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--BattleRife
You have it hooked up incorrectly.
9&10
Notice it say TC
Also notice the small + and - sign
Sorry for the edits. Have to look at the picture
10 is + or red connector
9 is - or blue connector
Be more thing and it might not be a huge issue but the PID you have is good up to 752 F
Notice the 400c under range
The alarm is a contact closure. When the PID hits a preset temp it closes the alarm contacts
Last edited by HATCH; 12-05-2021 at 09:30 PM.
Don't like being hammered by the Cast Boolits Staff, then don't be a nail.
The rules are simple to follow.
I normally cast at 750 f max so most likely you will be fine.
The size of the unit is 1/16 DIN
It is a standard size that the majority of PID manufacturers use.
I use 1/32 because I like the more compactness.
Plus the fact the smaller the enclosure the cheaper it is.
During COVID lockdown I made some setups that used a plastic enclosure because that is all I could get.
I haven’t had any complaints and if a customer did have a issue with their plastic enclosure I would just swap them out with a metal unit at no charge besides their shipping cost to me.
Don't like being hammered by the Cast Boolits Staff, then don't be a nail.
The rules are simple to follow.
Printed out this article & added it to the read pile.
The amount of info on this subject along is unbelievable.
Hatch, would you mind sharing what enclosure you use?
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
It’s secret.
Haha
150mm x 105mm x 55mm
Aluminum not the plastic ones
You can search eBay and pick them up for around $20 shipped
Takes a while to get here.
I purchased a custom 1/32 DIN knockout punch to cut the PID cut outs.
Requires a single round hole drilled in the middle where you want to knockout to be.
I don’t buy them off of eBay but it should point you in the right direction.
Keep in mind I use 1/32 sized PID controllers.
If your gonna use a 1/16 like this poster used then you need a much larger enclosure
Charles
Don't like being hammered by the Cast Boolits Staff, then don't be a nail.
The rules are simple to follow.
Thanks. I like the looks of yours and will probably go with the 1/32 size. I like doing new kinds of projects; going to give this a shot.
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
If you have any questions just shoot me a PM and I will help you.
Don't like being hammered by the Cast Boolits Staff, then don't be a nail.
The rules are simple to follow.
I realize it's been weeks since asked, but PID is the type of digital controller used in controlling lead melt pot temp accurately. It stands for Proportional-Integral-Derivative control functions, and industrial process controllers since the 1930s on contained these functions, starting with pneumatic controllers/circle chart recorders which can be seen in old movies and photos of control rooms.
Controllers work by constantly measuring the difference between a setpoint and the measured and controlled process variable, called the "error" - like your home thermostat does, and sending an output based on the error, to the control element that affects the process - your furnace or boiler oil burner, or gas valve.
The proportional function acts in proportion to the amount of error; small error, little proportional effect. Large error, lots of proportional effect. Problem is, proportional control alone can and often ends up with ever-increasing error if too much proportional effect or "gain" is employed. A chart recorder measuring a system with too much proportional gain looks like a lie detector chart - wild swinging.
Enter the integral function. It looks at the error over time in the past and integrates the rate of change of the error value. It's purpose is to say "Whoa, hoss!" to the proportional function if it gets too carried away.
If the integral function is backward-looking, the derivative function is the forward-looking predictive function that tries to predict the change in the error, and anticipate the needed effect on the control signal to further reduce error and provide even more stable control to the system - so that the chart recorder pen draws a thin, steady line right on setpoint instead of painting a wide swath of ink somewhere above and below setpoint.
Going back to the home thermostat, there's a tiny resistor that gives off heat to the bimetallic spring proportionately to the current drawn by the gas solenoid valve coil. This resistor preheats the thermostat spring in anticipation of room temperature reaching setpoint, and causing the mercury switch to tilt open and close the gas valve early so that room temperature doesn't overshoot too high - that's how the derivative function works; it "looks ahead" at how much error there is and which way it's headed, and says, "that's enough right there, lads" and halts control output for the time being until the error between setpoint and measured variable (either room or lead temp) grows again.
With today's inexpensive, programmable digital controllers such as those pictured in this thread, one can adjust the gain in each of the P-I-D functions manually to reduce control error and improve process stability, or one can select the "autotune" feature which enables the controller's internal computer to set its own P-I-D gain settings automatically. Usually "autotune" is enabled two or more times to "tighten" the control function, and the result is usually improved process variable control each time, to a limit. There are exceptions to autotuning some systems, but to someone like me who cut his teeth on Fisher and Foxboro pneumatic controllers with 24h circle charts in a process industry in the 1970s and 80s, these 1/32 and 1/16 DIN digital process controllers are nothing short of black magic.
HTH,
Noah
Last edited by Noah Zark; 12-14-2021 at 11:29 PM.
Noah, thanks for a well written and refined description of the magic of PIDs that dummies like me can understand.
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan
Really nice looking. I did the autotune once and basically forget everything else I read. Cranked the pot to setting 8, loaded the pot with lead, flipped it on and set autotune. It melted and tested for close to an hour before autotune went off. Pot is set to 720, overshoots every so often to 730.
How are you going to attach your probe to the pot? I didn’t see a mounting screw on yours
Currently only have a wire mounted that the probe drops down into but I don't like it because it's not sturdy enough to keep the probe straight down in the pot. The curly wire on the probe has too much tension wanting to pull it constantly. I want a different probe and the I will mount a proper solid bracket.
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I also want to get the Lee 4-20 pot soon. This one isn't big enough.
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Delete
Not sure if this probe is suitable.
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BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |