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[PIC] Controlling a fan by a microcontroller

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spanko

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Hello,
I have a mini project which consists of realizing a temperature control by operating fans controlled by a microcontroller
i need to use a temperature sensor and a 2 * 16 LCD display (to display the temp measurement)
I don't have experience, I do not know where to start, how to choose the microcontroller model? , Do I start with programming or by what? ,
How to relay between the microcontroller and the fan?
 

Is your "mini project" nothing very important i.e. just to practice? Or is something very serious ?
As you are a beginner, ArduinoUNO could work for you and a lot of docummentaion is available.

How to relay between the microcontroller and the fan?
Microcontroller can only source some few mA. Depending on the fan, you will need to source more by adding a power stange i.e. a driver circuit for the power stage or not.

Here is an example of temp sensor with a small fan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fNto4JOu4E

As I said, just go to youtube and https://forum.arduino.cc/ or simply google and you will find countless (if google does not count that for us :popcorn:) information and projects.

LCD control with arduino and so forth.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85LvW1QDLLw
 
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    spanko

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thank you cataM but i have to work with the microcontroler
 

Because it is a fan, I believe you won't be needed bidirectional movement, so a very simple circuit with a common emitter npn transistor could do the job. But make some web research first, because motors are very noisy, so you need protections and proper grounding. Also is it a 0-1 application scenario (turn motor on - turn off)? Or you need to control the speed of the motor depending on the temperature? If so, you need to control the motor speed using PWM.
 
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    spanko

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This project is a lot for someone without experience. It's made up of several sections. Is there any section which you have some experience with? It would help if you can put together, say, a temp sensor and transistor, to get a usable range of voltage. (That's just a brief summary although a lot of experimentation is involved.)

The volt level is then fed to the input of a microcontroller.
It goes to the internal analog-to-digital converter.
The microcontroller displays a reading.
It decides whether to turn on a fan.
As post #2 suggests you probably need to add components to drive a relay.
Then a lot of time is needed to set the temp range for fan on-off threshold.
 
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    spanko

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thank you cataM but i have to work with the microcontroler
In the OP you say you want help to choose a microcontroller but when an Arduino was suggested you reject this on the basis that it has to be a microcontroller!
I know that you are just starting but do you have a clear understanding of what a microcontroller is? If not then that is a good place to start.
As for choosing which microcontroller, you need to look at the temperature sensor that you have to use and the way it interfaces (UART, I2C, SPI etc.). Similarly for the LCD. Also the voltages these devices use is important.
Have you been given any guidance on the type of microcontroller to use? Do you have a development board available or are you completely starting form scratch?
What programming experience do you have? Do you have to learn a language such as C (or even assembler)?
Finally what sort of budget do you have? Microcontroller chips can be bought quite cheaply (less than a dollar to $10 and more) but you will also need a programmer and some way to connect components to the chip. I have found that development boards created by the chip manufacturer are a good place to start as they often contain the programmer, all of the surrounding components and good ways to connect external devices such as your relay and the associated driver circuit, but can be more expensive.
Susan
 
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