Does a combo PSU/function generator exist?

[jonnyGURU]

It's not cheap, but something like a "power analyzer" might fit the bill.

https://www.keysight.com/en/pc-1113932/dc-power-analyzer?cc=US&lc=eng

It's basically a modular power supply, but you get a scope and some other goodies with it.

Ha ha!  Thanks!  Definitely cool kit, but totally overkill. 

[tautech]

Get a simpler fan and just vary its voltage ?

[jonnyGURU]

Get a simpler fan and just vary its voltage ?

No no no... I have this set up for testing multiple fans during EVT.  We have bigger equipment for measuring CFM and mmAq once the fan is tooled.  But in early EVT we're trying to design the fan curve on an MCU fan controller by defining the fan motor's behavior given different voltages and PWM.  We don't just use variable DC because it doesn't allow for as much of a granular curve as PWM.

[Electro Fan]

So this might be similar to what you have?

https://www.amazon.com/6-30V-CONTROLLER-DIGITAL-DISPLAY-SWITCH/dp/B016FHHGSU

So you would ideally have this in a lower power version / the power supply and maybe 2 more meters (for current and voltage) all in one box?

That's a pretty cheap version (mine's all integrated into a "box") but that's the gist of it.

So yeah.. add that to a power supply (fully integrated) and I'm good to go.

Maybe you have invented a new appliance category:  standalone powered fan controller or fan management unit or super PWM fan power supply or whatever is descriptive with a good acronym

[jonnyGURU]

So this might be similar to what you have?

https://www.amazon.com/6-30V-CONTROLLER-DIGITAL-DISPLAY-SWITCH/dp/B016FHHGSU

So you would ideally have this in a lower power version / the power supply and maybe 2 more meters (for current and voltage) all in one box?

That's a pretty cheap version (mine's all integrated into a "box") but that's the gist of it.

So yeah.. add that to a power supply (fully integrated) and I'm good to go.

Maybe you have invented a new appliance category:  standalone powered fan controller or fan management unit or super PWM fan power supply or whatever is descriptive with a good acronym

I'll see if one of my China ODM's think it's something they want to put on the market. 

[Electro Fan]

So this might be similar to what you have?

https://www.amazon.com/6-30V-CONTROLLER-DIGITAL-DISPLAY-SWITCH/dp/B016FHHGSU

So you would ideally have this in a lower power version / the power supply and maybe 2 more meters (for current and voltage) all in one box?

That's a pretty cheap version (mine's all integrated into a "box") but that's the gist of it.

So yeah.. add that to a power supply (fully integrated) and I'm good to go.

Maybe you have invented a new appliance category:  standalone powered fan controller or fan management unit or super PWM fan power supply or whatever is descriptive with a good acronym

I'll see if one of my China ODM's think it's something they want to put on the market. 

That’s probably the route.

Seriously, there might be small niche for one that is geared toward design and manufacturing use that would be somewhat modular and maybe modestly expensive, and maybe another version that is cost reduced for a bigger market:  game PC enthusiasts who want something more versatile and informative than, for example, Corsair’s fan management software.

On another side note:  if you search in this forum you will see people complaining about fan noise to the point that it becomes part of the decision-making criteria for test equipment products that sell for ~$400 and up; maybe the test equipment industry needs some version of your invention. 

[tautech]

What sort of signals do you require from a FG ?

I provide power and PWM signal to a fan motor.  I adjust the voltage and duty cycle to change the fan's RPM.  That's really it.

For other than the fan ?

The fan speed is determined by voltage and duty cycle.  I need to adjust and monitor both.

OK it might be outside the capability of a programmable PSU....just a thought a 3ch PSU might give you options for the supply and the DC if it wasn't too fast.

As more info comes forward I'm rethinking this.
Have a look at P3:
https://siglentna.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SPD3303X_DataSheet.pdf
Also in the manual it comes with is the list of remote programming commands that might be worth a squiz at:
https://siglentna.com/download/2512/

A couple of threads showing these PSU's used outside what you would expect:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/this-graph-brings-tears-to-my-eye/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/battery-charging-using-a-siglent-sds1104x-and-spd3303x/

[nfmax]

It sounds like a Keysight U3606B would do all you want in one box, provided you don’t mind a fairly low PWM frequency - I think 4.8kHz is the limit. You also get a 5.5 digit multimeter as well. I have the older A version, but it doesn’t get a lot of use - the fan is too loud!

[james_s]

How many fans does one need to be testing before it makes sense to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on specialized test gear? Just build something, I would just make a PWM box that plugs into a standard bench PSU but I guess if you're testing a LOT of fans it might make sense to build a custom instrument. This seems like a job for a 8 pin microcontroller and a mosfet, or build a PWM circuit using a ramp generator and comparator, just a few dollars worth of parts, and power it with a bench supply.

[threephase]

I guess it depends how much you are willing to spend, when I have finished building up my workshop, I am seriously thinking of a Elneos 5 combination unit from Erfi.

In Europe they are available from Meilhaus in Germany, not sure if there is a USA based supplier.

https://www.meilhaus.de/cgi-bin/cosmoshop/lshop.cgi?ls=en&action=suche&fresh=1&suche_in_rubrik=&suchbegriff=elneos+5

[jonnyGURU]

I guess it depends how much you are willing to spend, when I have finished building up my workshop, I am seriously thinking of a Elneos 5 combination unit from Erfi.

In Europe they are available from Meilhaus in Germany, not sure if there is a USA based supplier.

https://www.meilhaus.de/cgi-bin/cosmoshop/lshop.cgi?ls=en&action=suche&fresh=1&suche_in_rubrik=&suchbegriff=elneos+5

At least you found something that would work for me! 

https://www.meilhaus.de/en/elneos-five-power-32a-32a.htm

If it didn't have the touchscreen, it probably wouldn't be so expensive!

How many fans does one need to be testing before it makes sense to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on specialized test gear?

A lot?   

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/26799/corsair_takes_fan_testing_seriously/index.html

Just build something, I would just make a PWM box that plugs into a standard bench PSU but I guess if you're testing a LOT of fans it might make sense to build a custom instrument. This seems like a job for a 8 pin microcontroller and a mosfet, or build a PWM circuit using a ramp generator and comparator, just a few dollars worth of parts, and power it with a bench supply.

Like I said, I'm not without the tools already.  I just want an all in one solution.  Something more compact and cleaner.  That's all.  It's a want.  Not a need.

[jonnyGURU]

It sounds like a Keysight U3606B would do all you want in one box, provided you don’t mind a fairly low PWM frequency - I think 4.8kHz is the limit. You also get a 5.5 digit multimeter as well.

I can't seem to find in the specification where you can adjust the duty cycle of the output, though.  I need something that can adjust the pulse width from 10% to 100%.

Also seems to cost six times more than my current set up.  LOL!

I have the older A version, but it doesn’t get a lot of use - the fan is too loud!

Which, for me, would defeat the purpose.  The reason I'm not using equipment in the lab is because the lab is too damn loud!  I need it to be portable because we move it from office to office, cubicle to cubicle listening for noises that are 15KHz and up from the motor!   We had to fight with one manufacturer for six months because none of their old guys in R&D could hear frequencies that high so they refused to make improvements (it only took using a different driver IC)!!! 

[Noy]

It exists but is not cheap.
Check Toellner TOE 8800 Series:
https://www.toellner.de/netzgeraete?pf=284&pi=286

I got an older version 8704 it is not as fast as the new ones in programming mode but you can control it with an external AWG at the voltage external inputs but i am not sure how fast this could be. TOE 8800 is definetly fast er..

[5370H55V]

Off topic, but are you the jonnyguru?

[jonnyGURU]

Off topic, but are you the jonnyguru?

I'm afraid so.

[5370H55V]

I thought you might be after that corsair link. 
Just wanted to say thank you for your PSU reviews! They really helped me build my first PC many years ago, but I didn't really appreciate how detailed they were until after I took some power electronics courses as an EE.

[jonnyGURU]

I thought you might be after that corsair link. 
Just wanted to say thank you for your PSU reviews! They really helped me build my first PC many years ago, but I didn't really appreciate how detailed they were until after I took some power electronics courses as an EE.

Thanks.

TBH, normally I would have posted this question on the jonnyguru.com forums, but since Tazz fell off the face of the Earth and took the website with him, I needed to find "a new home" for my techie questions.   

[Electro Fan]

Off topic, but are you the jonnyguru?

I'm afraid so.

Kind of off topic....

When I mentioned your idea/requirement/project sounded like something that might be a step up from Corsair's fan management software that wasn't a knock on the Corsair software, and I definitely didn't realize your position at Corsair - although maybe I should have.  fwiw, I think Corsair's software does a nice job.

My thought was just that there might be another level of analysis/tool that some PC builders would like - something that would help enthusiasts more readily determine/compute the air pressure (positive/neutral/negative) and more precisely characterize the airflow so they could in turn more precisely specify/buy and configure/operate their case and fans (in conjunction with the power supply and the rest of the computer).  In the end, lots of buyers for various products including computers and test equipment might like to optimize across airflow, temp, power, and sound (or lack thereof.)  So the monitor and control you want as a designer/manufacturer might be be a superset of what some end users would like.

In any event, sorry for being defensive about spam and I'm happy threephase found you a potential solution.  The elneos five looks like something that might get some attention from the Keithley SMU department. 

I hope you hang out here and the other EEVblog forums.  This Test Equipment forum is an excellent forum but you might also find the General Computing forum and some of the other EEVblog forums to be of interest.  I'm sure the General Computing folks (and all EEVers) will be very happy to hear from you.   

[jonnyGURU]

Kind of off topic....

When I mentioned your idea/requirement/project sounded like something that might be a step up from Corsair's fan management software that wasn't a knock on the Corsair software, and I definitely didn't realize your position at Corsair - although maybe I should have.

It's all good.  I didn't think anything of it.