HB2 Construction

The case is store bought. It has a steel base and steel wrap top with front and rear panels being aluminum. Here I am building the base layout. I wanted to get the weight of the transformer centered. Later I rotated the transformer 180 degrees and moved the bridge diode array over to the other side of the transformer. A lot of the holes have been made.

This is much later with all the components installed. Note the change in the transformer. A lot of the wiring is in place but not all. The transformer is fused on both the primary and secondary sides. This is called an analog DC power supply. Most people are familiar with the lighter weight switching type power supplies in computers. This is how it was done in the "old" days!

The no load voltage on this DC power supply is 35.6 volts. This was the first "smoke test" and it passed with no loss of the magic smoke. That big capacitor acts like a dead short when first energized

I looked everywhere trying to find a short DB25 parallel extension cable. I finally had to make one. All 25 wires are not necessary, but I was only going to make this cable once and I figured some day I might just need the one wire I left out.

I made the capacitor clamp from a strip of aluminum. I also chose this clamp bolt for the chassis ground. The other side is bolted on the foot of the transformer. Note the 10 watt bleed resistor. I sized it for a 5 watt load and it does get hot.

Here is the inside of the back panel with a lot of connections. What you see here are the four 5 pin XLR sockets and the wire terminations of the 8 pin terminal strip. The terminal strip will be used for end switches and other low voltage connection duties.

Just another view across the back of the power supply. The factory wire off the transformer was just long enough to reach the fuse. There is still a bit of slack.

I always connect the main power to the tip (end of the fuse. That way the line voltage is always the farthest away from a user removing the fuse. A newbie may not think of this. I also used a socket with a built in line filter to keep noise out of the power line. One more little detail.

The big red switch is wired in with E-Stop and acts as a panic kill switch. This is a much faster STOP than turning off the power.

A look at the bottom of the PS2. The little rubber pads are just enough so the bolt heads do not drag. The fan is wired to discharge so air is drawn into these slots and the slots on the back panel.

Here is the back panel with the P-Touch labels attached. That will work for now but I am thinking I will someday be trying out some plastic for making engraved panel signs and I can then do a first class job here.

The front side with the P-Touch. Definitely look sharp with professional engraved labels. Hey! I can do that...

The back before labeling. All channels up and running and playing a harmony of sweet tunes in the four stepper motors. Avid CNC ers know what I am talking about. Steppers have a music all their own.

Here we are testing and playing the music. At least it is music to my ears. Note the LARGE cup of coffee and the fine "adjusting" tool on top of the PS2. Alignment is critical and the voices tell you where there is a bind... :)