Plasma Torch, first try and lots of questions

Thanks Tom,

I got my inspiration from yourself, John, Phil and Rod. They helped me get my wiring diagram drawn up which was the hardest part of building my controller.

I find that having something to reference from makes designing something 100 times easier even if it is not exactly what I need.

thefabricator03 wrote:

Thanks Tom,

I got my inspiration from yourself, John, Phil and Rod. They helped me get my wiring diagram drawn up which was the hardest part of building my controller.

I find that having something to reference from makes designing something 100 times easier even if it is not exactly what I need.

I sometimes find wiring diagrams do my head in . I kinda wish I had of made one of the AC side of my machine as it would be a good reference to others.

But what worked really well for me was to create a table (many tables actually) that lists all the pins and says what they are connected to. With the 7i76e, I always updated the table before I did any more wiring. So now after the near final Version 157, if something goes wrong, I know exactly where to look.

Just curious, what makes the AC side of your controller complicated?

I was only just thinking today that I should have shown the circuit breaker I used. I tried a normal 240v 10amp breaker but it kept tripping when I turned on the system due to the inrush current the torodial transformer was consuming. I spoke to our local electrical engineer and he reckoned I uses a type D breaker which is made for industrial motors that do the same thing. Brought one ($70!!) and all is well.

Not much really. a emi IEC connector, a 6 amp household style breaker, A cheap 2 pole estop that drops mains power to the stepper motors and also to a power point for a downdraft fan, an illuminated Power switch for the Power point, an illuminated main power switch,
Two neon indicators to show mains power and fan/motor power is good, an AC cabinet fan, Power to 48v, 24v, 5v power supplies, + Isolated 24v for hyper sensing, then on tip of that a circuit board containing current limiting resistors to turn on LED indicators for each of the three power supplies mentioned which was an idea a mate gave me right at the beginning and did prove useful troubleshooting errors. Plus 24v field power through the other side of the estop to a 7i76e input. Oh and 3 x 24v warning lights all on the door. So by now its that hard to work out what is mains power and what is 24 volt attached to the door! And that was before I added another DIN Rail on the door for ohmic sensing!

Lol thats quite the wiring job.

I tried really hard to limit anything 240v purely for safety reasons.

All I have is a 240v main in-feed that goes through a breaker to a set of terminals that sends it to the torodial transformer and to the three power dc power supplies. Each DC power supplier has its own safety protection built in.

I could of used 240v fans which as I found out are really easy to source in Aus compared to the 24v ones I would of preferred. Ended up with 12v fans just because I can buy them easily from my local Jaycar.

Also the meanwell DC power supplies I am using have built in led to show when they are powered up. That feature is like you mentioned very handy.

The fan I already had and it did not really add any complexity. The caged power supplies I used had their LED's buried in the machine so are not easy to see at all. The DIN rail ones are a bit more convenient so will use them from now on.

I've got a 7i96 almost wired up but have not hit the big switch on it yet. Its a lot more compact.

Yes AC side would be nice too... Automatic fuses... E stop switches and power distribution Knots, as well the parts for some I know the usage but not the name to order.

So to say not in detail...

I am using a 10amp breaker, but only got a one pole which I am not certain is enough though type C!l


By the way I found one can used Db25 connectors for cabling power to the Motors etc, but more Pins should be used in parallel.

So a Db25 can be used for power, switches and induction Sensors too.(all at once per axes)

Single pole breaker is fine. Thats all the mains supply has in your house.
For motors, the CB microphone connectors work well. I ussed 5 pin ones so I could bring the shield inside the cabinet right up to the motor drive



DB9 worked well for limits for me




At the control box end I used DB9 break out boards.

In my house all are 2 pole this is standard here. 380 is even 4 pole but it's OK.

A nice setup you have got!

CB mic connectors is a good idea!!

Thanks, I think if I did it again, I would use a DB15 so I had some spare wires up there. But the cable is expensive then. A 5m commercial cable was just not long enough!