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Jlg
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Does anyone know where I can get one of these but with the switches on the front not the back I used to have one from maplin like what I want but I got rid of it and maplin is gone so I can’t get another https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/slredir...24608224337069&widgetName=sp_phone_search_atf
I wouldn't worry too much about the enclosure overheating unless you've insulated it well
I built one for mine from a little Ikea table, so chipboard top 2inch thick and perspex sides... I've had it run doing 18hour prints at 110'C bed temperature and I wish it was warmer in there, some ABS prints were still warping/splitting :-(
I built one for mine from a little Ikea table, so chipboard top 2inch thick and perspex sides... I've had it run doing 18hour prints at 110'C bed temperature and I wish it was warmer in there, some ABS prints were still warping/splitting :-(
Jlg
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The room it's in can reach 40degres c on a sunny day so I think I'll need something it's getting made out of acrylic
brewdexta
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I do, or did, I put a lot of info on a brewing site of how I used the PIDs in the brewery but the patron of the forum sold out to some US company and turned it into one of the god awful sites full of advertising and if you hover your cursor over a word it explains it and suggests sites to go to. I vowed never to go back! Sounds it's under control but any STC-1000 temp controller sounds like it would do the job.
Jlg
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Would running them on one of them be the best way or just run them a bit slower and keep them on permanent I'm just wondering if the sudden rush of cold air would do anything to the parts I'm printing
brewdexta
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I couldn't comment on your application in terms of parts damage and I tend to use separate PIDs and solid state relays as I'm switching largish kettle type elements to keep up to 80 litres of mash at a constant temperature. However the STC-1000 and the device @Tom Orrow L mentioned work on a similar principle. They learn about the trend in cooling or heating and switch the output accordingly. So they anticipate change based upon observed trends and react, sometimes operating the relay frequently to turn on/off the cooling/heating device. This frequent switching tended to kill tube heaters I used in my fermentation cupboard but you usually have parameters you can change to dampen this and my current heater is lasting well.
daleyd
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A pid controller won’t give you speed control over your fan, at least not without something else inbetween.
There are 3 main types of control when it comes to temperature control.
The first is pure PID control which will give an analogue output (eg 0-10 volts). This output will not in itself be enough to drive a fan, it’s purely a low current signal to something else eg a speed controller.
Second you can have time proportional control, where you turn an output on for a period of time depending on the demand from the pid (eg 50% demand means the output is on for 30 secs and off for 30 secs). This could work in your case but you would perhaps want to put long minimum on and off times to prevent the fans from cycling.
The third is pure on/off control where the output turns on at a setpoint and then off when below this, minus any hysteresis- eg your fan would turn on at 50 degrees and if there was 10 degree hysteresis it would turn off again at 40. I would suggest this is what you would want in your case, if you got a unit with 2 relay outputs you could have one fan set at, say 50 and the other at 55?
Something like this on eBay would do what you want but you’d need a sensor to go with it (I might have something here that would work if you want), and you’d need to power it from 240 volts(don’t forget that’s only to peer the controller, you will still be switching your 12 volts for your fans). I work for the company that make these so I might be biased but they are probably the best you can get. You can download a comprehensive manual in proper English.
You can get similar new generic Chinese ones very cheaply but in my experience the manuals and setup is pretty poor.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/303083194672
There are 3 main types of control when it comes to temperature control.
The first is pure PID control which will give an analogue output (eg 0-10 volts). This output will not in itself be enough to drive a fan, it’s purely a low current signal to something else eg a speed controller.
Second you can have time proportional control, where you turn an output on for a period of time depending on the demand from the pid (eg 50% demand means the output is on for 30 secs and off for 30 secs). This could work in your case but you would perhaps want to put long minimum on and off times to prevent the fans from cycling.
The third is pure on/off control where the output turns on at a setpoint and then off when below this, minus any hysteresis- eg your fan would turn on at 50 degrees and if there was 10 degree hysteresis it would turn off again at 40. I would suggest this is what you would want in your case, if you got a unit with 2 relay outputs you could have one fan set at, say 50 and the other at 55?
Something like this on eBay would do what you want but you’d need a sensor to go with it (I might have something here that would work if you want), and you’d need to power it from 240 volts(don’t forget that’s only to peer the controller, you will still be switching your 12 volts for your fans). I work for the company that make these so I might be biased but they are probably the best you can get. You can download a comprehensive manual in proper English.
You can get similar new generic Chinese ones very cheaply but in my experience the manuals and setup is pretty poor.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/303083194672
Jlg
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They look nice but are a bit pricey new
daleyd
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Jlg
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Id like to do it through speed control but I don't know how to
daleyd
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Really the easiest way would be to use one of the speed controllers linked to by @johnser above - it looks like they would do what you want but the documentation looks pretty badly translated so might not be the easiest to follow. Like he said though they appear to do exactly what you want.
If you were so inclined you could probably do something with an arduino (small programmable microcontroller) to control a pwm signal. PWM is the method used to vary the fan speed, it’s basically switching an output on and off very fast to give an effect of varying the voltage. If your not confident with electronics then probably not the best solution.
You could go down the route of a pid controller and get something to control the speed in between, like this...
https://uk.farnell.com/ebm-papst/cpcxxvv10un-f/a2p-interface-dc-fan/dp/2818472
But it’s not cheap and I don’t know if your fans would be compatible.
Gareth J
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While the control mechanism/parameters are a bit fuzzy on the detail, you can effectively "tune" them based on where you locate the thermocouple. Put it somewhere pretty hot and the fans whizz more, move it somewhere naturally cooler and they'll let the machine get hotter.
Jlg
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Would this control the speed of the fans depending on the temperature or not as I can’t tell https://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-Sentry-Touch-Screen-Controller/dp/B00KJGYLNM
