New E-Panel -- Acrylic w/ ACJr Integration

thanx. I tried to keep it neat. I didnt want any chance of an electrical problem.

here is it with the back cover screwed on.
P7120179.jpg


I just need to tear apart my old system and replace it with this one. But to do that, I need to move my prop plumbing and lighting, and that is gonna take a while!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12920427#post12920427 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dzeadow
sweet! hey, i've searched that allelectronics for "grounding bus" "ground bus" "bus" "bus bar" and nothing comes up that looks like a bus bar to put wires into.. is this something I should be picking up at radio shack? is all this stuff something I can pick up at radio shack?

Electrical aisle at HD or Lowes will have it. You will probably do better searching for buss bars instead of bus. It has 2 S's in it.

Nice job on the box Matt. :thumbsup: The superglue on the green acrylic makes the pictures look like it is a printed circuit board.

HTH
-- Kevin
 
thanx folks!
to hold the buss bars on, I drilled holes through the first and last holes in the bars (and acrylic bars), then used 1" flathead 4-40 machine screws to bolt those two together. then I glued the acrylic bars to case sides. I thought about attaching them different ways, but this seemed to be the best way.

one other thing to consider if your going to build this is if you use a couple wall warts in your setup, you may want to leave extra spacing in between the receptacles so they dont interfere with the other receptacles.
 
Hey guys...I hate to be the bringer of bad tidings here because its a great looking setup but didn't you know that acrylic is extremely flammable? It is definitely NOT the plastic of choice to do that kind of thing in...
 
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i was going to find a few project boxes at radio shack for mine since I didn't feel like building anything.
 
looks great. I would like to build somethingsimilar, but I was wondering if you did any calculations to determine the number of conducters allowed in that volume?
 
i cant figure out how you incorporated the DC8 into the box. explain that to me when you have a minute please. great job. i'm going to try to make something similar. not sure if i feel comfortable making it out of acrylic. then again, i moded my PC powers supply into a UV reactive acrylic box and im sure it gets hotter then what you did.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12937861#post12937861 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kentrob11
Hey guys...I hate to be the bringer of bad tidings here because its a great looking setup but didn't you know that acrylic is extremely flammable? It is definitely NOT the plastic of choice to do that kind of thing in...

Thanx, I am aware of that. I spoke with several people, including some in the plastic industry. Im confident that proper wiring and careful planning will keep this safe.
I know I will be upgrading though, because I just got a 5x2x3 starfire tank! I will need more than 8 controlled outlets for that!

WLachnit I did no calculations for this. I ran with past experience and the seat of my pants...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12942789#post12942789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by madadi
i cant figure out how you incorporated the DC8 into the box. explain that to me when you have a minute please. great job. i'm going to try to make something similar. not sure if i feel comfortable making it out of acrylic. then again, i moded my PC powers supply into a UV reactive acrylic box and im sure it gets hotter then what you did.

I will set the ACJr up as normal.. then run an IEC cord from the ACJr's DC8 to each of the IEC sockets on the new panel. Then I will plug the correct piece of controlled equipment into the socket next to the IEC.
Between the IEC socket, and the receptacle is one of the switches. This will allow me to easily turn off that piece of equipment without going to the ACjr programming or going to the laptop.
 
matt, does it matter which side I use to do the switch, black or white? I was going to do the white, but thought I should check before I do it. thanks...btw, my black project box didn't turn out as nice as your acrylic box! I cut a couple holes too big but I'll super glue them all in place when it's all done.
 
Thanx!
I am actually considering pulling it down and adding a couple more recepticles. I am one short, as I added another powerhead to my prop tank.
Other than this it has been working flawlessly.
I ordered a new Neptune Temp probe, and when that gets here, I am going to re-calibrate everything, and add a few receptacles to the wood panel the E-box is mounted to. I should be good to go for the winter!
 
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