Originally Posted by CYCSUR  My plasma is a HYPERTERM MAX 100. I can install the thc300 of campbell?
Someone of you knows since I have to do it? |
The MAX100 has one of the nosiest HF start circuits on the face of the planet (except maybe the old "Pak" series from TD (:'). You will need to make sure the MAX100 cabinet has all it's doors in place, that it's case is VERY well grounded to a local ground rod and the table needs a set of ground rods too. Simple building ground won't work.
You need to mount the THC SENSOR card outside and away from the MAX100 case and use shielded wires if possible for the Tip Volts wires to the THC SENSOR card. Ground the shields to the MAX100 chassis on that end only. DO NOT ATTACH the "Earth" terminal on the tHC SENSOR to ANYTHING.
Your PC and the THC300 need to be as far from the MAX100 as possible. The PC may need a noise filter (not just a surge protector) on it's AC input and the safety ground to the PC should NOT be connected to the local grounding rods you setup for the table.
The PC needs to set on somthing that is not electrically connected to the plasma side of the grounds.
You can make it work (we did) but we had to make sure that none of the electronics shared a local ground with the plasma/table side. Several hours were spent tracing down a short on a shielded cable inside the power controller. It was the Z home switch cable and it had connected the Gecko Power Ground to the table ground. It actually burned out 3 Geckos before we found it.
We find that it's safer on a Gecko to mount it to an isolated heatsink (not tied to the controller chassis) and to NOT connect the DC neg to the chassis either. It allows the motor power to the gecko's and motors to live in it's own world and current surges from the 100A palsma firing don't back feed through a stray ground.
All I can say is: Lotsa luck
I was worried about my health after spending a few hours around that MAX100 !!
My O-scope just with the lead on a short antenna had volts and volts of noise on it.
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TOM CAUDLE
www.CandCNC.com