I'm new to this forum need advise and product of list I need to start.
Need help which products of Arduino connect to electronic board to work with each wood machine with each Blast Gate motor open and close and turn on and off large vacuum cyclone.
I have six blast gate to vacuum each machine. Also maybe will add more later on.
Each Machine runs at 120 Vac with 20 amp.
So for example like table saw to turn on power then blast gate motor automatic open while Vacuum turn on same time and vise versa turn off all the same time.
I don't know the difference of UNO R3 vs Mega 2560?
If need like RF connection of each machine like wireless connect to one Arduino Uno R3 or Mega 2560 to relay to turn on DC servo motor gate and Vacuum 120 Vac 20 amp.
Layout schematic for this setup would be nice. I don't have acknowledged about Arduino experience. Please let me know your advice to help me learn and set up. I appreciate and thanks, John
The subtitle of the forum section where you posted this is "For problems with Arduino itself, NOT your project ". I've asked moderators to move it to a more appropriate section.
For the difference between a Mega and an Uno, look them up in the Arduino store; speed wise they are the same. Mega just has more pins, more memory and more 'peripherals' (like serial ports, timers etc).
How do you see Arduino fit in your project? What does it need to do except for switching on/off motors?
How far are your machines apart? You might be better of with a few Arduinos, one for each machine. Long wires are prone to interference; your environment sounds like it has a lit of electrical noise.
if you have a blast gate, please post a link to what you have.
it seems simple.
when you turn the machine ON
you get a signal or some sort.
use that signal to open the blast gate for that machine.
when the machine if OFF, signal the blast gate to close
no need for an Arduino.
with 120, 240, 230, 208, 480, etc, you can get a transformer that will drop the voltage into the range you need, so your electrician can connect the wires easily without any special equipment.
It's been done before in various ways - you might try searching the forum for it - I recall a thread about it in the last few months I think.
One method I've seen is to use a non invasive current sensor to detect when a machine is running and a relay to trigger power to the blast gate. Another relay turns on the power to the cyclone. Generally, the Cyclone & blast gate stay operational for a while after the tool is shut down.
Depending on your workshop layout, you may be able to use one Arduino to control multiple blast gates.
Again, depending on layout, you may want to have one Arduino controlling the cyclone and a number of others each serving multiple tools. I'd probably get wifi enabled devices like an ESPxxx to do the job, but you may need to verify that wifi is usable in such an electrically noisy environment.
There are commercial solutions of course, but if you want to do this yourself you may be able to do it cheaper. Just beware of the fact that you'll probably break hardware as you learn the pitfalls the hard way so that in the end your imagined cost savings won't be quite as impressive as you had hoped.
I've built something quite similar - partly, still have to finish the thing.
There's one central dust extractor, 3-phase, 380V, 2,200W. Near that is a small box with an ATtiny84a based PCB and a little switch, that box sends a signal to a contactor (I'm using one with a 220V AC coil; should have gone for a 12VDC one but it is as it is) to switch on the dust extractor.
Blast gates are connected to a servo that can open/close it. Again an ATtiny to control the thing. A long wire sends a signal to the central box telling it to switch on or off the big sucker.
Some points will be manual only (a simple switch), in others I have installed a current sensor (clamp on type) that is read by an ATtiny which then opens the blast gate and controls the dust extraction for you when you switch on the machine.
In this case I didn't bother trying to get a central unit to do it all. It's much easier to have a bunch of small controllers at each machine, and signal wires connecting them all.
Thank you of some information but my goal is....need which products to work with arduino uno like ... get the work done quick and easy and not mess around with smartphone.
I already have bought new Arduino UNO R3 board # A000066, 8 servos but I will use only 6 to each custom clear lexan plastic glass valve and servos for each blast gate.
I’m not sure how to like if need receiver board and relay board for each
20 amp of 120 VAC machine like table saw, miter saw, router table, etc. For to connecting to Arduino uno connect to solid state switch device to run dust collector at the same time. Also like to add LED color warning to show me is open to help guide me because I’m deaf like green light means open and red is to close. So that I need to to set up for each servos blast gates.
For example table saw when turn on power then at same time servo blast gate open and vacuum turn on. After completed saw is turn off servo blast gate to
close and vacuum turn off automatically.
Could you help me brainstorm layout that system above? I did visited YouTube a lot. Not anyone from YouTube explaining some details.
Here my favorite idea he build but not enough information to get more details see video.
Let me know of those parts he show on video because I could not get type of mini board he add to Arduino to make things works. Also frequecy interference I do not understand what cause it?
I would not need Bluetooth or WiFi because it a waste of time using smartphone.
If all things was successful than I'll might start show and tell my first time to open YouTube wood working project video. I know I’ll be very nervous my very first time.
Thank you ....
Find out how to detect current showing a machine is on.
Research a suitable contactor (or maybe SSR) for your dust extractor.
In the end, tie it all together, starting with one blast gate, one machine, and the dust extractor.
An Uno is nice for tinkering, but for your final installation you're much better off with a Nano or Pro Mini board firmly soldered on a piece of perfboard or a PCB.
alpinejwh:
Could you help me brainstorm layout that system above? I did visited YouTube a lot. Not anyone from YouTube explaining some details.
Here my favorite idea he build but not enough information to get more details see video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1JWH425o7c&t=4s
Let me know of those parts he show on video because I could not get type of mini board he add to Arduino to make things works.
It looks like an Adafruit 16 channel servo shield. By the sound of it you don't need so many channels - other people make them too.
I would not need Bluetooth or WiFi because it a waste of time using smartphone.
The point is not to use a smartphone, it's that with the setup in the video, he has one controller running all his servos and that means running long wires from the Arduino to each tool. Apparently that works for him but I would be concerned about long cable runs causing problems for reliable operation of the servos.
What other folks have done is to have several Arduinos that each control a few blast gate servos and another one that operates the dust collector. The satellite Arduinos need a way to ask for the dust collector to be started and that can be where wifi or Bluetooth come in if you don't want to wire them all together.
wvmarle's point is important: it's quite a task to get a project like this going, but it's much easier if you do it in discrete bits.
wvmarle:
An Uno is nice for tinkering, but for your final installation you're much better off with a Nano or Pro Mini board firmly soldered on a piece of perfboard or a PCB.
Can this work for each servo blast gate? How does this work?
This video he #ILikeToMakeStuff explained something connected in that outside of this outlet at 5:15 of this video - YouTube .... is that a receiver?
Also length wires is not very long say only longest one is like less than 15 feet to blast gate other area like from 8 to 10 feet away from electric box be located near vacuum cyclone. If for any way using less that 18 ga wires to power Arduino Board using 12 vdc with more current?
You need Pictures in my garage to see what its like?
alpinejwh:
This video he explained something connected in that outside of this outlet at 5:15 of this video HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/D1JWH425O7C .... is that a receiver?
Also length wires is not very long say only longest one is like less than 15 feet to blast gate other area like from 8 to 10 feet away from electric box be located near vacuum cyclone. If for any way using less that 18 ga wires to power Arduino Board using 12 vdc with more current?
You need Pictures in my garage to see what its like?
Power everything at 5V, that's what an Arduino really needs. Common servos are also happy at that voltage.
All you need is a wire between the nodes and the main controller, to tell the main controller when to switch on/off the dust collector. A simple high/low signal is all you need for that.
Again, break it down in pieces. Approaching it as a whole is daunting, and for a beginner a recipe for disaster.
wvmarle:
Power everything at 5V, that's what an Arduino really needs. Common servos are also happy at that voltage.
All you need is a wire between the nodes and the main controller, to tell the main controller when to switch on/off the dust collector. A simple high/low signal is all you need for that.
Again, break it down in pieces. Approaching it as a whole is daunting, and for a beginner a recipe for disaster.
I could not get pictures in mind of wire between the NODES and the MAIN CONTROLLER? Which one of Nano or Pro Mini I should be using? I'm thinking "nodes" is like Nano or Pro Mini mount near each servos? And then wire from nodes to main controller (UNO R3 Board) in electric box? Would voltage sensor fromreceptacle each outlet connect to each machine. So that sensor three long wire to electric box which is connect to PCB and add wire to 30 amp relay or SSR and main controller connect 12 vdc switching power supply? A drawing or something to help me understand better.
Also how can I attach photo or drawing to this post?
There have been two ways of doing this presented here. The video you posted has a single Arduino that does everything. As long as the wire runs aren't too long, that's probably the simplest. I'm not sure what those devices are that detect that a tool is powered up.
The other way is to have an Arduino at every tool to detect current and signal the controller to start the dust collection once its servo has opened the appropriate blast gate. You may find that several tools can share a single Arduino. The current detectors I'm familiar with just enclose a single wire in the power cable and are therefore contactless.
In this latter mechanism, you need a ground and signal wire from each node to the master controller.
As noted above, the blast gates may be tricky. Mine are manually operated, they're plastic and stiff. The moving gate pieces don't fit in place well so it can take more effort to move them than a hobby servo could necessarily manage. The ones in the video look better made and seem to slide really nicely when the servo activates. I would be a little curious to know how that changes when there's sawdust everywhere though.
the non-invasive way to know the unit is running is to monitor the current.
the easiest way is a CT or current transformer.
if every machine has a home run to the breaker panel, then you can centralize the sensing.
if more than one is on the same circuit, then you need local sensing.
some machines will provide for a tie in to the power of the unit so 120/230 is available for the sensing line.
sensing is the input section.
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once any machine is energized, then you would start the dust collector.
and also open the blast gate.
where the blas gate gets it's power and signal from would go along with the control scheme.
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the dust collector, depending on motor size, needs a motor starter, or a relay or some such.
all these things would be shown the simple block diagram
things like motor horsepower, amperage, voltage, what circuit breaker they are on, etc...
would be listed to make the diagram easy to use.
in my view, the local electrician should be in on this early. after all, he may have some points to add to make sure it is in code and such.
The choice between Nano or Pro Mini is yours. The main difference is the built-in USB. Use one of those also for the main controller, an Uno is not suited for long term installations (no way to properly connect wires).
For detection of power on I used current sensors, the CT type. The ones i have do take a few extra components on the PCB: sense resistor, rectifier, peak detector and output voltage limiting.
wvmarle:
The choice between Nano or Pro Mini is yours. The main difference is the built-in USB. Use one of those also for the main controller, an Uno is not suited for long term installations (no way to properly connect wires).
For detection of power on I used current sensors, the CT type. The ones i have do take a few extra components on the PCB: sense resistor, rectifier, peak detector and output voltage limiting.
I see your points not using UNO that can't be solder. So I now understand use Nano or Pro Mini to solder on PCB.
So that main controller is PCB? I'm not clearly understand in details. CT is big will not fit in every outlet and is expensive for each machine but I don't know they make mini CT.
What is the layout of extra components or buy a set of ready made?
Is this possible to email to me of details, schematic, etc?
A 1:1000 CT can be as small as 17 mm diameter and cost no more than USD 0.8 each. Not what I call "expensive" and should fit inside most conventional power outlets.
The signal "current" goes to a digital input. R10 is there as it is the MISO pin and I do want to be able to program the ATtiny this circuit connects to. It may be omitted if you don't share the pin with another function.
