Small Milling Machine Angel Eyes

[Toolmaker51]

Ohhhh, a machine light. Video shot, caught my eye, thinking it was a 'desk lamp" of machine parts.
I've tried ring lights with disappointing result. maybe they've improved. The problem, parallel illumination "focuses" on area directly below, with little divergence. The large chuck shadows the drill point, unless a long bit.
Angling two Tensor-type individual lamps [incandescent or LED] at either side is more effective. The best arrangement seems to be one from the back, and left side, lessening interference to operator.

[editor@glue-it.com]

Ohhhh, a machine light. Video shot, caught my eye, thinking it was a 'desk lamp" of machine parts.
I've tried ring lights with disappointing result. maybe they've improved. The problem, parallel illumination "focuses" on area directly below, with little divergence. The large chuck shadows the drill point, unless a long bit.
Angling two Tensor-type individual lamps [incandescent or LED] at either side is more effective. The best arrangement seems to be one from the back, and left side, lessening interference to operator.

I have made a desk lamp using snubs from a dial gauge support - it's on my gallery

The reflective foil extends the illuminated area quite a lot, it's working really well.

[DIYSwede]

Dual post - Please ignore

Cheers
Johan

[DIYSwede]

Umm - I checked your nice desk lamp design and build at your site, Nigel.

One question though:
1) -Isn't the chosen GU 10 lamp at full mains 230 VAC voltage (or is it below 24 V)?
If so: You got yourself a protective earth lead to the lamp's base?
And do you have GFI/ RCD device in your breaker/ fuse box?

A low voltage transformer/ SELV powered, low temp LED could be mounted in just about anything, as in your mill light,
but an all metal, mains powered (with perhaps a hot Halogen?) lamp without a proper and connected* earth lead
could give you a blind date with Darwin when a fault happens.

I'm not sure how code might've changed in the UK since New Years Eve, but I guess you haven't ditched the CE regulations yet?

-Just be safe, OK?

Cheers
Johan

*Means NO 2-wire extension cord from outlet to your lamp plug...

[editor@glue-it.com]

Umm - I checked your nice desk lamp design and build at your site, Nigel.

One question though:
1) -Isn't the chosen GU 10 lamp at full mains 230 VAC voltage (or is it below 24 V)?
If so: You got yourself a protective earth lead to the lamp's base?
And do you have GFI/ RCD device in your breaker/ fuse box?

A low voltage transformer/ SELV powered, low temp LED could be mounted in just about anything, as in your mill light,
but an all metal, mains powered (with perhaps a hot Halogen?) lamp without a proper and connected* earth lead
could give you a blind date with Darwin when a fault happens.

I'm not sure how code might've changed in the UK since New Years Eve, but I guess you haven't ditched the CE regulations yet?

-Just be safe, OK?

Cheers
Johan

*Means NO 2-wire extension cord from outlet to your lamp plug...

The light is 3 wire and grounded and has an RCD, also, the connections to the holder fly-leads are soldered and insulated - no bolted terminals to come loose.

Must admit though that it would be even better as a 12V or USB powered light. The LED bulb is only around 4W.

[DIYSwede]

Thanks for your reply, Nigel - sorry for perhaps barking up the wrong tree - but safety first!

ATB
Johan

[editor@glue-it.com]

Thanks for your reply, Nigel - sorry for perhaps barking up the wrong tree - but safety first!

ATB
Johan

Hi Johan, that's fine, I completely agree safety first. I still might change this to low voltage and modify it slightly as the base is not wide enough to support the light at full reach. The bulb is LED, but a moulded thick glass and so quite heavy. Best regards, Nigel

[Toolmaker51]

Worthwhile considerations of grounding and operating voltage. Here [Midwest US], I'll use 3ph step down transformers for power-feeds, lights, DRO's etc, I hate cords laying around, feed machines from drops. Most are grounded cords; this will have me add GFCI's to cover everything low volt.
Halogen too hot for this kind of thing.

[DIYSwede]

Most are grounded cords; this will have me add GFCI's to cover everything low volt. .

AFAIK: For transformers/ SELV low voltage drive units a GFCI won't be as beneficial as it will be in a full mains voltage circuit.
A GFCI works by contionously checking for current leakage to anything else than the neutral conductor
( i. e. Opens breaker if Phase and Neutral current differs more than a predetermined value: usually<20-30 mA),
and would thus only protect a transformer's primary mains circuit - not the Galvanically separated secondary's eventual fault.

As voltages below 60 V are considered "harmless" for humans & animals this is no real drawback.
Remember that though low voltage might be "safe" - a 12 V 50 W halogen lamp draws over 4 amps each -
so keep the low voltage cables short and coarse enough to minimize the fire hazard...

I've actually burned myself at work finding 6 x 50 W halogen lamps in parallel with a "few metres" of molten AWG #18 ...
The student in question was terribly offeded when I called him a "PhD Candidate in Arson".

Better knowledgeable and safe than a stupid stiff.

Cheers
Johan

[Toolmaker51]

Sounds like I made 'low-volt' imply under our common 120v single phase.
A better description; User added power-feeds and some decent lights are 120, while DRO, optical readouts, other kinds of lighting have small individual [wall wart] transformers. That would be something like a Bridgeport. I'd attain that via small kv 440 to 120 buck transformer into a quad set of outlets. The outlet serving power feeds gets GFCI, the outlets for warts ground to box, bolted to machine, which naturally grounds through the 4th conductor along with spindle motor.

The others have that stuff built-in. Standing by with megger, phase & rotation checker, and photo-tachometer for those. Added benefit, typical here at HMT.net, improved vocabulary. This time SELV; generally accepted acronym, SELV stands for separated extra-low voltage (separated from earth). Certain electrical specifications vary how they define it, but idea remains.