting.

Initialization

Figure 2

Any time a valve is removed and reinstalled, the actuator must be initialized by following these steps:
1. Cycle the actuator twice with no valve, or with either end of the motor driver output cable unplugged.
2. Plug the cable back in, or put the valve back in the clamp ring. Orient the valve as desired and tighten
the clamp screw.
For the next few cycles the actuator will move at half its normal speed while it looks for the valve stops.
Once it determines the proper stroke, the actuator will return to normal speed. If you dont hear a
change in speed, make sure that the clamp screw is tight.

Digital Control of the Actuator

Digital I/O Cable

Digital Communication Protocol

Pin #

Pins 1 and 2 provide ground and +5 volt outputs, respectively; pins 3

and 4 are TTL outputs for Position A and Position B, and are considered
asserted at 0 volts and deasserted at 5 volts. (This is sometimes referred to as negative true logic.) Pins 5 and 6 are digital inputs for
switching to Position A and Position B. They can be driven either by 5 volt
TTL/CMOS logic or by contact closure to ground (Pin 1). Isolated contact closure outputs are available at Pins 7 and 8 for Position A and Pins
9 and 10 for Position B. If there is a positioning error due to valve sticking, clamp ring slippage, etc., the output is set to 0 (all lines high for a
negative true output).

Signal Description

Ground

+5 VDC

Position A output

Position B output

Position A input

Position B input

Position A relay contact output

Position A relay contact output

Position B relay contact output

10

Position B relay contact output

Input Modes
Two input mode options are provided to expand the control flexibility of the actuator.

Mode 1
In mode 1 (default) the digital inputs are set to be compatible with the standard Valco AC actuator.
Asserting input pin 5 causes the actuator to go to Position A, and asserting input pin 6 sends it to
3

Position B. Operation in this mode requires two relays, as shown in

the illustration at right. Relays should be asserted (turned on) for
a minimum of 30 msec and deasserted (turned off) for a minimum
of 30 msec before the next assertion.

Mode 2
Operation in this mode requires one relay. In mode 2, asserting
pin 5 causes the actuator to toggle from the current to the opposite position. Asserting pin 6 causes the actuator to toggle to the
opposite position, delay for a preset period of time (the default is
100 ms), and toggle back to the original position.

Mode 1
PIN 1

RELAY 1

PIN 5
PIN 6

RELAY 2
CABLE (I-22537)

Mode 2
Toggle setup (A

A)
PIN 1

RELAY

PIN 5

CABLE (I-22537)

Delay setup (A
B)
Mode Setup
To set the actuator mode, connect it to an RS-232 serial port as
RELAY
described in the section below, Establishing Serial
Communications. To see the current setting, enter the SM
CABLE (I-22537)
command as shown in the Serial Commands chart on page 5. To
change the mode, enter SMn, where n is 1 or 2. The DT command displays the current delay time
setting. This setting can be changed with the DTn command, where n is the desired time from 0 to
65,000 milliseconds.
PIN 1

PIN 6

Mode settings are saved when the power is off.

Serial Control of the Actuator

Establishing Serial Communications
Items required:
Valco cable assembly I-22697 or equivalent
Terminal emulation or communication software such as QModem, ProComm, or
Windows Terminal or HyperTerminal, running on a PC-compatible computer
1. Connect the I-22697 cable to the actuator as indicated in Figure 1, and set the serial port at 9600
baud, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no hardware or software handshaking.
2. With the software running, check the bi-directional communication link between the keyboard/monitor of the computer and the serial port by typing VR<enter>. If the link is functioning and an actuator
ID has not been set, a message similar to the following will appear on your monitor, giving the
program number and date of the actuator firmware.
I-PD-ETX88RXX (XX = revision number)
2 - Aug - 99
If there is no response, it is possible that the ID has already been set. To force a response from a
device with an unknown ID, type *VR<enter>. The asterisk is a substitute ID wild card which will
elicit a response from all devices on line, no matter what their ID is.

Programmers note: To permit multiple actuators to share the same computer serial port, the actuator
serial port output is deactivated when not in use. At the beginning of a message the first character
transmitted is sometimes lost due to a framing error. To avoid this, a NULL character (zero value byte) is
sent at the beginning of each message. Most terminal programs will ignore the NULL character, but custom
software may require a character trap to delete it.

Serial Communication Protocol

Serial Port (RS-232) Cable

Serial communication is based on an ASCII string protocol. Carriage return (OD hex) characters parse the communications by defining the end
of each command. Line feed characters (OA hex) are ignored.
A three-pin connector is used for the RS-232 interface: pin assignments
are indicated at right. Software flow control (Xon/Xoff) and hardware handshaking are not supported.
4

Pin # Signal Description

1

Ground

Transmit to host

Receive from host

Serial Commands
CP<enter>

Displays the current actuator position

CW<enter>

Sends the actuator to Position A

CC<enter>

Sends the actuator to Position B

GOn<enter>

Sends the actuator to Position n, where n is A or B

TO<enter>

Toggles the actuator to the opposite position

TT<enter>

Toggles the actuator to the opposite position, waits a preset

delay time, then rotates back to the original position.

ID<enter>

Displays the current device ID setting

IDn<enter>

Sets the device ID to value n, from 0 to 9

NOTE: When the ID feature is enabled, all commands
to the device must be prefaced by the ID number.
Entering ID* disables this feature (discussed below.)

ID*<enter>

Clears the ID variable

SB<enter>

Displays the current baud rate

SBnnnn<enter>

Sets the baud rate to 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 (default), 14400,
19200, 28800, or 38400. The parity setting, number of data
bits, and number of stop bits cannot be changed. (See
section entitled Setting a New Baud Rate on the next page)

SOnnnn<enter>

Turns off the position outputs after a delay, set in milliseconds

to the closest 5 ms interval, from 0 to 30,000 ms. The outputs
are always on (SO=0) by default.

SM<enter>

Displays the current digital input mode (See section entitled

Digital Control of the Actuator, subhead Input Modes)

SMn<enter>

Sets the digital input mode to Mode n, where n is 1 or 2

DT<enter>

Displays the current delay time in milliseconds

DTn<enter>

Sets the delay time from 0 to 65,000 milliseconds

NOTE: The total delay time equals n = 2 milliseconds

VR<enter>

Displays the part number and date of the firmware

/?<enter>

Displays list of valid commands

IN<enter>

Starts a re-inialization sequence

With the software-settable device ID feature enabled, the serial port output (transmit line) of the
actuator is disabled (high impedance). Thus, as many as ten actuators can be controlled from a single
host serial port for a temporary multidrop application. For permanent multidrop applications, the
RS-485 option is the factory-recomended solution. The table above describes and explains all the
commands available.
Using the Device ID Feature
Actuators are shipped from the factory with this feature disabled. When its enabled, the actuator
responds only to commands which begin with the correct ID prefix, allowing up to 10 actuators to be
controlled from one serial port. A single command can be broadcast to all actuators by using an
asterisk (*) as the command prefix. Note: Any broadcast command which elicits a response from the
serial port (such as *VR or *ID1) will receive a combined and unintelligible response.

To set the ID of an actuator, connect it to an RS-232 serial port as shown in Figure 1 on

page 2. Caution: When installing or replacing actuators on a shared serial port, make sure that no
two devices have been set to the same ID number.
1. Remove all of the actuators from the serial daisy chain except the one for which you are setting the ID.
2. Type VR <enter>. You should get a response giving the firmware version, indicating that serial
communication with the actuator is established. If there is no response, type *VR<enter> to see
if the ID is already set. If there is still no response, check the cabling and connections.
3. To set an ID, type IDn<enter>, where n is the new ID, from 0 to 9.
To change an ID, type i IDn<enter>, where i is the current ID and n is the new ID.
To disable the ID feature, type i ID*<enter>, where i is the current ID.
Setting a New Baud Rate
To permanently set a new baud rate for the actuator:
1. Establish communications with the actuator at the current baud rate.
2. Issue the command SBnnnn to temporarily change the baud rate to the desired rate. If the power
goes down at this point, the baud rate will revert to the last permanent setting.
3. Change the host computer to the same baud rate just set in the actuator, and verify that you can
establish communications.
4. Re-issue the same SBnnnn command you did previously (in Step 2), and the current baud will be
made permanent.

RS-485 Option

JUMPERS

1 AND 2
Software
The RS-485 option involves three minor software adaptations to the RS-232 protocol. The first is that the ID range is
extended to include the characters A through Z, with
upper and lower cases treated as the same ID. The second
Figure 3: Control module,
change is that the ID is required (either numbers from 0 to 9
or letters from A to Z), and must be included in all commands. The factory-set default ID for all devices
is Z. The third adaptation is that all commands must include a forward slash [/] as the start-ofmessage character.

Hardware
The RS-485 hardware includes two 3-pin connectors (Figure 3) used as in/out connectors for easy
daisy-chaining of additional devices. Wired in parallel, the signal assignments are as follows: Pin 1 is
Ground, Pin 2 is Phase B, and Pin 3 is Phase A.
The four male pins in a vertical row to the left of these connectors are jumper headers, used to add
or remove terminating resistors from the communication lines. The top two and the bottom two should
be jumpered when term-ination is required. The RS-485 hardware specifications require termination at
each end of the communication line, so in a daisy-chaining application the jumpers should be removed
from all the intermediate devices. The RS-485 port on the host computer or controlling device generally
includes terminating resistors, so only the actuator on the end of the communication string needs to
have the jumpers installed.
North America, South America, and Australia/Oceania contact:

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

P.O. Box 55603
Houston, TX 77255
Sales: (800) 367-8424
Tech: (713) 688-9345
Fax: (713) 688-8106 valco@vici.com

Europe, Asia, and Africa contact:

TN-413 Rev 1/11

VICI AG International

Parkstrasse 2
CH-6214 Schenkon
Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 925 6200
Fax:
+41 41 925 6201 info@vici.ch

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