Wobblycogs CNC Mk2

[Wobblycogs]

I've been working on the control case on and off for the last couple of months, I got a good few hours in today so I thought I'd share an update and a couple of pictures.

I got the soft start parts ordered, built and fitted. I'm really pleased with the out come. There's certainly no more tripping breakers / blowing fuses. I don't know if it's psychological but it actually sounds quieter when the main power is engaged. I've set the timer to two seconds to give the capacitors a chance to fully charge while the system is still being current limited. I also re-jigged the bleed resistors so that they dissipate a lot less power.

After that I set about making the top and bottom panel. My plan was to have all the connections coming out the bottom of the control case with just a couple of vents at the top. The whole case can then be mounted on a wall somewhere up out of the way. I spent an inordinate amount of time researching connectors and eventually settled on some from ebay (and AliExpress). I have to admit they weren't the cheapest connectors but they are a pleasure to work with and well over spec'ed.

As I (currently) have the VFD in the case I've gone for a 16A connection. I'm sure the total draw could be met by a 13A connector but the 16A stuff is just better suited to this sort of situation.

With all my focusing on the main connectors I completely forgot to leave space for the parallel port. Fortunately there was just enough space up the right hand side next to the fan. I actually think I would probably have put the connector there if I had planned it so all in all that's worked out well. The only slight bodge is that it's actually glued into place. The PMDX manual states that the metal outer case for the socket shouldn't be connected to the case (earth loop issues). I didn't have space for a plastic mounting plate so it was hot melt glue to the rescue.