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When I need help I will reach out. Thank you

Glad I could help 😎

If you google modbus 1channel relay you will find it. It is a generic and very popular modbus enabled relay. And yes, I over engineer most things. Better safe than sorry 😁

You mean for the serial line "breaker"?

Now that you mentioned serial breaker, I initially thought that external wire in 2:42 was to put a arduino in programming mode like in esp32.

@@JffFrm hahahaha nearly. It is just so I can upload a sketch to the Arduino without taking the thing apart. It already has been rather useful!

The name I used to find it on aliexpress is : USB buck converter It is basically a buck converter that takes 5-30v and outputs that into a standard 5v USB (so a step down). You can type this in google and go to images to get the one I have: DC 6V-40V To 5V 3A Double USB DC-DC Converter Module Hope this helps!

@@gebsystems thank you

You are welcome :)

I want the RJ45 cable to be used for ease of change where what goes and to make the deployment a smoother experience. I had a look at cable glands but in order to get them for the RJ45 cable they need to be big and cost like $8 a pop. Unless I was looking at the wrong ones... could be. Maybe you have a specific one in mind for RJ45 that I could inspect / buy? And yes, I just used whatever colour wires I had. I am gonna change that once I get my hands on some other colours in the future. But in a pinch it did work.

Ohhh sorry to hear that. The db4you account is probaby removed hence why the links are down as well. I can create a new account for geb systems to host it there. Would that be useful to you?

Thank you

Cheers!

Glad to hear it!

Thank you wry much! It is far from industrial grade but for a DIY projects it will have to be enough. Matthew

At first I was confused... but I had a look at the link you provided and it hit me! You suffer from the exact same bug as I do 😂 The "It will just take 5 minutes to knock it all up" attitude mixed with an unhealthy amount of OVERENGINEERING everything is the most lethal cocktail you can ever come across. You could be my Sensei tho! Ai Rick voice? That is some next level shit 😂 Also, what electronics you use to make sure it is running 24/7 smoothly? I am starting with Arduino to control everything via Modbus over RS485 but I am already looking around for some kind of cheap level entry PLC module to keep it reliable since I am well aware that the Arduino is just a hobby board and despite having a watchdog it will probably crash at some point. Unless... I have 3 Arduinos that watch each other all the time or reboot daily etc etc You get the point hahaha What can possibly go wrong?

@@gebsystems well I have a home assistant server running on a fanless Intel computer, and that has a hundred or so esp32 modules doing various stuff. That's all fairly reliable - kinda... Except stuff dropping off the wifi.... So then I started using zigbee as much as possible which is heaps more reliable... Next project is to redo my wifi setup... I live in a mudbrick house and the walls are frikin Kryptonite to wifi. So if you have a wifi light switch embedded in the wall... .... Anyway... Part of the reason for my overengineered creations is when my dad was alive, and I was about 7, he used to explain to me all the stuff he did as an aircraft engineer. No room for "oh sh!t I didn't think of that" at 30,000ft 😂 So these days when I look at things other people do I'm thinking "where's the strain relief?" and when I ask them, they usually reply "WTF is a strain relief?" 🤣 So I was naturally impressed when your strain relief had strain relief 😉

Damn it! Here I was hoping that you would say that you know this embedded unit I could buy that it not $500 or something stupid. Ohhh, well... will have to look in more depth into them cheap PLCs and learn some ladder logic 😉 I am not a fan of wifi for deployments that need to work reliably. Sure sure, maybe there are ways to make it work but when I was in the IT world CABLE was the ultimate KING for reliability hence why I decided to go with Modbus as the protocol of choice via RS485. I have done some testing with ESP32 and I did not have a good time. My units froze within 2 weeks. And as you mentioned you have them crazy prison vibe walls that will just stop wifi in its tracks. Also.. you got me with the dad story. Holy cow! The oh shit moment at 30,000ft is totally something that SHOULD NOT happen. Better to have more layers of protection rather than "just enough". Ehhhmmm... you don't have double strain relief in your designs? Am I the only crazy one doing that? If you noticed my first design had 3 strain reliefs in place... Just in case 😂😂😂 I am really happy that I could impress someone with my quirky designs. Also, if you look at my previous videos when I showcase the power delivery unit the wires that go out of that enclosure also have strain relief. To be frank all of them recent designs have them because... OVERENGINEERING is KING!

Thank you. Now I need an enclosure for the Arduino itself.

Hello from sunny Poland.

I had a look at it now and you are correct. It is a much neater solution. However, I do not want something that will connect to my wireless network. I want my entire setup to be not relying on the internet at all. Second thing is that I want to control things via Modbus. Third thing is that I am enjoying the pain of putting this contraption together.

@@gebsystems The third point is how we all learn things but for first point, you dont have to connect to internet, you can get home assistant and run it locally. For second, I think you can hook up modbus to smart socket, you just need to add some components and own firmware which is quite easy. If you dont need rs485, then I'm sure there are some unused uC pins that can be used for small distance modbus.

I really do not want to use home assistant as I want to build everything myself if I can help it. The goal is to buy as few off the shelf products as possible. So I am trying to keep it minimalistic. The smart socket would be totally a thing if I was doing it for someone else and they just need the super user friendly system to manage their home (thanks for that smart socket suggestion as it is about $6 here and I could use it for my parents house). I on the other hand do not care if there is no GUI to manage it. I am still far away from having a fully functional setup but I am slowly working through each obstacle one at a time. As you said I could just buy these products and just put it together in a day or two and be done with it.

That could potentially help... Ups 🤣

Thanks for the suggestion but I literally just found a solution like 10 minutes ago. The Arduino Modbus library does not really seem to work with these. I do not have the right hardware to troubleshoot the packet structure that goes out from my Arduino, but... I have decided to craft the modbus packets manually and I finally got it to work! So now the 1ch and 2ch relay gets activated. This was VERY painful since I was questioning my sanity. Now I will have to redesign my entire base code for the entire project around manual packet crafting. Will have to implement a system to read the packets these devices send back etc This will be interesting. No more ArduinoModBus library will be used.

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will defo need all the luck I can get!!! I have put an Arduino to the task to loop and iterate through all the slave addresses to try and enable the relay. And the fact that manufacturers can just change the specs... That is GREAT! Superb!

So you just looking at how to setup an ODBC connection to an Excel file and how you can later on query that Excel file rows from a PHP app for example?

No. This is literally a 2.85mm TPU that I got from the internet. It is about 93A shore and I wish I could find a 75-80A rated one.

Thanks mate! Still got more ideas on how to improve these but at the moment I am really happy with how they turned out. It is light years and beyond your typical Arduino project where all the cables are just all over the place.

This is meant to be a prop that I will use to demonstrate the little inventory / warehouse system I am putting together. No need to actually have a warehouse to do demos, but it would be nice to have one ain't gonna lie. So in short, window shopping presentability.

Thank you very much for you highly detailed advice. I am thinking of moving the design to FreeCAD once I figure out what is the final "product". I kinda put it together in a rushed way in TinkerCAD to just see where can I go and since this is not a complex part I did not feel like FreeCADing it (if that is a word). To attach the lid I am using bolts and nuts but I never have demonstrated it on any of my videos I think. This DIY method of closing the enclosure with TPU as the o-ring does work like a charm for its intended purpose. I am not trying to design an industrial grade enclosure that needs to survive the harsh environment of an oil rig that is working 24/7 in the middle of an ocean. All I want is something that can manage a basement or attic where the conditions are not ideas but within levels of sanity :) I will have a look at the plugin once I decide to FreeCAD it. Thank you again

Thank you very much for your feedback. I am just messing around with some ideas. There are people out there with better skills that would get this done in an blink of an eye and I am fully aware of that. Still, will try to push this project as far as I can and see where it goes. So totally expect more videos on this.

It would make sense if it made sense money wise. 10m of 2mm o-ring is about £10. 60m of 2.85mm TPU is about £15. This is the reality in Poland at least. So why would I even bother with an o-ring?

@@gebsystems oh that is a lot cheaper! Fair enough

@@doghosuedean Someone did recommend to me to maybe try and 3D print my own gasket / o-rings. That could be something I will give a shot at some point but for now I got other things to worry about and work on.

Sure, that could be done and maybe I will explore that at some time in the future. For now the 2.85mm TPU at 93A Shore does a decent job when it comes to making the part dust proof and slightly water proof. Again, I am not building an industrial grade enclosure that will be deployed on an oil rig. It is just meant to survive an attic, basement or being outdoors under some kind of roof.

@@gebsystems cool. Thanks for your reply. I just randomly found this channel so I have no idea what the context is here 😅. Just spotted the break in the seal and through I'd speak up. Keep up the good work. It's a nice print

In that case that makes two of us since I also have no idea what I am doing. I am just stumbling into things by accident and most likely reinventing the wheel :) I am planning to buy a more capable 3D printer so that I can explore and test more.

No seals were harmed in the making of this video...

Thank you! I am trying to DIY my way into having a system that will allow me to deploy my Arduino Modbus setup in a nice to look at and organised way.

Yes, they do exist. However they are not tailored to my requirements + it is fun to design your own stuff and explore solutions.

Holy cow! Thanks! I was not aware that there are PDF guidelines for groove geometry from suppliers. I did some basic research for making my enclosures dust proof-ish and water proof-ish and I could not find the type of o-rings I was after. I was fully aware that some kind of industry has already figured it out and has all the standards in place but when you don't know exactly what you are looking for it can be hard to find. This is more of an exploration on what I can put together myself (even if it means that I am reinventing the wheel). I will have a deeper look at the topic at some point and as you said it could be interesting just to compare my findings to what the established industries are doing (and see how bad I am at it).

@@gebsystems haha it can be fun trying to re-invent the wheel. Gives you more of an appreciation for wheels lol. I’m no expert in this btw, just have been in a similar situation to you before. Try Hasco. They supply standard components for injection mould making, including o-rings. Product code for o-rings is Z98. They have decent guidelines. Also I’ve heard that you can buy a continuous o-ring and you cut it to the length you want and use a special glue to stick the ends together. Not sure who makes it and never used it myself but might be worth looking into for future projects. Best of luck!

@@theitalker Thanks mate! This is very useful and now I will definitely look into the O-ring product range from Hasco. And obviously I am in love with reinventing the wheel, who does not want that? I am just a dude who wants to make my Arduino Modbus project deployable and usable since I really do not enjoy the projects that are just a bunch of messy cables hanging around. Sure, the end result works but I can't put it to use since the wires can drop off and everything is vulnerable to the sneeze of a mosquito. And it does not matter to me that you are not an expert, who cares! You have knowledge that I am happy to use.

I think I am going a bit over the top but I am not sure of any other way that I can just DIY my way through. This is not meant to be perfect or industrial grade, obviously. Also, had a look at the splicing of filament and that looks like home brew welding haha. I am not sure if I need that for my TPU for now. I just make sure that I cut the ends and give it and extra mm so that if has to be forced pushed in so that it completes the loop nicely. Not perfect, but worked so far.

Fair point. I should include it in the description really but will leave it in this reply as well. The arc angle is 90 degrees. The arc diameter is 80. The width and the length of the groove is 3mm. I am using the 2.85mm TPU to be the "seal" and to get it to fit into the groove I make sure that it is 2.1mm deep. I am using 0.3 layer height for my prints. Also making sure that the entire part is the right height so that everything gets sliced correctly. This enclosure in on purpose 32.1mm. The reason for this is that 32.1 can be divided by 0.3 which is 107. Also, when you subtract 2.1 from 32.1 it also divisible by 0.3 = 100. The part I have just printed is 51.3mm in height.

I do not think so. There will be a lid eventually when I decide to deploy the unit. Having it be visible would be a major pain in the back side to do. Ideally some form of plexiglas would need to be cut out and I do not have the tools to do it.

It is nice and snug.

That could be the case. However, I did a test for two years with a 3D printed enclosure that was outside and there was no water inside (I also had a temp and humidity sensor inside it). It would also help if I would coat the enclosure I agree with you on that. But for a basement or attic deployment it should be enough I think. However, saying all that, do you have a recommendation what I could use to coat the enclosure?

@@gebsystems I don't know anything specific, I'm mostly sharing what I've picked up from watching a lot of other printing channels. Don't have a printer myself. Some videos I've seen use acetone to chemically melt the print lines together. Others just use typical sealants like lacquer that can be found at any hardware store. I'm just a TH-cam watching sharing what I've learned from watching to much TH-cam.

@@kyleallred984 I know how that feels. Searching for something on TH-cam to find yourself 3 hours later watching some hydraulic press videos you never knew existed... I think I did come across some of the idea before but I never really gave me a time of day to explore. From what I got is that you need to use certain printing materials to get best results. As in ABS apparently is good for this. But, I might give lacquer a go. If you like tinkering and messing around with this stuff you should totally get a 3D printer. They have gotten so cheap that it is just stupid. I picked up my Magician Mingda X for $99 on a promo (and they do them quite often). These cheap printers are feature packed stupid.

Now THAT IS A PLAN! What can possibly go wrong there? :)

Yes, you are correct. Did I say motion detector in video? If I did = mistake. I am sure people got the general idea tho what I was trying to do.

I do like my colours, what can I say. Black would look so dull.

Yes, you could do that. In Fred I have put a whole in the middle of it so that you can pass a bolt through and it will align with the holes on the din rail which restrict the movement of the entire attachment.

What do you mean exactly? Fred is just the 3D printed din rail attachment I designed that allows me to attach other things of my choosing..

Thank you! I am trying to entertain myself in the process.

I am seeking to establish robust, permanent 24/7 deployments for Arduino-based electronics. Drawing from my background in the IT sector, where wired connections are renowned for their reliability, I prioritize utilizing wired connections such as Ethernet over wireless options, particularly for critical applications. My objective is to delve into the realm of Modbus and evaluate a wide array of Modbus-compatible devices. Additionally, I aim to construct a demonstration rig to showcase the functionality of the enclosures I am designing. Ultimately, this endeavor culminates in the creation of a DIY home automation system that operates independently of cloud-based platforms, such as Alexa or Google Home.

Any grand plans for that?

Glad to be of service! I am trying now to make sure that every part of the project is semi-water proof and dust proof so that it can be deployed in not so friendly environment (attic, basement etc).

Thank you! At the end it morphed into a two part enclosure that can be sealed off.

This is not a perfect solution that I am adopting but it should be good enough for a basement or attic where the conditions are not ideal (moisture, some dump, dust etc). I do not want to have any drain holes as that means more points of failure that I need to worry about. I had a test rig that was living outdoors for about 2 years with hot glue keeping things "waterproof" with an Arduino inside and it managed just fine. I even had a temp and humidity sensor inside of it that I could pull the data on demand which was quite useful. Now, why would I want my enclosure to be vented with a hole at the bottom somewhere? Thank you for your input. If I did not understand any or some of your point please do correct me.

Glad it helped!

That sounds great! Maybe what they did to get the SV06 is they got a Prusa and just stripped it down to a bare minimum. What max print speed can you do now on it?

@@gebsystems I am getting 90mm/s. It can go a lot faster, but I would like to not push my luck and try to break things. My travel speed is 200mm/s, and acceleration is 500mm/s.

That sounds really good for this entry level cheap printer. I will try and mod it in the future and see if I can get similar results. For now I am using the Mingda for my daily prints.