I ve attached a photo of my power supply box, Ive installed the 24v power supply, 6.5 amp fuse, power cord, 24v cooling fan, 3-axis xylotex board, cables supplied by xylotex for my stepper motors. Is it necessary to install a on-off switch and if so what would be the best type? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

A nice red estop on the cover is a nice touch. Put it just before the fuse.

Eric

Say, Where did you get the metal box?

the metal box was picked up at the local Home Depot, cost was I believe $21.00 it is about 6" deep & 12" wide has several 1/2" to 2" electrical knockout holes. As a matter of fact the knockout hole on side was the exact size of the cooling fan , So I mounted the Xylotex board on 1" long aluminuim spacer rod to get it perfectly in line with fan and help with cooling ..Jim Stidham

Good looking PS system. Where did you find the PS?
Thanks
Hager

There needs to be some way to cut power to the box other than resorting to unplugging the unit. As Balsaman said an E-stop is a good idea, but even a basic toggle wall switch will work. A 15 amp household wall switch is 30 cents, a "real" e-stop switch is 100 times that, but it is industrial strength (with the industrial profit margin). Radioshack sells a 10 amp panel mount (read: easy to install) push button for $6 but the button is not oversized.
Are there inquisitive kids around the shop? Maybe a keyed switch is in order along with a kill switch....whatever route you choose, yes, a master power switch is needed.