I’m sure it’s possible, but not sure how
I’d like to install a simple micro switch to my laser lid to trigger the extractor fan.
Ideally it would be great if I could get it to turn on/off a an extension lead which my fan and air pump is plugged into.
Anyone ever done anything similar/is it doable?
You probably already have a sensor on your hood. Use that…
I had my fan/compressor connected to the ‘Status’ sink on the Ruida. It goes low when you execute a job.
Good luck
Like he said on the Ruida. It switches the ground, not the hot. Lets you choose your needed voltage for any output.
sorry - how does one go about this. Do you know if any walkthroughs or similar?
Everything depends on your machine. Almost every one has a switch of some sort to detect open cover some are a physical switch, some are magnetic. It can be physically bypasses or programmed to be ignored in most controllers. If it a physical switch, most are single pole, either single or double trip depending on what the manufacturer can get the cheapest ( SPST or SPDT ).
If you are going to tie that in directly to a high voltage device, the the switch needs to be swapped for a dual so you can run low voltage sensors on one side and high voltage switching on the other ( DPST or DPDT ).
If you have a low voltage relay, then you can run the relay off your controller to then switch the high voltage for an exhaust blower. For a Ruida controller, that would be the STATUS terminal, WIND would be for air assist.
The Ruida controller STATUS and WIND outputs switch the ground, not the positive. Since it has both 24V and 5V positive available, you can get either a 24V or 5V DC relay. Keep in mind the outputs are opto isolated with a max current of 500mA and a nominal working current of 400mA.
You should be able… What machine do you have @mattyd ?
I have 55w omtech 400x600 and did some improvements on it.
The master switch keeps only the controller ON (zero noise). I added switches for every device like air pump, water pump and extractor fan. In addition upgraded the switch key so when I’m ready to engrave, and additional extractor (on the wall) turns ON and a hour-meter counts the time the laser (or the power supply) is working.
Cheers
cheers Dave - this sounds really silly (and Im 99% sure I know the answer) but id presumably have to wire the fan (and maybe air) directly to the PSU in the laser right?
You can wire them, but they must be relay controlled. The opto isolators on the Ruida controllers are only rated for 300mA with a surge of 500mA. The good news is they switch the ground / negative, so you can pull the appropriate voltage needed for your relay from any of the positive voltage points on the controller be it 5V or 24V.
The STATUS terminal comes on and off with the job, the WIND comes on and off with the layer and the air assist selection. Since I pull air from a separate source, I have a master solenoid on STATUS, and the air assist from the WIND.