If someone wants to make me a MechMate^TM coffee cup pattern/relief carving, I can get them mass produced, with glazing and everything. We would have to be able to sell a couple 10's of thousands of them though, before a return;)

On a leap of faith and a drawing verifying that all the bits will fit together, it appears my order has been shipped from Factorymation.

Anyone within two hour drive of me, I will have extra parts, please talk to me before you place factorymation orders for blank fuseblocks and terminal bus parts.

Now to track down some of that dope looking wire bling that gerald uses.

Just a note to everyone; these "personal" threads are "owned" by the thread-starter. I have fun with editing the titles from time to time, but that's mostly because the first title becomes obsolete. Because you own your thread, you can ask for any title, post edit or post deletion you want. In the other "technical" threads, I often go back and delete old things said on the spur of the moment a long time ago. You might be trying to build a serious personal thread, and I will assist where I can.

This is the (near) completion of my most recent project and I want to test out picture posting(plus cell phone cameras are forgiving on finish details).

A bunch of years ago, I built a Lumenlab video projector. As much satisfaction as that gave me it really only laster a year and a half. It was the first machine I built by myself. Recently It received an upgrade.

http://lh3.google.com/gregalb/R2LrX6...1212072028.jpghttp://lh5.google.com/gregalb/R2LrYa...1212072008.jpg

Hi Greg

Could you post a list of parts and part no. for the terminal bus parts, fuse blocks, DIN rails, push buttons, relays (contactors),etc from FactoryMation. You seem to know what you are talking about when it comes to electronics. Obviously, I have no clue.

I would be interested in the extra parts you have, if I had any clue that they would be useful to me.

I'm going to The Rock Financial Center in Novi, probably, today but tomorrow (Thursday-Jan 11)for sure to the Ultimate Fishing Show. How far are you from there?

Thanks
Paul

"You seem to know what you are talking about when it comes to electronics."

Quite possibly the nicest thing anyone has said to me all week;)

I don't have an exact surplus parts list yet. I am rebuilding the control box for my tea light machine. However, here is a copy of my order from factorymation, as well as a description of the parts. Gerald asked us not to post prices...

DIN35S-5135 mm DIN-rail, steel, 1 meter long, 5pcs. - This is the din rail, I will have extra

DIN-ST1DIN Rail Support Bracket, Galvanized Steel, Angled 50mm, package of 10 - These are used to hold the din rail off of the subpanel, extra

SCE-20168ELJ2Saginaw, 20"H x 16"W x 8"D, NEMA 4 Enclosure, Enviroline Junction Box - The big box, will not have extra

SCE-20P16J2Saginaw Enclosure, Subpanel, Steel - White Finish, 19.25"H x 15.25"W, use with Enviroline Junction (ELJ) Enclosure - The subpanel, will not have extra

ES11IMO DIN-Rail Terminal Block, End Bracket, 20pcs, Beige - these hold the terminal blocks together and keep it all nice and tight, I will have extra

EP2.5-101End Plate for all ER2.5 to ER10 Terminal Blocks, Beige, 25 pcs - the terminal and fuse blocks are open on one side this closes it up and keeps it all finger safeish, extra.

ER2.5BEIGE1IMO DIN-Rail Terminal Block, Feed-thru, 20A, 600V, 26 - 12AWG, Beige, 100pcs - you jumper these together to make a buss, way easier to understand than wirenuts all over the place, I will have extra

ERF31IMO DIN-Rail Terminal Block, Removable Fuse-Holder, 5x20mm, 26 - 10AWG, 20pcs, Beige - these are just like the terminal blocks, but they hold fuses, hopefully these will prevent me from burning up electrical components. I plan to add a ground fault fuse, and save my life when vibration knocks a wire free and it shorts on the control box.

BC12WEG 22mm Non-metallic, Mushroom Operator (40mm), IP66, Red - an easier, less safe version of geralds contactor/initiator system. Big red button, connected to two switches, when it is down, the power is off, when it is up the power is on, but that is a function of... (and no extra...)

BC014WEG 22mm Non-metallic, Single Contact Block, 1 N.C. - the switches that go in the big red button, no extra.

861SSR210-DC-11Magnecraft 861 Solid State Relay, DIN Rail or Panel Mount with internal heatsink, 10A SPST, Zero Cross NO, 24-280VAC load range, 3-32VDC Coil, with LED - I think this might be overkill, but this is a relay for the router, this 30 dollar part cost a lot less than the relay built into the breakout board, so I am gonna open and close this relay with the breakout board and turn the router on and off from here. That way if for some reason the router blows up, and burns wire, I just replace this.

And thanks to you I just noticed that I forgot to order the jumpers and ground for my DIN rail, which is now corrected. Ahh the power of open source;)

ERPE2.5/41IMO DIN-Rail Terminal Block, Ground, 26 - 10AWG, 10pcs - This lets me ground the din rail its self, easy and fast.

CC2.5/101IMO Jumper Bar, 10 Pole for 2.5mm Terminal Block, 5pcs - This lets me hook the terminal blocks together and make a nice neat buss, without the need for wire nuts.

Also developing, barking dog, knock at the door, ohhh its a box! No TWO boxes!!!

Not one but two boxes full of motors!

http://lh4.google.com/gregalb/R4YzYI...0110080956.jpg

Greg,
What supplier did you order the oriental motors from? Do you have a webpage or contact info?

I hard charged on the Oriental Motors. I was talking to another company, but became impatient, and I have a severe bias against running into any resistance when on-line ordering. So I paid full price at the oriental motors website, even though I know I paid about 2x too much...

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!

I should also add, for the extra cheap among you. I realize I can accomplish everything there with assorted sizes of wirenuts. However, I have several projects done that way, and the results will not make you proud no matter how many zip ties you use to try and make it neat and clean. Also I offer a suggestion to simulate the ~eventual~ results you will get from such a system.

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!

Get two butter knives, a dremmel, a drill bit. Drill holes in the handles of the knives. Randomly strip wires from your ~insert expensive component here~ and tie them to the knives. Use the cutting bit on your dremmel to file down the knives so they fit in a standard wall socket. Put a pan of water on the floor, stand in it. Grab the modified knives, one in each hand, and insert them in a standard wall socket.

Trust me, I speak from experience;)

and if you are humor impared, DO NOT DO THIS!!! YOU WILL DIE!

Thanks Greg

You are a fountain of knowledge. I appreciate it. I hope I don't bother you too much because I will have more questions later.

I noticed the pic of your motors. Its hard to tell, but they look like direct drive motors as opposed to geared motors.

Paul

Yup, I am going with the weaker slower system.

"Wirenuts" are forbidden! (that should be in the rules somewhere)

http://www.inspect-ny.com/aluminum/fr1-hotbox.jpg

Ok, I need to head off to tool and supply, but I was looking at the PLC's they have available at factorymation. Anyone know if store, load and run gcode software is available for those that works with the gecko drives?

On Edit: spend no time on this, I am procrastinating doing my real job. Just yes or no if you have an answer...

GregA,

I'm a real newbie here, still just lurking and trying to decide how to convince the wife I need to build a MechMate.

But I noticed you said you're building in a warehouse in Toledo. I live in Toledo, and it turns out I spent about 6 years working in a Fab shop. I can help out with the welding if you want. The chance for me to see your machine and ask you all kinds of questions would be a great experience for me. Let me know if you're interested.

TheDave,

Done, and if it helps your marriage, for the first year at least... I will not be able to operate it full time. If you help me build it, you are more than welcome to use it any time you want( its in a warehouse so really even 3am will work ). I plan on fabricating as soon as I finish the simulator, and make the motors turn. This is entirely new to me as well, so I am having a rough time estimating the ETA(but three weeks sounds good in my mind for some reason). My email is [email protected]

More boxes!

And their contents:
http://lh3.google.com/gregalb/R4eIno...0111081013.jpghttp://lh5.google.com/gregalb/R4eIoI...0111080953.jpg

So it looks like I have enough to get started. However, I am gonna need a hole saw. More blog twitter to follow!

Also... From my day job, I need to buy a sample web page from a half a dozen or so web designers. The final project will need to be an integrated shopping cart (with both customer facing and interal management aspects)...

I realize it it a little off topic here, but if anyone would like to bid, please let me know, my email is [email protected]

Yay!!! More boxes today. First is from another project, mail order bolts...

Who knew that 5/8-18 x 1.5" fully threaded bolts were a specialty item? I guess that exposes my lack of experience. Will never make a machine that requires that dimension/thread-count of bolt ever again... These suckers are not available in your local hardware store...

http://lh5.google.com/gregalb/R4ueSI...0114081019.jpg

Second the Gecko drives have landed!! Hey look at that they even gave me a little plushie gecko;)

http://lh6.google.com/gregalb/R4ueSY...0114081013.jpg

Finally, got some odds and ends from factorymation. A bag of ground terminals, and some jumpers. So completely uninteresting I will not bother posting a cell phone pic.

So today I will try and pick up a hunk of aluminum, some standoffs to hold the hunk of aluminum, and a bunch of screws to hold it all together. Perhaps I am days away from a finishedish looking control box, and Mach3 test?

Hi all, Gerald i just noticed your picture of your burned junction box and if it will help i would like to provide some advice even if it wasn't ask for. i noticed that the wires were not twisted before the wire nuts were installed. this is a big no no. they must be tightly twisted together to ensure they make good connection. the wire nut is only there to cover the bare wires not to hold them together. secondly i see that 3 different sizes of nut were used (they are color coded for size) look at the back of the box to see what wire size and the number of wires that each nut is used for. thirdly i don't see a ground wire for the box itself that is important in some applications so that if there is a short inside of the box it doesn't energize anything. sorry if i am stepping on toes here but safety is #1 for me.

Antek has made power supplies for computers for years. I'm in Michigan also and would be really interested in any more information for local companies that can supply the metal work and or parts suppliers. This is actually my first day on this forum and my first post, about to give it up for the night as I have been reading this for too many hours now and need to let some of it sink in before I take in anymore.

**edit: Told you it was a long night lol just realised I wasnt even at the end of the thread b4 I posted and now I humbly bow out for the night to rest my brain **end of edit.

Astarguy, the message is simple; Do NOT use wirenuts on the MM. (as per the note above that photo). The correct vs incorrect ways of using wirenuts is irrelevant....there is just no way. Period.

Speaking with a process engineer yesterday. It looks like I will be using an initiator/contactor system in my control box. It seems that with a spinning blade hooked to motors that move it around, it is basically a required safety component, and OSHA will red flag the machine if it doesn't have one...

Also, I had a third industrial machine added to my todo list yesterday. An inline bottle filler, with integrated capping, washing and side labeling. I have filling and labeling worked out. Can anyone give me a heads up on where to buy inline washing and capping components?

Gerald,

Two huge favors to ask of you.

First, could you point out the part number I need for a factorymation cut off switch for my control panel?

Second, it is bitter cold here in Michigan today(and supposed to get colder), and as I understand it is summer down there, can I um, come and visit?

Well, UPS o'clock has come and gone, no UPS truck. Time to head out and get some things done...

Greg,

I believe this is the one you are looking for:

KSR3.40 ENSTO Rotary Load Break Disconnect Switch, 3 Pole, 600V, 40A

Hope that helps.

Where did you buy your wire?

http://lh6.google.com/gregalb/R40at4...0115081530.jpg

A little bit of progress;)

That is the part I ended up with. Although I had to order several other parts to complete the assembly. Also... The process engineer wanted me to put in a two stage start. So I also ordered a relay and drew a circuit that "latches" the whole thing to a relay... Also, I added a light bulb, so it will be apparent when it is on. So on my control panel, I will have to both turn the switch to on, and press a button. I was contemplating an off light as well, so that it is apparent when it is off.

Wire (so far) was just purchased from local hardware. I was advised against bundling wire within the control box.

On Edit: Bonus kudos if you can see the mistake I made.

Greg,
I purchased a combo on/off button with an internal light from FactoryMation. MOM on/MOM off....so you have to turn disconnect, then on.
Greg, the pictures so small, I can't see anything from here in florida where it's warm ;)
Sean

I am contemplating posing a bigger picture, but it is from my cell phone camera... And I am just not sure you are missing any detail.

Anyhow, the heat sink covers the screws on the side of the subpanel...

I had to leave house today before UPS o'clock, and I am wondering if my pmdx-122 board will be there when I get home;( My fancy on/off swicth parts should be here tomorrow. Woo hoo I shoud have assembled control box by this weekend.

Heheheh. Whoops. The PMDX-122 shipped the day I ordered it. Only it shipped USPS, as opposed to UPS. So it sat in my mailbox for a week;)

Anyhow, it is now safely installed in my controll box. Didn't take a picture because I am in a hurry. Tomorrow morning at 10ish I should get my fancy power switch, and I will prepair to start wiring all the little bits together.

So maybe I will run a simulation next week?

Spent all afternoon wiring bits together. Was getting ready to crimp the power supply leads to the main bus, and noticed... Woah, they are using wires a lot larger than mine. Run off to the hardware to get right wire, Doh! they are closed. Just a tiny bit is affected, should be small problem to put the right wire in.

Just checked the tables, I should be well within tolerance, however I will stick to the convention that Antek used when designing their power supply.

Still need holes in front and bottom on panel.

I did have one compromise in wiring. The switch I use to jump start the initiator relay will have to be doubled in one lead of the cutoff switch

http://lh6.google.com/gregalb/R5IOko...0119080943.jpg

A few little odds and ends need to be finished. USB power supply, butt crimp the power supply, holes in the panel box for mounted switches. Current limiting resistors. (I am working on first cup of coffee at moment, I'm sure more will come to me when I finish it.)

I have some time on machine tool today. Going to exploit that, will get back to this, this evening.

Second compromise found. Either I have to move the disconnect switch around, or I have to place the sub-panel in box upside down.

Otherwise all is working good, continuity test shows all my connections are sound, I will spend a couple hours re-groking all my work before I plug it for the first time, and double check all my work.

Greg,

Nice work. Is there a fan under those Gecko's?

If you have not drilled any holes in the outside of the box yet flip it over, in other words the door will open from the other side and the inside panel will stay like it is.

Greg_J,

No fan for now. My computed current is under the requirement (I will use 2 amps, geckos don't call for even a heat sink under 3 amps) of the Gecko's, I figured I would retrofit it if I ended up needing it. Also, in my search for the heat sink, I found a piece of aluminum that was over the top thick (not the one pictured) and Ive always wanted an excuse to machine cooling fins into something;) because of the enclosed nature of the control box, I think that would actually work better than a fan...

J.R. Hatcher,

I am considering that. However that would be one of those "but I would know it is there" craftsmanship issues. I am going to sit on it for a while and make a decision later, before I jump in and start changing things. I still have plenty to do before I commit one way or another.

Greg,
You will definitely need to rotate the panel 180 degree's to make that rotary switch work. I almost had the same problem, but was luckily *just* far enough from the hinge to make the swing arc.
Since you haven't bored any holes in the outside cabinet, it should be really easy to do. Plus, when you rotate the panel, you will have the ground strap and lugs on the door at the bottom...which I used as a nice path to take my connections to the door. That way I had a nice strain relief to tie the bundle up to.

This must surely be the record time in which a control box is being assembled! :)

Gerald,
Greg has an almost mechanically completed machine....I can see the motivation in his typing :)
Now I know why you suggest you build the controller first :D