Dust Management

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jimandi5000
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Re: Dust Management

Post by jimandi5000 »

Please note, all of the dust collection piping and gate valves was in place, I added the sorvo's, seniors and buttons. I would be still printing the parts if I had not used my son's 3d printers. I had 3, ender3 running for 5 days and every cycle we had a complete gate and boxes parts for the button / sensor. No way doing this all by myself.
Thanks,
Jim

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jimandi5000
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Re: Dust Management

Post by jimandi5000 »

gkas wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:23 am
The dust level sensor. It's gotta be touchy to keep down the false positives.
The infared distance module has lost its mind. I am getting a full blown array of false positives. As I use the system, saw dust is filling up the infared module. I need to com up with a better way if checking the dust depth.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jim

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jimandi5000
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Re: Dust Management

Post by jimandi5000 »

highpockets wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:31 am
gkas wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:23 am
How did you implement the dust level sensor. It's gotta be touchy to keep down the false positives.
Mine works off of vacuum pressure....
Tell me about your vacuum pressure system?
Thanks,
Jim

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SteveNelson46
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Re: Dust Management

Post by SteveNelson46 »

For automated dust control I use the iVac pro switch, the iVac pro tool plus and since my dust collector draws about 20 amps (Harbor Freight 2 HP) I use their Contactor. The pro tool plus just clamps around the spindle power cord and senses the current and sends a wireless signal to the pro switch which, in turn, closes the circuit on the Contactor to start the DC. The Pro Tool is completely non-invasive and requires no special wiring. The system can also control their blast gates. It sounds complicated but it's just a simple wireless relay that starts and stops the DC.

https://www.ivacswitch.com/
Steve

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Re: Dust Management

Post by gkas »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 3:34 am
gkas wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:23 am
The dust level sensor. It's gotta be touchy to keep down the false positives.
The infared distance module has lost its mind. I am getting a full blown array of false positives. As I use the system, saw dust is filling up the infared module. I need to com up with a better way if checking the dust depth.

Any thoughts?
Somehow I lost my last post to this.... I guess I didn't save correctly.

Load Sensor - 50kg https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10245 Attached to a plate in bottom of bin.

Load Cell - 200kg, Disc (TAS606) https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13332

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highpockets
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Re: Dust Management

Post by highpockets »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 4:55 am
highpockets wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:31 am
gkas wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:23 am
How did you implement the dust level sensor. It's gotta be touchy to keep down the false positives.
Mine works off of vacuum pressure....
Tell me about your vacuum pressure system?
Jim, I'm using the KISS system, I was more concerned with the health of the dust collector and the dust filter so I made a manometer to monitor the air pressure in the system. This tells me in simple terms if I have a problem with the system such as a clogged filter. I don't believe this is going to be nearly "high tech" enough for you. As for how full my garbage can is, I use a site window I cut in the side of the can (KISS). The problem I found was anything you put into the dusty environment of the dust collector is going to clog or get destroyed due dust and the abrasive action of the collection bin. I had given brief thought to some sort of probe that would drop down into the dust bin (say every 10 minutes) and take a depth sounding (like they use to do in sailing). It was the only thing I could think of that wouldn't (maybe) not get destroyed by the system.
Good luck finding an answer.
Have you thought about using a series of photoresistors?
John
Maker of Chips

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scotttarnor
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Re: Dust Management

Post by scotttarnor »

Could always go low tech with a mechanical float like from a sump or toilet system.
Scott T

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Re: Dust Management

Post by Bonch »

jimandi5000 wrote:
Sat Mar 07, 2020 3:34 am
gkas wrote:
Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:23 am
The dust level sensor. It's gotta be touchy to keep down the false positives.
The infared distance module has lost its mind. I am getting a full blown array of false positives. As I use the system, saw dust is filling up the infared module. I need to com up with a better way if checking the dust depth.

Any thoughts?
Jim,

I built the system in this forum thread about 5 years ago. It is in a 30 gallon drum mounted to the lid. It flashes a red light and an audible alarm that will definitely get your attention.

I think I built it for about $60 back then including the control box. Be sure to shop around for the detector. Amazon may not be the cheapest out there if you decide to build it.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php ... vel-Sensor

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jimandi5000
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Re: Dust Management

Post by jimandi5000 »

Wow, Allot of great suggestions. I will have to do some reading on these. I like the load cell idea, I can check the weight of the drum to a max weight or I could just put a sight glass on the side of the drum.

:D
Thanks,
Jim

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Re: Dust Management

Post by jimandi5000 »

Hello everyone,

My hope is that each and everyone of you and your families are healthy and taking steps to stay that way.

I wanted to take a moment and share the conclusion to my homemade dust management system. The last issue I was trying to address was sensing the sawdust levels in the dust collection barrel. I had started with infrared sensor measuring the distance between the sawdust level and the top of the barrel. This failed miserably because the sawdust has a static charge and sticks to the infrared lens. This resulted in radical feedback. My next step was to weigh the barrel and as the barrel became full have a material weight to set alert.

So I purchased some load cells and built a digital scales to weigh the barrel. This worked perfectly, until I turn the system off and then turned it back on. When I turn the system off, the scale would start with zero even if I had 50 pounds of sawdust in the barrel. My next step was to accumulate the sawdust weight and store it and then the software would total and determine if the barrel was full again. So I began working on a overly complex software solution for a very simple problem. I was talking to my wife and she pointed out if I had a bright light inside the barrel I could just simply see the level.

I was fortunate to marry a woman so much smarter than myself... I am so lucky.

My dust collector is one of those has a hand crank style air filter which I never ever seem to go over and turn. So I wanted to motorized this exercise to be ran every day. I came up with a Nema 23 stepper motor and a set of wooden gears and started drawing out the Vcarve files to cut all this out of three-quarter inch plywood. Now I know you're not gonna believe this, but I was roasting some chickens on the grill and looked at the rotisserie motor thingy and went and put it on top of my dust collector. I had to jerry-rigged a piece of 3/8 inch key stock to a 13/16 socket and plugged it in. It works perfectly!

So today, I am proud to announce, I have completed my smart dust collection system. Every major power tool in my shop has automated dust collection. When I start my day, the dust collector filter flappers are turned for two minutes (roughly 5 rotations) a LED light displays in the barrel to indicate the level of sawdust. The System is based on a Arduino Mega; for the major power tools, the system will sweep the electrical circuits for a voltage change, there are servos that open and close aluminum blast gates as needed for each of the stationary tools. I also have a sanding station with both power sensing and a push button that will activate the dust collector and blast gate. This is really cool when I need to use the dust collecting system to pick up large amounts of sawdust. Dust collector doesn't do as well as a shop vac for picking up dirt and trash.

Have a look at the photos below and let me know if you have any questions, if you want the drawings, models, or source code, let me know and I'll Post them. :)
Attachments
Jet Dust Collector
Jet Dust Collector
Drum Light
Drum Light
Rotisserie attachment
Rotisserie attachment
Thanks,
Jim

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Re: Dust Management

Post by gkas »

My kind of guy... 8) I love the solution for clearing the air filter!! ...and you are correct about the dust level sensor. Sometimes we just have to over-engineer stuff. :roll: I've also collected a few comments like that from my wife. We have complicated solutions looking for a simple problem.

I am definitely interested in looking at your Arduino code and the STLs for your blast gate actuators. I don't think I'm going to get as fancy as you, but I might drive my much simpler system with a touch screen Pi or Arduino. I'm going to get a few IoT Relays https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WV7GMA2/?c ... _lig_dp_it to power the shop devices.

Since this discussion started, I bought a Raspberry Pi 4 kit and a few Arduino Uno boards. Micro Center has their Arduino Uno clone boards for $9!! I put together a touch screen Pi for a Internet Radio in the shop. It works great with my bluetooth speaker and WiFi.

Thanks for sharing your results.

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jimandi5000
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Re: Dust Management

Post by jimandi5000 »

Here you go!!!

Here are the STL files. I am cleaning up the code and will post is ASAP.

https://jimandi.com/DustCollection/DustGates.zip

Just started using a tool called "Fritzing" and will post the wiring layout as soon I as I figure out how to use this tool. :)
Thanks,
Jim

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Re: Dust Management

Post by garylmast »

You might consider a remote control switch. I have several remotes at each piece of equipment, where I can turn on the dust controller in seconds, without walking over to it. Depending on how much power a piece of equipment needs, I've seen cheap ones as low as $20.

Gary
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remote control switch.JPG

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Re: Dust Management

Post by gkas »

I already have both my Dust Collector and my Shop Vac connected with these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000 ... UTF8&psc=1. I went through a couple of the cheaper ones before I tried these. The others just burned up, even though they were rated OK. I just looked, and I got this one in 8/17.

I'm going to use the relays to open/close the dust gates on the dust collector. Just 'cause we can. :lol:

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Re: Dust Management

Post by bravesoul1950 »

Gkas,

I have used the Rangers for years but they finally crapped out late last year so I replace them with these for $22 each, they work great. I have 2 dust collectors so I have a separate one for each with the remotes at the appropriate tools, they supply 2 remotes with each switch.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CT ... UTF8&psc=1

Joe
Last edited by bravesoul1950 on Sun Apr 05, 2020 10:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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