Electronic Workstation in a Systainer
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Electronic Workstation in a Systainer
I really like looking through heaps of things other people throw away.
That often gives me two types of feelings: on one hand, it makes me sad, seeing so much stuff being produced, used for a short period, and then just thrown away.
On the other hand, of course, I often find some real treasures among that stuff, and I love to repair things and/or just give them away to people who can use it, so I'm thankful for this.
Some months ago, I was thinking about making an automatic light for inside a backpack.
It should be switched on with a click, and then switch off automatically. It started with a circuit with a transistor, a LED, a capacitor an a resistor. This really worked, I could choose the on-time by changing capacity and/or resistance. But then I realized, that the light was not switched off, but instead it was fading out very slowly, a long time after my search for whatever was finished. This troubled me, because I don't like wasting my batterie-energy. So I realized I had to learn more about circuits and electronic basics, I went a long way passing the world of microcontrollers, even started to learn programming an Arduino, tried simple circuits with some transistors, and began to see treasure in every thrown-away electronic device.
In this instructable I show you how I put together some parts I found with some parts I bought to create a practical Workstation which can easily be stored away, which is nice for little workspaces.
(Or like in my case, where the workspace must be switched into a dining space and back again...)
I won't go too much into details, since I'm not an electronic professional, but I hope you get some inspiration.
WARNING: WORKING WITH ELECTRICITY CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH ! ! !
IF YOU USE ELECTRIC DEVICES FROM GARBAGE, LET A PROFESSIONAL HAVE A LOOK TO
MAKE SURE THEY ARE SAVE ENOUGH TO USE THEM ! ! !
Supplies
- some trash
- some tools
- some bought parts
Tools and Materials
As you can see on the pictures, I have the usual tools for soldering, some pliers, cutters, helping hand etc.
What I really like are my magnifying glasses, and I have a small vise for desktop use.
For a useful dividing of the inside, I put in my big parts, and then cut out some pieces of cardboard and foam stuff to fill the space between the soldering station and the PSU.
For a good placing of the sockets and stuff on the front I cut a piece of strong paper, drew some lines to make sure I would not place things in unpractical places (for example, when the lid is opened, it covers some cm of the front), and then I could easily make a layout of my front to punch the important holes through the paper on to the box.
Finding Boxes and Fixing/preparing Them
I found two broken Systainers (also known as Makpac) in the garbage, and decided to give them a chance.
I fixed them with the help of epoxy resin and some layers of an old shirt and some pieces of fiberglass.
There are many tutorials about epoxy, for example this one for some basics:
https://www.instructables.com/Fiberglassing-tools-...
the keywords you need maybe boat repair or resin art, also "micarta" lets you find some interesting sites.
Power Unit
I found a power supply unit from a PC, which promised to give three stable tensions with very high currents. But to my deep grief it didn't work at all.
Till then I didn't know anything about it, but in the very moment I searched for ATX, I happened to find dozens of nice tutorials as well as devices- now I have a collection of them, maybe nine or ten. For learning how to put them in use and finding out how they work, look at
- https://www.kondensatorschaden.de/2015/06/13/how2-... (a very good german site)
WARNING AGAIN: NEVER OPEN THESE POWER UNITS UNLESS YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING! ! !
For being able to place the unit in the right position in the box, and still having easy access to the power socket and switch, I took them both out of the housing, and with longer cables put them into the backside of the systainer.
THIS IS A WORK YOU ONLY DO IF YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY SURE WITH HIGH VOLTAGE WORK, OR LET A PROFESSIONAL DO THIS !
Am I repeating myself? Yes, and it is still important.
Circuits
The voltages provided by the PSU are 3.3V, 5V, and 12V DC.
I wanted an additional 9V output and an output for 0 - 12V being continously variable. For the first I simply took a DC-DC-step-down converter (bought, not from trash...), for the second one I built something special:
I found a chip labeled "NE555" in some device and desoldered it, and looking for this one in the www, I realized it is very famous. Now it is the heart of the 0 - 12 Volts regulator in my power supply. The MOSFET I found (APT30M30LLLG with built-in protection diode for inductive loads) is not the one used in the circuits I found with the keywords "PWM", "MOSFET" and "NE555"; and since I don't know enough about electronics to test a circuit for efficency, I cannot guarantee this is a perfect one. But it does work with a 12V fan, and I am really looking forward to find some more powerful 12V motor to give it a real good test.
I wait with shrinking the tube around the circuit until I know if I have to put a heatsink to the MOSFET.
Examples for good explanations are here:
Finished! (almost...)
Now I really do have my nice and practical workstation with power supply!
It works, is easy to use and easy to stow away.
What I plan to do/add is:
- lights in the handle (done, see photos!)
- an arm for a fume extractor
- good holders for the soldering iron and tip cleaner
- clean the whole box, maybe even give it some painting
This is my first instructable and english is not my mother's language, so I hope most parts are understandable,
if you have any corrections feel free to tell me, I always like learning!
And I participate in the trash to treasure contest, just to give it a try...
Thanks for watching, hope to get some constructive comments!