Dust Collection System
Woodworking creates a lot of dust, and if not collected, it becomes an issue quickly. I don’t like having to manually switch which blast gates are open or closed and then turn off the Dust Collector (DC). Equally a pain, when I’m finished cutting, the same can be said about turning off the DC and remembering to close the blast gate.
To that end, I’ve seen many commercial solutions (expensive and mostly 4″ blast gates) and a lot of different designs by woodworkers on YouTube. Inspired by what can be done, and being somewhat technical, I ventured out to build my own.
I chose Arduino because it has a large community of developers, libraries, and available hardware, etc., going with an Elegoo Mega 2560, and was influenced by several other projects on YouTube (I Like to Make Stuff, and others no longer available).
Major Parts for this Project
- Elegoo Mega 2560
- 5v 8 Channel Relay Module
- Single Phase Solid State Relay DC to AC
- 20×4 LCD Module
- Prototype PCB for Arduino Mega 2560
- Project Boxes Main Control Box, DC Relay Box, and Valve Power Supply Box
- 1.5FT Aux Cords for Relay to Valves box
- 5″ Blast Gates
- 3/4″ Bore 5″ Stroke Air Cylinders
- 3 Position Solenoid Valves
- Current Sensors
- Too many more to list…
TL;DR
The Arduino is set up to detect current from a tool. When the current is detected, it opens the blast gate to that tool, and then turns on the DC. When the tool is turned off, the Arduino senses the reduced current, waits 12 seconds, closes the blast gate to the tool, and then turns off the DC.
How does it Really Work?
First, you have to detect the current. This is accomplished with a current sensor that captures the current around the hot wire within the outlet box to which the tool is powered from. This information is sent over the wire to the Arduino. The Arduino interprets the data and determines if the current at the tool has increased or not. It continually monitors the current at that outlet, and the others wired into the system. When a preset current level is reached, the Arduino then performs a series of tasks.
First, it triggers a relay to then open the Air Valve for the blast gate to the tool. Then within a half second, it triggers the relay for the DC to turn on. Then things just suck like they should.
When the Arduino senses the lack of, or reduction in current, it then triggers a different set of actions. First, it waits approx. 12 seconds before it then turns off the DC and closes the blast gates. This is to be sure to clear the dust from the dust collection hose and piping.
Arduino Source Code https://github.com/tbadger/dustclsys