Just bit the bullet on the next step in my retirement hobby/side hustle (x-35 woodworker). I am still a number of years out but I am preparing for what comes next. I have built up most of the table and am looking to build an arduino based power control panel with touch screen interface.
My question is related to the power switch on the controller. After doing the software shutdown via the interface, is it safe to just cut power to the box? Normally this is what you would do with a RPi, but I am not sure how this box is wired. From videos I have see the power is wired to another board. My plan is to drive a relay that cuts the AC power into the box and leave the controller switch in the “on” position. Doing this I can tuck away the box and simply have a touch panel that controls the power to the controller, router, vac, and the cnc screen and other accessories. I could do a wire change inside the box to interrupt the switch but don’t want to do that especially in a warranty period.
I have also seen that the controller comes in two different variants, the pushbutton or the rocker. What is currently shipped?
the Onefinity Controller with Rev. 5 AVR Mainboard with the power pushbutton is the current model that is shipped (circuit diagram/pcb). If you attach it to a power strip, it will not come on by itself because of the pushbutton circuitry (shown here). The circuitry allows the controller to power itself off after shutdown.
But you can short J18 on AVR Mainboard and then it will stay on and be switched on and off with the power you supply. You could also retrofit the rocker switch that was found on previous models by attaching it to J18. Don’t forget to shut the controller down over the user interface though.
Thanks for the response and diags. If I wanted to mimic the momentary press of the panel button via a relay, would that be shorting (momentary) between pins 1&3 on j17? Assuming that is what the pushbutton switch does. Doing this would preserve the power down sequence in the software. I could also get by with a low power circuit opposed to a 120vac circuit to control.
Been a long time since electronics school so I may be totally wrong.
Thanks, now I just have to figure how to sense the controller is on so the display panel can reflect the status. I will also be using the db25 to turn on/off the router, that will route via the arduino as well. I am just working on the design and breadboarding it but will not implement till the machine is up and running and is a known good before I get fancy.