Best footswitch, see posts 10,13,14,19,29,45,51,52

Thanks, Chris.

It's momentary. I'm also curious about the battery life - If it burns them up I have thought about a transformer. I could use a wall type and then just run a little wire in there. We will see, and I will post about how it works in general after some time using it.

EA
 
great job !!!

I second the transformer would be an easy install, quick trip to radio shack for the jack and transformer if you don't already have one..

to help save battery live you need to disconnect the circuit when not in use, if I leave my instrument cord plugged into my bass it will zap the battery..

now you got me wanting one :D very convenient
 
Thanks, Rob,

Maybe a toggle switch to disconnect the battery? I would probably do that first because it is less wires, but if battery life just becomes a huge PITA, transformer it is. Of course, the relay and everything else needs to keep working as well.

I recently blew a start capacitor on another machine from over-cycling and over-heating. Considering that these relays don't like heat, that start capacitors don't like heat or over-cycling, and that that little pedal is so easy to push over and over, I may end up with more concerns than battery life.

There seem to be several if not many makers using foot switches. I wonder how many are using them with relays on a single phase motor @ 230VAC.

I also wonder if using a 3 phase motor or VFD allows for more starts per hour?

EA
 
alb1k said:
Thanks, Chris.

It's momentary. I'm also curious about the battery life - If it burns them up I have thought about a transformer. I could use a wall type and then just run a little wire in there. We will see, and I will post about how it works in general after some time using it.

EA
Click to expand...

You can check thrift stores and e-waste depots whatever

9vdc plug packs are very common and cost about $1 or less

It would be ncie to have it mounted in the box, but that may not be possible.

or
for the next one, you may just use 120vac control voltage ssr's
 
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12345678910 said:
You can check thrift sotres and e-waste depots whatever

9vdc plug packs are very common and cost about $1 or less

It would be ncie to have it mounted in the box, but that may not be possible.

or
for the next one, you may just use 120vac control voltage ssr's
Click to expand...

Hey Numbers,

I have transformers, but they won't fit in this box - it is tight in there. If I get 2-3 months or more out of the battery, I'm good. If not, I will add the disconnect toggle switch. If that doesn't work I may go with a bigger box designed for the transformer inside. I could go crazy and add a 12V internal cooling fan and vent the box!

One question, if I used 120VAC control voltage ssr's, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having low voltage on the ground where the footswitch is?

Thanks, EA
 
Thanks, Jon.
I'm looking forward to running it through trials. It was nice of Stacy to give so much detailed information.
EA
 
Stacy is great at giving info, no doubt. You took it and ran though. Great detailed pics and instruction. Makes me want to try something like that.....but I'm too busy grinding:D:p

I want to see some blades from you soon bud!
 
Looks good. Very neat construction.
I would cut a piece of fiber spacer material and place it over the SSR's ,just as a safety feature to prevent any wires rubbing through and making a connection between the socket and the SSR screws.
If the battery life isn't suitable (I suspect it will last a fair while, though) you can put a mini power socket in the case where the battery sits now and plug in any old charging/power transformer that is laying around the junk drawer. Any voltage from 3 to 32 VDC will work, 9-12 volts is perfect. Just get a socket at radio Shack that matches the plug on the cord.

For those who want to build one of these....
Using a 1/4" phono jack on the foot switch cord, and installing a matching socket on the case allows the foot switch to be easily replaced, and disconnected safely. Many of the foot switches come with this type of plug on them. Unplugging the foot switch will disable the motor, so no one can accidentally step on the foot switch and start the machine.
 
alb1k said:
Hey Numbers,

One question, if I used 120VAC control voltage ssr's, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having low voltage on the ground where the footswitch is?
Click to expand...

I have a different take on that.

I'm not so concerned about 120v on the ground unless your floor is sopping wet
& then I would use wash-down proof connectors & groundfault protection- that sort of thing.

I see the real advantage of this unit is that you are using the SSR's to do the high current switching so you aren't running that power through the relatively fragile switch in the foot pedal.
Once that switch starts arcing and burning, the contacts will stick and get worse, possibly not stopping when you need it.


and
I hate batteries, I hate to change them, I hate relying on them - never knowing when they will fail
I would have built in the powersupply - but that is my natural preference.
If you can keep it inside, you don't have that fragile external wiring.




That aluminum project box is really nice, where did you find it?
 
Minor update,

I spent most of the day tapering tangs and using the footswitch. I stood on it for 30 minutes at a time, and also did a whole lot of start-stop. 4-5 hours all together. Everything stayed cool and worked great. So far, so good. I'll report back in a few months or so, unless the battery dies or something else happens sooner. :)
 
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Getting close to 5 months and the footswitch is still going strong with original 9v battery. I'm not grinding every day, but I love this switch.
 
Sorry for hijacking this thread but I need help. I have a 3 phase powered disk grinder running off a VFD with remote controls near the grinder. I need an on-off foot switch. Should be easy (relatively speaking) to wire something but when it comes to electrical stuff I am lost. I read through this thread a few times and still don't understand most of it. :(

Anyone wants to help this poor lad?
 
Patrice Lemée;10397891 said:
Sorry for hijacking this thread but I need help. I have a 3 phase powered disk grinder running off a VFD with remote controls near the grinder. I need an on-off foot switch. Should be easy (relatively speaking) to wire something but when it comes to electrical stuff I am lost. I read through this thread a few times and still don't understand most of it. :(

Anyone wants to help this poor lad?
Click to expand...


It should be really easy.

But it's possible that if you want to reverse too, that may add complexity.

Normal foot switch - Busy Bee sells them
http://www.busybeetools.com/products/SWITCH-FOOT-120V-12A-MAX-60HZ-1PH.html
http://www.busybeetools.com/products/SWITCH-FOOT-115V-CSA.html

Make sure it's a momentary switch.

What controller ?
 
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