Timing Settings
Debounce, on delay, off delay, minimum on-time and maximum on-time, and how to tune them on the machine
Timing Settings
Every input has five timing values. They are set on the terminal, on that input's DI SETUP page, with the < and > steppers.
Every value is per input and per preset. The same sensor can have different timing in your MOWER preset and your LOADER preset. There is no global timer setting to get wrong.
The Order They Act In
sensor signal → INVERT → DEBOUNCE → ON DELAY / OFF DELAY → relay decision
↓
MIN ON → MAX ON
The first three clean up the signal. The last two protect the relay and the machine. That split is the whole mental model.
The Five Values
| Value | Range | Default | The question it answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debounce | 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 ms | 50 ms | How long must the signal be steady before I believe it changed? |
| On delay | 0 to 10 s | 0 | How long must the sensor stay active before anything is allowed to move? |
| Off delay | 0 to 10 s | 0 | How long must the sensor stay inactive before I release? |
| Min on | 0 to 10 s | 0.2 s | Once the relay is on, what is the shortest it may stay on? |
| Max on | NO LIMIT, or 1 to 300 s | NO LIMIT | What is the longest this may run continuously before I stop it myself? |
The delay steppers offer 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 seconds. Max on offers 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 120 and 300 seconds.
Debounce
A change on the input is ignored until it has held the new state for the debounce time. It works in both directions, on activation and on release.
This is the filter for electrical reality. A mechanical contact does not close once, it closes and opens several times in a few milliseconds, and a long cable running beside a solenoid picks up spikes.
- Too low: one switch press reads as several. A TOGGLE output flickers on and off within a single press.
- Too high: the module feels sluggish and genuinely short signals are missed. Above about 200 ms you are no longer filtering bounce, you are adding a delay. Use ON DELAY for that instead, because it is easier to explain later.
- Interaction: the total reaction time of an input is debounce plus on delay, added together.
Leave it at 50 ms for proximity sensors. Try 100 to 200 ms for old mechanical switches.
On Delay
Once the debounced signal goes active, it has to stay active for the on delay before the function may run. Anything shorter is ignored completely and the relay never moves.
This is the setting that makes automation usable on rough ground. A wheel dropping into a hollow triggers a proximity sensor for a fraction of a second, and without an on delay the implement twitches at every bump.
- Too low: the function reacts to bumps, splashes and vibration.
- Too high: the automation reacts visibly late, and on a fast-moving machine it can miss the window where the correction was useful.
A ground-following sensor is a good place to start at 0.3 s. BLOCK inputs ignore on delay on purpose, see Built-In Limits below.
Off Delay
The mirror image. After the signal drops, the function keeps running for the off delay, and if the sensor comes back within that time nothing is interrupted.
This is the anti-hunting setting. A proximity sensor parked exactly at its switching distance chatters on and off continuously. An off delay of a few tenths turns that into steady operation.
- Too low: the output hunts, rapid on/off/on/off while the sensor sits at its boundary.
- Too high: the function keeps running after the sensor has genuinely cleared. On a position-control pair that is overshoot.
In TOGGLE mode the off delay also sets how soon the switch is ready for the next press. The signal has to fall for real, debounce plus off delay, before another press can flip the output. A long off delay swallows fast double presses.
Start at 0.2 s and raise it until hunting stops.
Min On
When a rule has actually switched a relay on, it holds it for at least this long, even if the sensor releases sooner.
This is relay-life protection. Mechanical relays are rated in switching cycles, and every cycle burns the contacts a little when it breaks an inductive load like a solenoid. A function that pulses ten times a second wears a relay out in days.
- Too low: constant audible clicking, and a relay that ages fast.
- Too high: the machine keeps moving after the sensor said stop. On a position function that is overshoot, exactly like too much off delay.
Min on only stretches a release the sensor asked for. It never delays a stop from STOP, a BLOCK input, an interlock conflict, taking manual control, a preset change or terminal loss. It also does nothing if the relay never came on, because there is no wear to protect.
In TOGGLE mode it applies too. Pressing off inside the min-on window turns the output off when the window expires, not instantly.
Start at 0.2 s. Raise it to 0.5 or 1 s for a valve that needs time to do anything.
Max On
A ceiling on continuous relay-on time for that rule. When it trips, the outputs release, a TOGGLE latch is cleared, and the rule stays released until the input goes inactive at least once and then activates again.
It is a dead man's catch for a sensor that fails stuck-on, a wire that chafes into a permanent contact, or an inverted input whose cable is cut.
- Too low: the function stops mid-job during normal long runs, which reads as a fault to the operator.
- Left at NO LIMIT: nothing stops the function except the sensor itself. That is fine for most work, and unwise for an inverted input where a broken wire looks like a permanent demand.
Max on stops that rule's demand, not the output itself. If another rule, a latched toggle or a manual command is also driving the same relay, the relay stays on. A tripped rule shows on the setup page and turns its tile amber.
Leave it at NO LIMIT unless the function has a natural maximum. When it does, set roughly twice the longest normal run.
Rules the Settings Obey
- Max on cannot be set below Min on plus 1 s. The stepper skips those values, and the screen always shows the value that will actually trip. Raise Min on and the Max on row moves with it, live.
- Setting a delay never delays a stop. Min on and the built-in floors only stretch a release the sensor asked for. STOP, a BLOCK input, an interlock conflict, taking manual control, loading a preset and losing the terminal all release the relay immediately.
- BLOCK inputs get shortened filtering on purpose. A BLOCK input ignores the on delay entirely and its debounce is capped at 100 ms, so a limit switch cannot be given a slow reaction time by copying timings from another input. Its off delay still works normally, because staying blocked longer is the safe direction.
- Times are stored in milliseconds and shown in seconds with one decimal, debounce in milliseconds. Nothing is typed on a keyboard, so there is no wrong-by-1000 unit mistake to make.
- Tune it on the machine, not on paper. The live IN and OUT indicator on the same page shows the raw sensor state and the filtered state side by side, so the effect of every step is visible while someone walks the sensor past its target.
Fine-Tuning by Symptom
| What you see | Cause | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Output flickers on and off while the sensor sits at its trigger point | Sensor chattering at its boundary | Raise OFF DELAY, 0.2 to 0.5 s. Then MIN ON if it still clicks. |
| Function triggers on bumps, potholes, vibration | Short but genuine signals | Raise ON DELAY, 0.3 to 0.5 s |
| One press of a panel switch flips the output twice, or not at all | Contact bounce | Raise DEBOUNCE, 50 to 100 or 200 ms |
| Constant relay clicking, relays running hot or failing early | Too many switching cycles | Raise MIN ON to 0.5 or 1 s, and raise ON DELAY |
| Machine overshoots, keeps moving after the sensor cleared | The release is being stretched too long | Lower OFF DELAY, then MIN ON |
| Automation reacts too late to be useful | Total activation latency too long | Lower ON DELAY first, then DEBOUNCE. They add up. |
| Function stops by itself mid-work and the tile turns amber | MAX ON tripped | Check for a stuck sensor first. Then raise MAX ON or set NO LIMIT. |
| Two opposing functions both demand movement, nothing moves, tile amber | INTERLOCK conflict, both sensors active | Mechanical. Check sensor adjustment and brackets. |
| A fast double press is ignored in TOGGLE mode | The signal never fell far enough between presses | Lower OFF DELAY |
| Automation drops out whenever you touch a control | Working as designed, this is kick-out | Re-arm the tile. If a shared valve is the cause, mark it SERVICE. |
Built-In Limits
These are fixed in firmware. You cannot set them, and no combination of your settings can defeat them.
| Built-in | Value | Why it exists |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum relay ON time | 100 ms | No combination of settings can make the automation chatter a relay |
| Minimum rest before re-engaging | 100 ms | Worst case from the input side is 5 switching cycles per second |
| BLOCK debounce cap | 100 ms | Bounds how late a limit switch can engage |
| Terminal-loss fail-safe | About 10 s of lost connection, then all automation disarmed and outputs to the safe state | Detection is deliberately slower than a terminal's normal display pauses, so it cannot nuisance-trip mid-work |
What Is Not Adjustable
- No timing settings on the manual controls. Joystick, armrest and screen buttons act immediately, with no configurable delay.
- No pulse generator, no repeat or interval timer, and no on-timer or off-timer that runs without a sensor.
- No scheduling, no runtime counters, no hour meters.
- Max on is a stop, not a repeat cycle. After it trips, the input has to go inactive and become active again before that rule drives the outputs again.