As promised, here is the list of parts I used to build my Control Box.

(From a Local Supplier)
Hoffman Enclosure - Item# CSD24168 - 24"X16"X8"
Hoffman Panel - Item# CP2416 - 24"X16"

(From My Personal Junk Bin)
Capacitor - 1 each - 8400 Mfd 50VDC (for power supply)
Pancake Fan - 1 each - (to cool Gecko Heat Sink)
Wall wart power supply 12VDC 750MA - 1 each (to power PMDX Breakout Board)

Parts Express (For Homemade Power Supply)
400V 25A Bridge Rectifier - 1 each - Item# 050-060
Avel Y236801 500VA 25V+25V Toroidal Transformer - 1 each - Item# 122-655

Gecko
G203V - 4 each

McMaster Carr
4 feet - Heat Shrink Tubing - Flexible Polyolefin 1/8" Expanded ID 1/16" Shrunken ID - Item# 7856 K133
4 feet - Heat Shrink Tubing - Flexible Polyolefin 3/16" Expanded ID 3/32" Shrunken ID - Item# 7856 K143
Heat Sink Compound Silicone-Free, 2 ounce tube - 1 each - Item# 3883 K23
Alloy 6061 Aluminum Rectangular Bar 1/8" thick, 4" width, 3 foot length - 1 each - Item# 8975 K419

Practical Micro Design, Inc.
PMDX-122 Bi-Directional Breakout Board - 1 each

Mouser Electronics
3M Insulated Terminals 22-18 AWG .080 Pin - 100 each - Item# 517-2213
Kobiconn Solderless Terminals Pin Blue 16-14 - 100 each - Item# 159-1617
Kobiconn Solderless Terminals Pin Yellow 12-10 - 100 each - Item# 159-1211
(NOTE: I was not happy with these pin terminals because the pins were a very tight fit for the Geckos and the PMDX. Recommend you seek another source.)

Factorymation
Mushroom E-stop Operator - 3 each - Item# BEG
On/Off Green/White/Rep Operator - 1 each - - Item# BD
Resume Operator - 3 each - Item# BF2
Pause Operator - 3 each - Item# BF3
Normally Open Switch - 7 each - Item# BC10
Normally Closed Switch - 7 each - Item# BC01
Lamp Switch - 1 each - Item# BI DL
Contactor - 1 each - Item# CN22F6 (NOTE: I believe this is one size bigger than you actually need. Factorymation was out of the size I ordered so they substituted one of a bigger capacity. Caution here, I'm not an electrician so use your judgment or seek expert advice - That's not me by the way.:))
22MM Pushbutton Plastic Enclosure 3 Button - 3 each - Item# 590.PRO3K-A
Terminal End Bracket - 1 Package of 20 items - Item# ES1
Terminal Blocks - 1 package of 100 pieces - Item# ER2.5beige
Terminal Block Markers - 1 package of 500 pieces - Item# MT5
Terminal Block End Plate - 1 package of 25 pieces - Item# EP2.5 - 10
Jumper Strips - 1 package of 5 pieces - Item# CC2.5/10
200mm Extension Shaft for Rotary Switch - 1 each - Item# KK31.200C (NOTE: You must trim to fit.)
Solid State Relay - 1 each - Item# SSR225Din - DC
Disconnect Switch 480V 60A Ensto - 1 each - Item# KSR 3.60/U
Disconnect Handle - 1 each - Item# KSH48RY
Steel Din Rail - 1 package of 5 items - Item# 35S-5

Thanks Doug!!:)

Doug,
That 50V capacitor sounds a little low on voltage for a 25 + 25V transformer. If you hook the transformer up in series, you would have about 71 Volts dc after rectification. You would need at least an 80V capacitor. A 50V cap would probably explode. :eek: If you are going parallel then you would be fine, but that would only give you 35 Volts.
Thanks for the parts list, very helpful.

Heath,

Thanks for looking out for me. I wired it parallel because I only needed 35 volts. I appreciate your input.

Doug,
No problem, have had many a capacitor explode near me over the years. wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else. I figured you were probably going parallel. :)

Dust Collector Completed
 

I finally finished building my dust collector. Clearvue designs the system to be mounted on the wall but I have no wall space in my garage. So I built a tower to hold the cyclone. Clearvue also says that a 35 gallon trash can will fit under the cyclone if you have 8 foot ceilings. I have 10 foot ceilings in my garage so I was able to fit a 55 gallon drum underneath it. The drum contained some type of blue dye and had a nice band with a thick seal inside it which helps to make a tight connection between the barrel and the lid.

The DC foot was constructed from sheet metal air conditioning ductwork pieces. It also diverts the blast of air from the router out to the side above the foot. Very light and very rigid. I used 1/8" aluminum rivets and then sealed it with mastic. The last thing I need to do is rivet a steel guard around the bottom.

Thanks to Gerald's brilliant design skills, 6 inch ductwork fits perfectly in the car. The airflow sucked up every tiny particle of dust. It was amazing. Although you can see dust in the background, I made it before the dust collector was finished. After cutting for a couple of hours, I opened the clean out plug at the bottom of the filters and there were a few tiny specks of superfine dust in the plug lid.

Looks COOOL.

Doug.
Nice work. For a quick second I thought you had an Oil derrick in your garage!:D
How many HP is your cyclone? Additionally, do you have a CFM & in/HG rating on your system? It looks like NO dust is getting away from the cutter area - bravo.

Have a great weekend.
Sean

Very nice work Doug... CNC, DC ;)
Promising stuff !!
May I ask if you could share some more on your inspiring dust foot design ??
It looks quite interesting !!
Congratulations. Thanks

Thanks Guys.

Sean: It has a 5 hp motor and the company says 1442 CFM. Here is a link to the company's specs for this system: www.clearvuecyclones.com/Specifications.htm

Robert: I've got more pictures of the pieces that I took while I was building it. They're on a CD around here somewhere. I'll try to post them this evening.

Yesterday I cut some 3/4" thick mdf into 10"x11" rectangles and the DC pulled them up into the foot. Had to add tabs to keep them in place. I have the foot optimized for a 1/4" endmill and I'm anxious to see how well it performs when I use a 1/2 endmill to surface the spoilboard since I'm not using a skirt and the foot will be forced to be another inch or two above the cutting surface. I'll let y'all know.

Hello Doug.
You really are ending up with a nice machine .
Know you need a big vacuum or that monster is going to swallow everything.:D
I wonder how nicely sophisticate is going to end the MECMATE, when nice craftsman like yourself and many others keep giving new ideas.:):)
Regards to all

Well done Doug!

For everyone reading this: As Doug noticed, a big dust collector can lift the work off the table. Also watch the fire risks. Electrical grounding is vitally important to prevent build up of static electricity and arcing/sparking.

Thanks for the reminder Gerald. I'm not properly grounded yet.

Attached are more pictures of the different pieces that went into my DC foot.

The squarish looking piece is the front of the foot. I shaped it from thin aluminum sheetmetal. The hole in the middle of it is for the router collet and bit to fit through. The gray plastic piece is the hub from a 3 inch PVC fitting that I turned to a slightly smaller dimension on my lathe. It fits almost perfectly into the bottom of a Milwaukee router.

The photo to the right is the DC Foot before it was completely riveted. I used duct tape to hold the sheetmetal in position. Then I coated the seams with mastic. The vertical pipe was created from flat sheetmetal rather than using off-the-shelf 6" ductwork. The reason I did that was so that I could wrap it around the outside of the hub of the transition rather than inserting it into the hub which would create a lip that would catch sawdust, threads, etc.

The next photo is a view of the bracket at the top of the Z-axis. It was flat 1/2" X 1/8" steel that I curved around some 6" PVC pipe. Then I welded a 1/4" threaded stub to the band and drilled a hole in the Z-axis stiffening tube. I also used some 3/4" conduit around the bolt stub to hold it in place.

The bottom photo is a view of the sheetmetal transition before I trimmed it and added the front of the foot. Also, you can barely see where I had to trim the bottom of the car so the foot would fit. The piece I cut out is directly behind the bolt that holds the bottom of the spider plate to the car.

It took me several days to build this foot but I'm very slow. If anyone needs additional information, don't hesitate to ask.

Doug,
Your dust foot looks great. Do you have any pictures of stuff you have been cutting on your machine?

Heath,

I haven't cut much because the dust was killing me. So far, I've just been goofing around with it. I haven't even surfaced the spoilboard yet.

Doug,
No problem, I have a hard time with MDF dust myself. That stuff is horrible. Great stuff to work with, but the dust kills me. :( What are you going to be doing with the machine when you are going?

On the health hazard of MDF dust, please realise that there are different types of MDF with some being a lot more unhealthy than others. Try to find low formaldehyde MDF's like Trupan from Chile. Your lungs, and your cutting bits, will thank you.

Do these switches need the protective covers?
* APBD (double switch cover for #BD)
* APBF (single switch cover for #BF2/BF3)

Thanks very much for putting together this list of parts!

Hey David,

I'm assuming you're talking about those clear rubber membranes that go over the top of the push buttons. If so, the answer is no? I did not use them.

Doug,

Taking me some time to catch up on all the posts, but I'm getting there.

Nice work on the dust collection system and foot. Nothing bigger than a few microns is getting past that system.

My clearvue is still in the box. :(

Thanks Greg. You're going to love the system. I'm glad to read you are feeling better and getting back to work.

Doug's cyclone - aka - ozark trailer hitch chrome removal system!:eek:
(clearly said with pride and jealousy)

Might seem like a silly question, but, can you use some of the vacuum from the dust collector to drive a vacuum hold down? The idea crossed my mind while reading several posts on these powerful dust collectors.

Paul

Paul,

That's a great idea. I would assume that since the vacuum hold down is just holding with negative pressure, in theory it should work. Your vacuum system might have to be beefed up. I would be interested in something like this, one less electrical drain.

MIKE

Sorry guys, but doing doing both hold-down and dust collection with one "sucker" is very seldom a success. For hold-down you want minimum flow with max pressure / for dust collection you want max flow with minimum pressure......it is very seldom that these two requirements will meet without big compromises on either side.

It's powerful but not THAT powerful.:)

Doug,

In your post #87, (yes, your pictures are quite helpful :) )you show a picture of the "E stop" enclosure box on the cable track side.

You drilled two holes on the bottom (next to the motor) and there are two wires entering/exiting the enclosure.

What are those wires for?

Greg J,

Those are just the cables connecting to the other enclosure boxes. Those waterproof/dustproof connectors on the ends of the boxes were too small to fit all of the cables in them so I just drilled some new holes.

Doug,

Can't say enough how much your pictures are helping.

I'm in the shop wondering where the shield ground for the motor cables should go. I run back to the house and see how Doug did it. :)

Thanks.