A synchro or "selsyn" is a type of rotary electrical transformer that is used for measuring the angle of a rotating machine such as an antennaplatform. In its general physical construction, it is much like an electric motor (See below.) The primary winding of the transformer, fixed to the rotor, is excited by a sinusoidal electric current (AC), which by electromagnetic induction causes currents to flow in three star-connected secondary windings fixed at 120 degrees to each other on the stator. The relative magnitudes of secondary currents are measured and used to determine the angle of the rotor relative to the stator, or the currents can be used to directly drive a receiver synchro that will rotate in unison with the synchro transmitter. In the latter case, the whole device (in some applications) is also called a selsyn (a portmanteau of self andsynchronizing). U.S. Naval terminology used the term "synchro" exclusively (possible exception: steering gear -- info. needed).
Synchro systems were first used in the control system of the Panama Canal, to transmit lock gate and valve stem positions, and water levels, to the control desks.[1]
Fire-control system designs developed during World War II used synchros extensively, to transmit angular information from guns and sights to an analog fire control computer, and to transmit the desired gun position back to the gun location. Early systems just moved indicator dials, but with the advent of the amplidyne, as well as motor-driven high-powered hydraulic servos, the fire control system could directly control the positions of heavy guns. [2]
Smaller synchros are still used to remotely drive indicator gauges and as rotary position sensors for aircraft control surfaces, where the reliability of these rugged devices is needed. Digital devices such as the rotary encoder have replaced synchros in most other applications.
Synchros designed for terrestrial use tend to be driven at 50 or 60 hertz (the mains frequency in most countries), while those for marine or aeronautical use tend to operate at 400 hertz (the frequency of the on-board electrical generator driven by the engines).
Selsyn motors were widely used in motion picture equipment to synchronize movie cameras and sound recording equipment, before the advent of crystal oscillators and microelectronics.
On a practical level, synchros resemble motors, in that there is a rotor, stator, and a shaft. Ordinarily, slip rings and brushes connect the rotor to external power. A synchro transmitter's shaft is rotated by the mechanism that sends information, while the synchro receiver's shaft rotates a dial, or operates a light mechanical load. Single and three-phase units are common in use, and will follow the other's rotation when connected properly. One transmitter can turn several receivers; if torque is a factor, the transmitter must be physically larger to source the additional current. In a motion picture interlock system, a large motor-driven distributor can drive as many as 20 machines, sound dubbers, footage counters, and projectors.
Single phase units have five wires: two for an exciter winding (typically line voltage) and three for the output/input. These three are bussed to the other synchros in the system, and provide the power and information to precisely align by rotation all the shafts in the receivers. Synchro transmitters and receivers must be powered by the same branch circuit, so to speak; voltage and phase must match. Different makes of selsyns, used in interlock systems, have different output voltages.
Three-phase systems will handle more power and operate a bit more smoothly. The excitation is often 208/240 V 3-phase mains power.
In all cases, the mains excitation voltage sources must match in voltage and phase. The safest approach is to bus the five or six lines from transmitters and receivers at a common point.
Synchro transmitters are as described, but 50 and 60-Hz synchro receivers require rotary dampers to keep their shafts from oscillating when not loaded (as with dials) or lightly loaded in high-accuracy applications.
Large synchros were used on naval warships, such as destroyers, to operate the steering gear from the wheel on the bridge.
A different type of receiver, called a control transformer (CT), is part of a position servo that includes a servo amplifier and servo motor. The motor is geared to the CT rotor, and when the transmitter's rotor moves, the servo motor turns the CT's rotor and the mechanical load to match the new position. CTs have high-impedance stators and draw much less current than ordinary synchro receivers when not correctly positioned.
Synchro transmitters can also feed synchro to digital converters, which provide a digital representation of the shaft angle.
Synchro variants
So called brushless synchros use rotary transformers (that have no magnetic interaction with the usual rotor and stator) to feed power to the rotor. These transformers have stationary primaries, and rotating secondaries. The secondary is somewhat like a spool wound with magnet wire, the axis of the spool concentric with the rotor's axis. The "spool" is the secondary winding's core, its flanges are the poles, and its coupling does not vary significantly with rotor position. The primary winding is similar, surrounded by its magnetic core, and its end pieces are like thick washers. The holes in those end pieces align with the rotating secondary poles.
For high accuracy in gun fire control and aerospace work, so called multi-speed synchro data links were used. For instance, a two-speed link had two transmitters, one rotating for one turn over the full range (such as a gun's bearing) , while the other rotated one turn for every 10 degrees of bearing. The latter was called a 36-speed synchro. Of course, the gear trains were made accurately. At the receiver, the magnitude of the 1X channel's error determined whether the "fast" channel was to be used instead. A small 1X error meant that the 36x channel's data was unambiguous. Once the receiver servo settled, the fine channel normally retained control.
For very critical applications, three-speed synchro systems have been used.
So called multispeed synchros have stators with many poles, so that their output voltages go through several cycles for one physical revolution. For two-speed systems, these do not require gearing between the shafts.
Differential synchros are another category. They have three-lead rotors and stators like the stator described above, and can be transmitters or receivers. A differential transmitter is connected between a synchro transmitter {CX} and a receiver {CT}, and its shaft's position adds to (or subtracts from, depending upon definition) the angle defined by the transmitter. A differential receiver is connected between two transmitters, and shows the sum (or difference, again as defined) between the shaft positions of the two transmitters.
A resolver is similar to a synchro, but has a stator with four leads, the windings being 90 degrees apart physically instead of 120 degrees. Its rotor might be synchro-like, or have two sets of windings 90 degrees apart. Although a pair of resolvers could theoretically operate like a pair of synchros, resolvers are used for computation. Both synchros and resolvers have an accurate sine-function relationship between shaft position and transformation ratio for any pair of stator connections. (Of course, there are angular offsets of 120 or 240 degrees for synchros, and multiples of 90 degrees for resolvers, depeding upon the specific pair of leads being considered.)
Resolvers, in particular, can perform very accurate analog conversion from polar to rectangular coordinates. Shaft angle is the polar angle, and excitation voltage is the magnitude. The outputs are the [x] and [y] components. Resolvers with four-lead rotors can rotate [x] and [y] coordinates, with the shaft position giving the desired rotation angle.
Resolvers with four output leads are general sine/cosine computational devices. When used with electronic driver amplifiers and feedback windings tightly coupled to the input windings, their accuracy is enhanced, and they can be cascaded ("resolver chains") to compute functions with several terms, perhaps of several angles, such as gun (position) orders corrected for ship's roll and pitch.
There are synchro-like devices called transolvers, somewhat like differential synchros, but with three-lead rotors and four-lead stators.
A special T-connected transformer arrangement invented by Scott ("Scott T") interfaces between resolver and synchro data formats; it was invented to interconnect two-phase AC power with three-phase power, but can also be used for precision applications
