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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

I made this! INDI in an all-in-one power box, with dew heater

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  • Thank you received: 26
To ground everything I used a brass 'bus bar', its the first picture (here's more examples www.aquashopkampen.nl/product/busbar-10x8/). This is a common ground connection for the modules and connected to this is negative of the DC input. The DC power is grounded via the DC power supply connection.
This bus bar needs to support the maximum current load of all modules combined so give that some consideration when selecting the part. You could make your own if you have the tools and materials as some bigger modules get quite expensive.
For my project I summed the maximum rated load of all components and then rounded up - in reality it's been overkill, while running my system draws about a quarter of what it's 'designed' to do - but I feel better safe than sorry.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
5 years 10 months ago #26184

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Great work! You've certainly given me some ideas for using my 3D printer for something useful! :) Thanks for sharing!
Last edit: 4 years 11 months ago by Simon Dodd.
4 years 11 months ago #38272

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Cheers for the feedback. The unit is still going strong and I'm planning out the next revision as I'm finding this a bit bulky. OK for side-by-side mounting but I'm looking to move away from that and wanting to mount the unit on or under the OTA, meaning a longer narrower design would be better (a bit like a QHY Astrobar, or Prima Luce Eagle2).

Some lessons I've learnt and improvements I'm considering:
Move to an arduino dew heater controller, this should be less bulky in the case as using the stripped down LED controllers made things a bit bulky.

The fuse panel module added a lot of bulk to the unit. First appearances make it look a bit snazzy like a RigRunner but really would have been much better if built onto a PCB - or ommited and had a 1 or 2 fuses where it really counts. My next version will be far less busy looking.

Getting a PCB made is pretty cheap these days - many online services are available, even if you end up with 3-5 of the same board it's still cheap. I'm planning to put much of the 'power distribution' side of things to PCB to cut back on the mess of internal wiring. If it wasn't for the wiring and fuse panel the whole unit would be much smaller and lighter.

I now have a 3D printer as well so have a lot more options when it comes to the case design to put it in. I intend to 3D print an inner skeleton which will be sandwiched between two thin aluminium plates. The skeleton will hold the boards and connectors, the aluminium panels will be tough for mounting between rings and dovetails (with plenty of plastic around each through-hole internally).
(I stole some ideas from QHY - have a look at the internals of the QHY Astrobar here:
)

Finally, a small blower fan like those used in laptops will allow for a slimmer design.

Have fun!
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq, Simon Dodd
4 years 11 months ago #38283

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