Originally Posted by Spaceship13

Ive got mine to power up with the power supply i made from a computer power supply. the steppers work just fine. they hold their position waiting for some input from the puter. make sure you read all the warnings and notes like dont unhook any wire from the steppers with power on. and i believe there are some that will. the towers are ready. iam short a keyboard and software. hmm heres a pic of mine . it had onboard temp control but iam using a feathercut powerrsupply. ok heres a pic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read all the instructions over and over and understand all what its telling you before you go. i was new to puttin together the stuff and it was real simple.Briggs make yourself a controller chip cooler similar to mine.And the fan blows the air into the box not out of the top.

Thanks Starship13,

It is nice to see completed projects. READER NOTE: the board shown is the Foam cutter package with automatic heat control and not the PRO board.

I particularly like the way he labeled the stepper wire colors onto the case to avoid confusion.

starship is ok too! hahahahahha heres another tip. if you think in terms of heat xfer. then just before you fix the cooler to the chip, add some xfer grease like used in puter processors and cooler to help get it to where you want it to go.

Best step by step build I've ever seen bgriggs!
Awesome.
rosco

Originally Posted by rosco

Best step by step build I've ever seen bgriggs!
Awesome.
rosco

Thanks Rosco, It means alot.

I am just waitiing on the transformer to arrive before I carry on.

Bill

Well, my transformer arrived today. I am a little concerned about posting picture on how it should be wired though because I am not an electrician and 115VAC is involved......... Playing with electricity can get you killed if you don't know what you are doing. If you have any doubts about your electrical skills please seek professional help. The life you save is well worth the time you may lose.

I chose a different transformer than Hobbycnc recommends for the power supply. I purchase a 24V 10A transformer from http://www.mpja.com. The part number is 7846. The price was $17.99. I was trying to save a few dollars over the $35 transformer recommended. I hope this was not a mistake in the long run..... I have heard of several people using this transformer but I have never seen a wiring diagram.....

The forth picture shows how I think the wiring may go. Anyone here able to verify this?

Bill

Really, really interesting build. Four thumbs up !

How big a table are you planning on driving with this?

Do the input wires go together like this?????
Take a look here http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=219798 .
Parallel 120V, series 240V.

Originally Posted by GaryO

Really, really interesting build. Four thumbs up !

How big a table are you planning on driving with this?

I plan to use the control on a Routazilla II from http://www.kleinbauer.com.
There is a link to my machine on http://ampedworld.com/.

The plan is to then use the Routezilla to build my next router, a Joes 4'x4' Hybrid http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38220.

I Think this is about the largest Router my garage can support.

Bill

Originally Posted by bgriggs

Well, my transformer arrived today. I am a little concerned about posting picture on how it should be wired though because I am not an electrician and 115VAC is involved......... Playing with electricity can get you killed if you don't know what you are doing. If you have any doubts about your electrical skills please seek professional help. The life you save is well worth the time you may lose.

I chose a different transformer than Hobbycnc recommends for the power supply. I purchase a 24V 10A transformer from http://www.mpja.com. The part number is 7846. The price was $17.99. I was trying to save a few dollars over the $35 transformer recommended. I hope this was not a mistake in the long run..... I have heard of several people using this transformer but I have never seen a wiring diagram.....

The forth picture shows how I think the wiring may go. Anyone here able to verify this?

Bill

I talked to a friend of mine who is an Engineer at the local Verizon service. He explained that the two primaries can be wired in series or in parallel. In series, the transformer input will be 240V. In Parallel, the input is 120V. To wire in Parallel, you join the two red wires together to one side of the AC plug, and join the two black wires to the other side of the AC plug. This should produce 24V. He also offered to help me wire it up tomorrow. Stand by for more photos soon.

Bill

Nice work so far Bill, looks like she'll perform nicely.

Well it has been a long busy summer..... When I last posted my Transformer had just arrived. I was uncertain how wire up the transformer since it is not the one that Dave Rigotti recommends on his website...... Well, thanks to some friends we were able to solve this mystery.

I began by searching in vain for a complete wiring diagram for the MPJA transformer. Apparently no one has posted one because they thought it was too simple....

Basically, what I found out was that the transformer had two sides, and input side and an output side. The input side is where the 120V is connected. In the case of the transformer I had the input side had four wires (Red, Black, Red, Black). The output side has three wires (Blue, Yellow, Blue).

To get 120V into the input side of the transformer, I joined the two Red wires together and the two Black wires together.

I was too cheap to spring for the recommended case for the power supply/driver board at $35 so I came up with an alternative. I went to Walmart and bought a Rubbermaid Keepsake photo and media box ($7.99). The box has a removable top and is large enough to hold all the components. It is easy to cut with hand tools and also see through.

The case I used is a Rubbermaid Keepsake box Part #4487. It is designed for DVD, CD 's and photo sotorage. It comes with a series of blue dividers that are useful in this build.

I start off by removing the top and taking out all the dividers and putting them aside. I used a dremel tool with a 1/8" drill bit to drill most of my starter holes. For big holes I used a Drill Master step drill set from Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com.

The kit contains two fuse holders and a switch. The fuse holders hold two different sized fuses a 4amp and a 10 amp. The 4 amp fuse is used in the incoming AC (120V) line. The 10 amp fuse is on the other side of the transformer and protects the Bridge rectifier, capacitor and driver board.

I used a Dremel tool with a 1/8" drill bit to make the pilot holes for the switch, and fuse holders. I then used a step drill to get the perfect fit for each component. The step drills are nice because they fit an electric screw driver.

I positioned the fuse holders nearest to the part that they would protect. The 4 amp is mear the AC power line and the 10 amp is near the bridge rectifier.