"Create my own controller card" project

[flyjedi]

I'm after input for our project to create a controller card to manage a chilled liquid loop. I've uploaded circuit diagrams/designs here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simongr...7603174413482/

I'm also going to keep it up to date with pic's as we go through the testing etc. We've finished our first prototype board and are currently setting up a test loop/pc to run the card on. Once we've confirmed all is good we'll make any changes and get the PCB printed up. We've sourced a company that'll do the double sided PCB for £40 (~$80) for the first 1 and £5 (~$10) for each one after which is pretty good!

Any input/ideas/thoughts would be fantastic so please fire away!

[AliG]

very nice

[Blauhung]

That is very cool, I'm thinking about doing something similar for a pelt based chiller once this whole buying a house thing is over with

I'm even planing on collecting the dew point using ambient temp and relative humidity as my control setpoint so I can squeeze a few degrees lower without condensation. I'll probably also pull out my process control books and do PID control to have a continuous feedback on the pelt voltage so I can avoid temp fluctuations.

Of course I'm probably going overboard and yours looks much simpler.

Actually, just curious, but how much overkill is a compression system if you are only trying to cool to ambient?

[flyjedi]

That is very cool, I'm thinking about doing something similar for a pelt based chiller once this whole buying a house thing is over with

I'm even planing on collecting the dew point using ambient temp and relative humidity as my control setpoint so I can squeeze a few degrees lower without condensation. I'll probably also pull out my process control books and do PID control to have a continuous feedback on the pelt voltage so I can avoid temp fluctuations.

i was going to do continuous feedback on the fans on the chiller, but the trouble is they're so slow to respond and so incredibly inaccurate it wasn't worth it! peltier would be MUCH more effective!

I run a Titan do it quickly the lazy way Amanda in my everyday PC and it's the best "non-extreme" cooler i've used.

Actually, just curious, but how much overkill is a compression system if you are only trying to cool to ambient?

reason we're going for a chiller in line is a couple of weeks ago we entered a little overclock competition at i32 (http://i32.multiplay.co.uk) and the rig we were entering (Index x6800, evga 680i, 8800gtx x 2, dominator 1142mhz) was topping out on temperature only. It was running a fairly decent water cooling setup (danger den i believe but not certain). The thought behind using the chilelr and this card is we can overclock, but keep the PC usable not having to worry about condensation etc. we've also had this chiller kicking around for a while and would be criminal not to use it :P

[Fujimitsu]

Very cool idea, there needs to be a lot more controller knowledge in shared in this forum... considering how much is out there.

Design is simple but effective, I like it.

Although you really should go below ambient, if you're putting this much time into it may as well have some fun!

[super dank]

Very nice project!

We've sourced a company that'll do the double sided PCB for £40 (~$80) for the first 1 and £5 (~$10) for each one after which is pretty good!

You can print your own with a product called Press-n-Peel and a laser printer (or even just a permanent marker) and some Ferric Chloride etchant. Pcb material is very cheap. I was building synthesizer modules and I used this product to make my own pcbs.

[Fujimitsu]

Very nice project!



You can print your own with a product called Press-n-Peel and a laser printer (or even just a permanent marker) and some Ferric Chloride etchant. Pcb material is very cheap. I was building synthesizer modules and I used this product to make my own pcbs.

From what I've seen that is a pretty tedious process, considering the minimal cost of just having it produced. If you're making one or two that'd be fine.. .but in bulk you'd be better off just buying them from a company.

[Talwin]

**very interested**

[yngndrw]

Awesome idea and a neat rig.

A few crits / suggestions about your Electronics Prototyping:
*Crocodile Clips sucks and is very buggy, have a look for "Livewire".
*When using stripboard, plan the layout before hand, you could get that circuit on half the stripboard that you used.
*I noticed that when you marked out for track-cutting under the ICs that you marked them in a straight line, try offsetting every other cut in order to make the board stronger.
*Track cutting before soldering makes it easier, but requires forward-planning.
*On your PCB design, there's alot of wasted space which means it will cost more to make and will take up more space in your rig.
*Some of the PCB tracks are longer than they need to be, even on the current layout. Reduce these to lower interference.
*Play with the widths of the tracks, you seem to have only used two widths - I'm sure some of the tracks could be thinner.

Good luck. Sorry for my spelling.

[ArtosDracon]

Doing a little grave robbing here but, where are you guys at with this controller? I'd much rather pick one up for a reasonable price than take the time to build my own. Plus I'm pretty rusty on complex circuit design.