Brucontrol panel build

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chris246810

Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:23 pm

So ive spent the past couple of weeks putting my new brew system control panel together,
Its based around an arduino mega 2560 r3 and uses software called brucontrol on a pc as the visual interface.
The software is designed mainly for use in automation, but i am using it in a slightly different way, not to automate my brewery but to guide me and my equipment through a brew day. For example it will remind me at the correct time of certain steps that i will occasionally forget, such as adding the extra water treatments at the beginning of the boil, or adding the irish moss when near the end of the boil.
One of the main selling points for me was the simplified scripting it uses. I have very little experience in script writing but was able to take the sample script that is available on the website and easily alter it to suit my equipment/requirements.
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Fil
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by Fil » Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:50 pm

Very Nice Job!!! The PC interface is a sweet touch too, sure beats a 16x2 led display and takes the pain away of trying to use a touch panel..
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:56 pm

The monitor is a touchscreen so can use this or a keyboard&mouse, the brucontrol software has been made to be touchscreen friendly and it works quite well. Useful to have a keyboard for editing the scripts though. That can get a bit tedious using the onscreen keyboard

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Jocky
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by Jocky » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:41 pm

That's a thing of beauty.
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Secla
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by Secla » Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:04 pm

Hard to setup looks very interesting !

chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:17 pm

Not hard to setup at all. The hardest part was scouring the internet and then waiting for all the parts to arrive. Although it looks like it would be complicated to wire up it was all fairly simple when its broken down into smaller sections eg. All the 5v wiring first, then 12v, then mains.
Im crap with script writing but its all simplified by the software so even i could figure it out fairly quickly

chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:20 pm


chris2012
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris2012 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:23 pm

That's a very neatly wired up control panel, nice!

A little question, are the things on the DIN rail marked MW, some kind of AC-DC device?

Edit: looks like are after zooming in, do you have the model no's for those? Look very handy!

Also are those switches on the front of the panel directly switching AC, if they're for DC for controlling the controller, how are they
hooked up to the controller out of interest?

chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:47 pm

Yes theyre transformers. 5v and 12v
5v one is a meanwell MDR-20-5
12V is a meanwell MDR-60-12

The switches on the front panel only switch 12v, 3 of them power the contactor coils for heating elements and the other two go through the 5v relays for the pump and alarm.
I didnt want any mains voltage on the front of the panel.

chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:50 pm

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chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:52 pm

Note these switches dont turn on/off devices, they just enable/disable the devices so they can be controlled by the arduino

chefgage
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chefgage » Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:47 pm

Nice neat panel. Just a little tip if you build a new panel or modify your existing one. You can get double crimp terminals which when linking common connections between contactors/buttons/relays etc makes for a neater connection. Not that your panel does not look neat i must add. I have been using them at work on some motor control panels. Although it does depend on the application though ie if a fork crimp terminal is required.

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themadhippy
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by themadhippy » Thu Feb 15, 2018 7:03 pm

You can get double crimp terminals which when linking common connections between contactors/buttons/relays etc makes for a neater connection.
Only piggy back crimps ive found are 6.3mm,which are no good for 4.8mm terminals used on some stuff
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chris2012
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Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris2012 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 7:21 pm

Thanks a lot for the reply chris246810, I'll have to get some of those meanwell things, as I can power a Pi with one.

One more question, I see on the top of the panel you have mains connectors, what kind of connectors are they, they look
like some kind of connector you twist on.

chris246810

Re: Brucontrol panel build

Post by chris246810 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:45 pm

The mains connectors are neutrik powercon true1 connectors. They do all have 6.3mm terminal connectors, i just wasnt aware they did piggy back crimps.

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