Month: July 2017

Finally, the power supply is finished and I’m pleased to say that never in the history of powering up a transformer has there been so little to get excited about.

With the inrush / soft start designed and most of the parts ordered my mind turned to the other components I’m going to need to finish the case.

In part eight I discussed the problem with inrush into the power supply and some potential solutions. In this part I’ll show the actual solution I’ll be using.

I’ve got to the point where I have a stepper motor turning but I’m hesitant to move forward until I have the inrush issue fixed with the power supply.

Now that everything is in the case and the control buttons are wired up it’s time to look at providing power to motors and get things turning. Before I rush into that though it’s time to correct and oversight.

The mounting panel now sports all the parts that will go into the case (except the PMDX, but the standoffs are in) so I moved on to fitting the various buttons, lights and dials to the cabinet door.

With the basic circuit checked and holes drilled for everything that would mount to the panel it was time to get the panel into the case.

Now that I had the power supply cornered and exactly where I wanted it it was time to mount the other components on the panel.

With the power supply frame completed I moved onto the mounting plate.

Now that I had a layout it was time to start the build and the first thing I did was change part of the plan…

I’ve received most of the electrical parts now so it’s time to start the build. The first thing to do is a dry run laying them out in the case. Before I get into laying out the parts though here’s a couple of quick shots of the parts I’ve received so far: The first shows…

There comes a time in every project when you have to just get a grip and get on with it and damn the consequences and I think I’ve got to that stage with the electrical part of this build. I’m still reading everything I can get my hands on but it seems to just be…

Limit switches or sensors are not absolutely required on a machine, it will work just fine without, but they are a very good addition as they prevent potentially expensive and dangerous crashes. There are three levels of safety when it comes to limits: Option 1 is for the foolish, option two for the people on…

I always knew that the electrical side of this project would be difficult but I hadn’t realised quite how difficult it would be. With the mechanical aspects of the build at least you can look at either the part or a 3D model and have a good understanding of whether it will fit together /…