Thread: Pyrography machine home built

Check the variable capacitors, they look like little cylinders, and normally have a black plastic cover with a silver top. 1 or more of these may have failed .

For the price I would just get another Control, there are larger capacity units that will work, and go from 0% to 100% capacity, the 10Amp unit starts at 10% to 100%.

I would hazard a guess , that the heavier wire may have been the cause, DID YOU CHECK THE FUSE???

Jeff
vk4

Hi Jeff,

Haven't done anything with it yet.
Will have a look in the morning and see what the issue may be.
The two main caps have not popped their lids, thats as far as I got before I pushed it in the corner.

I'll let you know how I go.

Pete

Cheers mate, if it squealed, it could well be a cap.

jeff
vk4

the squeal seemed to be coming from the switch.

Not a good week,
pyro died (and I needed to use it today).
electronic level died and need a picture to see where wires went (post on here somewhere).
They come in threes, so wondering what else is going to die, Maybe the electric boat motor I got for xmas or will it be me....???

OK,
Pulled it apart this morning and you are correct Jeff.
It was the fuse that popped.
Went to jaycar and got a 7.5A to replace the 8A.

Also got a crystal 8A as a spare (never keen as you can't see if dead but I got a multimeter or 5 around).

Will give it a go this afternoon and see how I go.

Now to get car bulbs for a friend of mine, dead indicator, dead headlight, and the indicator in there is the wrong one, meant to be yellow and the pin locations are wrong.

Why do they sell people the wrong ones?

Then I have to take it for her for a service.

Mate you should see what I have had thrown at me in the last 2weeks , what you had is nothing!!

Anyway happy to see that it was only a fuse, as I said the heavier wire may have been to heavy.

cheers,

Jeff
vk4

Jeff,
I am going to attempt and build one of these pyro machines similar to yours and have several computer power supplies. The largest output I have for 12v is 8 amp and a couple are 4 amps. Would I still need the 1 ohm resistor if I used either of these smaller power supplies, or would the 4 amp unit probably work better without the large resistor and still use the motor controller?

Thanks for posting all the information on your build!! I also really like your picture you posted using your unit!!

john

Originally Posted by foneman

Jeff,
I am going to attempt and build one of these pyro machines similar to yours and have several computer power supplies. The largest output I have for 12v is 8 amp and a couple are 4 amps. Would I still need the 1 ohm resistor if I used either of these smaller power supplies, or would the 4 amp unit probably work better without the large resistor and still use the motor controller?

Thanks for posting all the information on your build!! I also really like your picture you posted using your unit!!

john

I got .9mm wire.
and I find if I go thru the 100W 1 Ohm resistor it will not warm up enough, even if turned up full.
I find it ok to use the direct line and use the dial to adjust the temp (maybe 4 out of 10).
I put speaker connectors on top of mine (2 on resistor side and 2 without).
Then I can just put the wires on a few homemeade pens in and use whichever I want.
For the pen I put 2 sections of a block connector at the end of a wooden handle (the ones that have 2 screws and an entry from each end). Wire to PS goes in one side and the other side allows me to unscrew and change nibs.
Peter

Peter,
Thanks for the updated information on your pen build! Are you connecting two pens to the power supply at the same time?

john

yes but I don't run them at the same time. I have a switch on each outlet so I can turn them on and off individually, That way I don't leave one burning stuff (usually me).
They cool quick and heat quick as well.

Originally Posted by _fly_

yes but I don't run them at the same time. I have a switch on each outlet so I can turn them on and off individually, That way I don't leave one burning stuff (usually me).
They cool quick and heat quick as well.

OK, I see now!! I like the idea of the switch on each outlet. I ordered my resistor, motor controller, and nichrome wire last night so will be building the burner as soon as they arrive. That will give me time to get the burning pens built and ready for the wire. I am getting 18, 20, and 22 gauge wire.

Thank you for the information!!
john

LOOKS like I started a new frenzy, building your own Pyro Machines, well done people, it took me several months to get mine started and working , good to see that you have started and finished & modified your own machines in such a short time.

1 point to remember DO NOT PLAY WITH THE 240 VOLT INPUT , it could be fatal;!!!!

Cheers

jeff
vk4

I finally got all my parts and built my pyro machine today. I had a smaller computer power supply case that I used for the PWM controller, resistor, and jacks. I did reuse the fan but removed everything else. There was a large heatsink on the power board that I removed and mounted inside the case for the 1 ohm resistor heatsink. I used "mono phone jacks" for the pen connections and have one jack that is direct from the controller. The lower jack has the 1 ohm resistor between the controller and the jack for reduced power for finer nichrome tips. I haven't decided if I need any switches since I plan on only using one pen at a time and the lower connection is dedicated to the resistor's reduced power for finer wires. This older power supply does have an on-off switch on the back that works well for powering down the unit.

The only problem I encountered is with the mono jacks. Since the case is metal and the jack's sleeve is common with the way it mounts to the case, it shuts down the power supply with anything plugged into the full power jack. I found that if the jack is isolated from the case all works properly. So, I had to make some plastic insulators to mount the jacks to in order for the system to work properly.

Two of the pens are made from Ipe that is turned down and bored out on the lathe. The connectors are made from a couple screw connectors removed from a European terminal strip I purchased from an electronics store. I made a couple tips from 18 gauge and 20 gauge nichrome wire that I purchased on ebay. The third pen is not wired yet, but is made from 1/2 inch PVC pipe and some of the same connectors. The connectors are bolted to the PVC and I then filled in the voids around the connector with epoxy.

I have done some writing on scrap wood and the unit seems to work well. It has enough power to literally melt the wire tip if I crank it up.

Here are some pics:
IMG_1336.JPGIMG_1340.JPGIMG_1339.JPGIMG_1337.JPG

I got all my ideas for this pyro machine from the posts in this thread. Thank you to all who helped by posting that information!!!!

john

Maybe you got the wire from the same guy as I did, turns out he lives over my back fence.
I didn't want to buy a roll untill I was sure it was all going to work.

In case you want to buy a roll I found this mob http://www.wiltronics.com.au/datashe...0reference.pdf