Finally completed my Zen table build. Kevins Zenxy table was my main inspiration. The table is made from solid walnut and the base is painted cedar. The sand table and the mechanism is a floating framed plywood supported inside the frame by shelf pins. I have two LED strips, a white one and a color changing one. I am using Bdring’s Laser/Pen controller running grbl-esp32 for controls.
Well thanks to the Ryan and the folks on this forum for the support. like I read some where there is no ZenXY without Sandify… Thanks are also due to the Sandify team for the great work that makes it easy for people like me to create a thing of beauty.
Yes it is on a wifi controlled switch that can be programed as a timer.
What are your main concerns behind the comment ?
is it about electrical fires etc ? or are your concerns around keeping the control board powered on all the time and causing damage?
I am running 12V through the wires under the rug. I use am using 12 V power supply (from the V1 shop) and using 18 ga wire with a connector plug to hook up to the table. The LEDS are also 12V. I have a 12V toggle switch that allows me to turn off the card when not in use and run just the light. I figured that I will make a pattern and keep it for a few days and change every 3 days/week so wanted a way to not have the card powered on all the time (not sure if there was any harm in keeping the board powered all the time…)
The power supply is rated for 6A, so do you see any concerns on running the LED and the steppers off of the same power supply (seems to run fine… the LEDs draw about 1.2 - 2 amps I would think. not sure how much the steppers draw…)
In general, running electrical supply wires under a rug is considered dangerous because any wear on the wire is not visible, so likely to go unnoticed until too late.
Fire is a concern. My test bench power supply made a short at the end while I was working. Power supply didn’t pop, fuse didn’t pop, but the screwdriver it was touching nearly melted the handle off.
Any hidden damage can cause a spot of higher resistance or a short and get really hot really fast, especially if it gets stepped on frequently.
Overall a very slim chance of it happening, but either way power off while gone or sleeping will save it from happening at all.
Thanks Kevin, and thanks for the detailed post you had made earlier. I was heavily inspired by your beautiful build and I want to let you know that your I used your pictures from your post to get approval from my high command here …
The table is 14 inches tall - wanted it to be a little lower than typical coffee tables, and the drawing dimension is about 20X42. tried to match the dimensions of a table we already had in that space.
I can see the concern for running the wires under the carpet as well. Any heat in the wire will be held by the carpet.
You could put a small in-line fuse at the power supply side that would pop if any short happened between it and the table.
You could also maybe use some wire that’s designed for direct-bury usage. It usually has higher shielding and thicker coating to help with wire being broken.
Point taken, long term I will be getting an outlet on the floor. The power supply and the high voltage wiring (110V) is outside the rug running under the couch. Only a short run (3ft or so) of the low voltage wire after the power supply brick is running under the rug. I will monitor how this goes, My thinking is that 12V reduces the risk considerably, but I am not sure if that assumption is valid.
Great build! How tall is the table overall? And what did you end up with for the drawing dimensions?