180 gallon build: Modular control system, 3D printed equipment, open-source - Page 15

Zephrant · 10/14/2017, 10:22 PM

Let us know how it goes. I've been slightly considering it for my Monoprice I3. Didn't really want to figure out how to make it work on my printer, but would really like disolvable support.

jrhupp · 11/28/2017, 11:56 AM

I have been working on a new kalk system for my top off. The old one was a passive design and built for my old 50 gallon system. Originally it was fine on this system, but its too small at this point. So time for something bigger.

This reuses a bunch of stuff I designed for the printed skimmer (and the left over acrylic tube I had from building it). Here it is assembled and ready to install:

The drive system is all built from stuff in my spare parts bins. I think everything is still available somewhere, though a few of the parts are obsolete. It is however pretty generic, so I think it could be easily reworked for other components. The power supply is adjustable voltage and the bracket that it all mounts to is pretty simple and easy to modify to accommodate a range of steppers.

The drive is magnetically coupled with some rare earth magnets. Sealing the magnets in the drive wheel and impeller is done with a two part approach and solvent welding the pieces together. There is a socket and cup. The magnet goes in the cup and this gets solvent welded into the socket. Then the whole thing gets vapor polished. It is yet to be determined how well the sealing went, but I feel pretty confident about it. You can see the magnet assembly in the drive wheel in the above image (or in the SketchUp model linked below). I used black ABS for the cups to give it some contrast.

There is a fair amount of resistance to overcome when engaging the impeller, which leads to it becoming decoupled from the drive wheel if it starts at full speed. It stills spins in this case but slower than the drive wheel does. The solution was a soft start:

I have not implemented the full control sketch for it yet. Right now, I just have it set to run for 15 seconds once an hour. So far so good. But I will implement something a bit more feature rich at some point to control it.

Here it is installed in the sump:

If you want them, here are the source files for what is shareable now:
SketchUp model
Eagle files

P.S. In the sump picture, you can also see an intake modification I am testing on the skimmer. I am using this for a fresh air intake from my roof. I looked at some intake filter designs for dealing with my old dusty house and the resulting intake clogs, but didn't like any of them (or there associated maintenance). So I opted for trying an intake outside and high above the ground. We shall see how it goes long term.

BigDave · 11/28/2017, 12:32 PM

That looks pretty nice. It makes me want to finish my kalk stirrer.

I had a lot of other projects come up which made me stop work on it.

Now I'm running into an issue with my printer that I need to fix. If it's not one thing. It's something else.

I think what is keeping me from working on my kalk stirrer is the thought of screwing up the $32 piece of PVC plate I bought for cutting the parts out on the CNC machine.

Zephrant · 11/29/2017, 01:41 PM

Very nice. I'd suggest that you could greatly shrink the fins on the stirrer. A 1"x1/4" rod stirs a 6" column just fine, up to 18" or so high.

Maybe even change to a standard Teflon stirring rod, then you would not have to deal with sealing magnets at all.

All printed in ABS then?

jrhupp · 11/29/2017, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zephrant

Very nice. I'd suggest that you could greatly shrink the fins on the stirrer. A 1"x1/4" rod stirs a 6" column just fine, up to 18" or so high.

Maybe even change to a standard Teflon stirring rod, then you would not have to deal with sealing magnets at all.

All printed in ABS then?

I agree on shrinking the impeller. Size was not based on much (any) testing and it would work just as well much smaller. But as it works quite well as it I likely won't remake it.

I considered a stirring rod design too, either printed or off the shelf. Either would certainly work well too.

Yes, ABS.

jrhupp · 11/29/2017, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDave

That looks pretty nice. It makes me want to finish my kalk stirrer.

I had a lot of other projects come up which made me stop work on it.

Now I'm running into an issue with my printer that I need to fix. If it's not one thing. It's something else.

I think what is keeping me from working on my kalk stirrer is the thought of screwing up the $32 piece of PVC plate I bought for cutting the parts out on the CNC machine.

Thanks.

I know the feeling on screwing up costly materials. I have a massive roll of copper sheet that has been setting in the shop for years. Every time I think of something to do with it I decide the project is not worth it because I know if I mess it up or come up with something better there is no way I buying another roll.

NubbsJRN · 02/25/2018, 04:57 AM

Have you experimented with Petg yet? I am floundering trying to make a decision on if I want my submersible prints ABS or petg.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

reefinnewb · 03/15/2018, 08:10 AM

Looks great! Will this skimmer be too large for my 70 gallon total system? Considering I've had a printer for a while, this would be awesome to print.

jrhupp · 03/17/2018, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefinnewb

Looks great! Will this skimmer be too large for my 70 gallon total system? Considering I've had a printer for a while, this would be awesome to print.

Probably, at full scale and full speed. I'm using it on a 200+ total gallon system.

The design is quite tunable. So I think you could pretty easily dial in for a smaller system. You might build the body a bit shorter as well.

Leif · 03/21/2018, 03:36 AM

well now I have ordered a new 3d printer.... this thread is fantastic, although expensive for me

Filament is also on the way

I ended up with a tevo Tornado....

vega77 · 03/22/2018, 03:42 AM

Do you have a picture of the dosing pump @jrhupp ?

Zephrant · 04/25/2018, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NubbsJRN

Have you experimented with Petg yet? I am floundering trying to make a decision on if I want my submersible prints ABS or petg.

PETG is fine, and doesn't have the fumes during printing that ABS does. I've printed 10+ spools of PETG so far.

It is a bit of a pain to get dialed in, tougher than PLA, and I recommend an enclosure for repeatability.

NubbsJRN · 04/25/2018, 02:43 PM

Are you using the PETG submerged in your tank at all? Any issues? Once dialed in are vfc the prints as watertight as ABS?

I appreciate the info!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Zephrant · 05/01/2018, 02:32 PM

Yep, using PETG underwater. I have had issues with getting things water tight. I have been coating my brine shrimp hatcheries with a layer of epoxy, thinned with alcohol.

reelredfish · 04/12/2019, 09:25 PM

So how is the setup working? Asking OP

11/28/2017, 11:56 AM	#352
jrhupp Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 318	I have been working on a new kalk system for my top off. The old one was a passive design and built for my old 50 gallon system. Originally it was fine on this system, but its too small at this point. So time for something bigger. This reuses a bunch of stuff I designed for the printed skimmer (and the left over acrylic tube I had from building it). Here it is assembled and ready to install: The drive system is all built from stuff in my spare parts bins. I think everything is still available somewhere, though a few of the parts are obsolete. It is however pretty generic, so I think it could be easily reworked for other components. The power supply is adjustable voltage and the bracket that it all mounts to is pretty simple and easy to modify to accommodate a range of steppers. The drive is magnetically coupled with some rare earth magnets. Sealing the magnets in the drive wheel and impeller is done with a two part approach and solvent welding the pieces together. There is a socket and cup. The magnet goes in the cup and this gets solvent welded into the socket. Then the whole thing gets vapor polished. It is yet to be determined how well the sealing went, but I feel pretty confident about it. You can see the magnet assembly in the drive wheel in the above image (or in the SketchUp model linked below). I used black ABS for the cups to give it some contrast. There is a fair amount of resistance to overcome when engaging the impeller, which leads to it becoming decoupled from the drive wheel if it starts at full speed. It stills spins in this case but slower than the drive wheel does. The solution was a soft start: I have not implemented the full control sketch for it yet. Right now, I just have it set to run for 15 seconds once an hour. So far so good. But I will implement something a bit more feature rich at some point to control it. Here it is installed in the sump: If you want them, here are the source files for what is shareable now: SketchUp model Eagle files P.S. In the sump picture, you can also see an intake modification I am testing on the skimmer. I am using this for a fresh air intake from my roof. I looked at some intake filter designs for dealing with my old dusty house and the resulting intake clogs, but didn't like any of them (or there associated maintenance). So I opted for trying an intake outside and high above the ground. We shall see how it goes long term. __________________ Current build thread : http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2547305 I ate a jellyfish... tasted like soy sauce. Current Tank Info: 180 gallon system in progress

10/14/2017, 10:22 PM	#351
Zephrant Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,234	Let us know how it goes. I've been slightly considering it for my Monoprice I3. Didn't really want to figure out how to make it work on my printer, but would really like disolvable support.

11/28/2017, 12:32 PM	#353
BigDave Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wylie, TX Posts: 473	That looks pretty nice. It makes me want to finish my kalk stirrer. I had a lot of other projects come up which made me stop work on it. Now I'm running into an issue with my printer that I need to fix. If it's not one thing. It's something else. I think what is keeping me from working on my kalk stirrer is the thought of screwing up the $32 piece of PVC plate I bought for cutting the parts out on the CNC machine.

11/29/2017, 01:41 PM	#354
Zephrant Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,234	Very nice. I'd suggest that you could greatly shrink the fins on the stirrer. A 1"x1/4" rod stirs a 6" column just fine, up to 18" or so high. Maybe even change to a standard Teflon stirring rod, then you would not have to deal with sealing magnets at all. All printed in ABS then?

02/25/2018, 04:57 AM	#357
NubbsJRN Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Posts: 127	Have you experimented with Petg yet? I am floundering trying to make a decision on if I want my submersible prints ABS or petg. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

03/15/2018, 08:10 AM	#358
reefinnewb Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Macungie, Pa Posts: 167	Looks great! Will this skimmer be too large for my 70 gallon total system? Considering I've had a printer for a while, this would be awesome to print.

03/21/2018, 03:36 AM	#360
Leif Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Oslo, Norway Posts: 49	well now I have ordered a new 3d printer.... this thread is fantastic, although expensive for me Filament is also on the way I ended up with a tevo Tornado....

03/22/2018, 03:42 AM	#361
vega77 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 34	Do you have a picture of the dosing pump @jrhupp ?

04/25/2018, 02:43 PM	#363
NubbsJRN Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Posts: 127	Are you using the PETG submerged in your tank at all? Any issues? Once dialed in are vfc the prints as watertight as ABS? I appreciate the info! Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

05/01/2018, 02:32 PM	#364
Zephrant Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,234	Yep, using PETG underwater. I have had issues with getting things water tight. I have been coating my brine shrimp hatcheries with a layer of epoxy, thinned with alcohol.

04/12/2019, 09:25 PM	#365
reelredfish Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: DFW,Area Posts: 798	So how is the setup working? Asking OP