Fan

[Udayan Mallik]

@JColvin dpmutilFSetFanConfig(fanid, setEnable, enable, setSpeed, speed, setProbe, probe); What values should be used for the command. Since there is no fanid, setenable, enable, setspeed variables in the three Structs - what values do they accept? And what is their range? My FPGA is becoming very warm and might go up in smoke without a Fan.

[artvvb]

Hi @Udayan Mallik

The code block below is a snippet of the comment header that goes with the function definition of dpmutilSetFanConfig in dpmutil.c (pulled from here: https://github.com/Digilent/dpmutil/blob/master/dpmutil.c).

More information about the specific capabilities of the Eclypse's PMCU can be found in the PMCU specification: https://files.digilent.com/resources/programmable-logic/eclypse/Eclypse-PMCU-Specification-Public.pdf

**  Description:
**      Modify one or more field of the Platform MCU (PMCU)
**      FAN_n_CONFIGURATION register. The FAN_n_CONFIGURATION register is
**      used to specify the settings of the associated fan. This may include
**      the enable state of the fan, the fan's speed, and the associated
**      temperature probe. Please note that not all fan ports support
**      enable/disable, fixed speed control, or automatic speed control
**      (temperature based). Changes to a FAN_n_CONFIGURATION register
**      will be restricted to the be within the supported capabilities of
**      the port and take effect immediately after the register is written.
**      Additionally, the FAN configuration is written to EEPROM and will
**      restored each time the PMCU is reset or power cycled.
**
**      The "fanid <0...3>" parameter must be used to specify ID of the
**      fan configuration to be modified.
**
**      The "enable <fTrue,fFalse>" parameter can be used to enable or disable the
**      associated fan.
**
**      The "speed <0...3>" parameter can be used to specify the speed of
**      the associated fan. Please note that not all fans support this
**      functionality and some ports that do support this functionality
**      may not support automatic fan speed control.
**      0 - minimum
**      1 - medium
**      2 - maximum
**      3 - auto
**
**      The "-probe <0...4>" parameter can be used to specify the
**      temperature probe associated with a fan if that fan supports automatic
**      speed control.
**      0 - none
**      1...4 - probe[1...4]

 

Thanks,

Arthur

[zygot]

All Series 7 FPGA devices have access to the substrate temperature sensor via XDAC. For ZYNQ, getting the temperature is pretty straight-forward.

I highly recommend users of all Series 7 FPGA devices to incorporate temperature monitoring into their HW and SW designs as a matter of habit. It is possible to configure all Digilent boards ( most FPGA development boards for that matter ), heat sink or not, fan or not, with a design that will over-tax the power supply and thermal dissipation capabilities. Don't think that a fan or heat sink removes proper design tasks from your plate... they don't. Access to FPGA internal temperature and voltages were put into the Series 7 devices for a reason. Except for trivial deigns, depending on the platform, designers are responsible for managing out of spec conditions.

The Eclypse-Z7 suffers from a lot of poorly thought out SYZYGY DNA and house-keeping design decisions, the fan control being just one. Don't wait for a solution to important issues without addressing them for yourself while you wait for a convenient solution from your board vendor. Edited October 28, 2022 by zygot

[Udayan Mallik]

@artvvb Thank you very much for the link. My fan is up and running. Not sure why I did not scroll down and check myself. I expected to see a struct with  a pointer that acquires some of the parameters. Thank you again. My system now operates safely with a Fan up top.

[Udayan Mallik]

@artvvbI'd like to make a suggestion - If you ever redesign this board, please use a different cooling fan. The one in use now - has a strange tendency to brush up against equipment and personnel. This is annoying to say the least and possibly dangerous. Thank you.

 

Udayan Mallik

Edited November 2, 2022 by Udayan Mallik