Guest Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 (edited) I posting this here to try and stop people getting charged £750 + for a set of plates and controls, if you have a few days or know about stuff it can be a fully 20t including the hydraulic press for £850 or so,I use SGS ENGINEERING for the presses in the uk as they have 10yr warranty .. IMHO this should be here like this for people to copy from .. Here is how to build a control unit for a rosin press. This set up provides 500w of heat to each plate , with a thermocouple separate from the heaters. The reason for this is it will give a better reading as it not attached to the heaters.. When a heater and thermocouple are together in the heater this will ALWAYS give a reading @ least 10 degrees out of what it is at the best instance.. Each rosin plate is 5 inch x 3inch and 2 inch thick, each heater is 250w so total power is 1kw.. The reason for so much power is it heats the plates quickly and means when the temp set there is less drift or overshoots or drop off .. The controllers are programable with a limiter for low set point, i use 50c, and a high set point, i use 130c as i never go above that.. There is also a hysteresis setting which is like how many readings it does at a given time, so i use .5 so twice a second.. This also aids temperature stability as it reads twice a second.. When the temp s set to 90c it will only overshoot to 94c max, and will drop to 87c then re heat..I think these controllers give better stability than sasquatch presses and dabinator press imho from using them.. You will need the following parts : all Maplins 1x Plastic surface mount project box from maplins, pic shows part no.. 1 x junction box also maplins.. 5M 3 core 2mm mains cable from maplins. 2 x IEC Switched sockets , from maplins pic shows part no.. 4 x Cable glands for 5mm cable.. Heat shrink 3mm and 7mm Nylon ties Nylon tie , tie downs, sticky backed 2 x Novos n322jk240/r/r pids pic shows part no and where from.. (from under control instruments) 4 x 6.5 mm heater cart 100mm long part no 65100250230-7242012 (from under control instruments) 2 x thermocouple Type K-T/C3x100mm 1.5m GF/SSOB-50TO=400C . (from under control instruments Set of plates from China made to your spec, i asked for 2 x 6.5mm diameter heater holes at one end and 3mm diameter 100mm long thermocouple at opposite end, These cost £90 to your door, best price i get in UK is £116, my engineer friend says what i get from china is same grade he uses. I do get him to do a final polish etc .. Tool wise you need a soldering iron and solder, side cutters, wire strippers, stanley knife, phillips screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, drill and pilot bits and 16mm drill cutter , set square and ruler , butane torch , helping hands clamps .. This is the part no of project box from maplins Iec switch Pid control novus 1st job is to mark out where the switches and controls go, also drill 2x 16mm holes for the glands for cables to come out (shown at the end) You then drill a few holes on the INSIDE of the marking out, better to take less off than too much.... Then it best to do this outdoors, heat the stanley blade with the Butane torch , i do this as it cuts though/melts the plastic easier than a cold blade.. I am aware of the risks, i do it outside.. Then drill a 16mm hole either side , the side you not mount switches or controls, so the narrow sides... Then dry fit the switches and controllers , make them fit snug, with cutting slithers of plastic with a cold stanley, the blades do this better as less material to cut.. The next pic shows the iec switch with the rear cover off ... This pic shows the cables tinned with solder ready to solder to switch to their proper places.. This pic shows the 2 switches soldered but not heat shrunk .. The next pic shows a finished switch with the heat shrink added.. So now we have 2 prepped switches, we now need to connect the Live and Neutral to the controller, we need to make a small jumper cable to get power across the pid, bellow is a pic of an untinned jumper cable .. How to join 2 fiddly wires with solder .. The next pic shows how to connect up to the pid, the earth is not used here it goes to the plates.. Both Pid controls wired for power ... Then get the thermocouple and attach it as shown, if it the wrong way round it reads - , wont go bang .. The next bit is to connect the heater carts, we use 2 x 1.5 mtr length of mains cable to do this part as the heaters have short cables, this is why we use a Breakout box or junction box, to connect heaters.. Strip back enough outer insulation on mains so inside insulated cables reach the power sides of pids as shown in pic ... This pic is the heater extender cables , separate from the thermocouple side... The next pic shows breakout junction box with the heaters wired in ..The earth runs from here to the plates, will do this when it set up where it going to live, although now i think of it spain might not earth This pic shows the thermocouple side outlet ... here is a pic of the un finished plates, these my rough mocking up set .. I hope this will help people not get ripped off by the stuff you can buy ready made... I will add some more info here on how to tidy up the wires inside box etc... That it for now till next time take it easy ..... Edited September 6, 2017 by Notarf 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSZZ Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Great thread and very informative I hope everyone realizes how cool this is, most rosin presses available are not really fit for purpose. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince noir rock n roll star Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 a top quality build there ...totally out of my pocket range but im good as you know ..but this is a game changer for those with some readies or are in the extract game . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joint hogger Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Nice thread @Notarf hope you will be adding more pics, especially of your press & thermocoupler plates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault and battery Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 I want this so much, I'm in awe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
botanics Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Excellent tutorial, top quality Notarf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The lone stoner Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 My press cost around the same but my plates were fabricated in the UK to my exact specs, and someone did all the wiring etc for me. There are people doing it for a fair price if you are prepared to do the homework. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Key4 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Already building this, cheers for the thread. Plates are on ebay too for £80 made to your specs with free p&p 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenVision Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 I do like's a Rosin... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 @The lone stoner to my knowledge no one does plates , controllers, heaters etc for under 700, at best the cheaper you get them the less stable the controllers will be, thats what i have seen with quite a few "kits'' in the uk ..the set you got was around 700 if the seller you got then from is telling the truth , he is one of the better guys also, but you wont get a 20 ton heavy duty press with that for 850 all in with the controllers etc.. Would be nice if you showed some pics of the set you have i like his style of using a massive rotary switch think he uses RS components own brand of PID control..Have you done much pressing so far and what sort of temps , pressure and yield are you getting ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The lone stoner Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 (edited) Unfortunately I can't upload any more pics,or I can't work out how to do it. Mine is built on an SGS press,with all the components in a project box mounted to the side of the housing. We used the best parts available to us and my plates have extreme temperature control. I have never seen them more than a third of a degree outside the parameters set,and this is due to the wattage of the heating elements. I have been using it for about a year maybe a touch more or less and find it excellent, I rarely go over 10 tons and usually 83C is my preferred temperature. I don't use cannabis in it's raw herbal form anymore so everything I grow I drysift using a rotor then the material goes into the bubblenow. Anything I can't clean to a dabbing texture from the drysift is added to the bubble and I press the lot. I have never bothered to work out the yield as it means nothing to me. I do know that I am getting around 95% or more of what the material has to give in my first press though so I don't second press since realising it's mostly pointless. I keep the chips and make some kind of preparation using coconut oil or grain alcohol to give away should I find someone who could benefit from it in my circles. The best strain I've found for pressing is amnesia core which outyields anything else I have pressed over the past 2/3 years that rosin has been a thing. Edited September 7, 2017 by The lone stoner 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Thanks for sharing @Notarf I better start looking down the back of the sofa for that spare fortune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 (edited) @Joint hogger bellow is a pic of the thermocouple, they they 2 thin ones the other 4 are the 250w heaters .. I finished off the wiring added heat shrink and tie downs for nylon ties .. Now on to the programme the PID control it not to bad as it goes...There is a button marked P on the control , hold this down for 2 seconds then UNT will flash. This is Temperature units . 0 is degrees celsius , 1 would be Fahrenheit .. I set it to 0 for celsius .. The UNT will still flash so press P again to go to next setting which is thermocouple type, you have 3 options Type J, Type K and Type T.. I am using a K type so select "1" . TYP will still flash , press P once again and it goes to OF5 which is sensor offset- Offset value to be added to the measured temp to compensate sensor error.I set it to 0. OF5 will be flashing . again press P to go to next setting. SP1 will now flash this is to set the low set point limit. I set it to 50c although i may change it to 65 at some later point..so now the plates will never go bellow 50c.. SP1 will be flashing again press P button to go to SP2 , this sets the high limit upper range , I set that to 130c as we never go above that temp. Sp2 wi now be flashing again press P then HY1 wil show this is for Hysteresis :define the differential range between the temp value at which output1 is turned on and the value at which it turns off in degrees. I set this to .5 HY1 will be flashing, you guessed it press P button again and now HY2 will flash, HY2 does same as HY1 but for output 2, i set this also to .5 HY2 will now be flashing , press P now AC1 will flash this is the control action for Output 2.. 0 is for heating applications, which turns on when temp lower than SP, so it is set to 0. AC1 will flash , press P , NOW AC2 flashes this ac2 is control for output 2 , we set this to 0 as it is the reverse control action (heating) . AC2 will flash , press P button now CNT will flash this controls associates setpoints and outputs, i use 0 as this is setpoint 1assigned to output 1 as is setpoint 2 to output 2.. And that is the controllers set up , do the same for both of them , it quite easy when they in front of you and the instructions that come with them are very clear.. That it for now till next time take it easy ... Edited September 7, 2017 by Notarf 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 (edited) @The lone stoner Are the set pictured bellow like your ones ? we pm'd each other last year and you said where they came from area wise , the set you have is certainly well put together ,i looked into RS components PID'S they seemed ok ... If People need any more info PM me happy to assist if i can ... I lock this now as i just wanted it for a tutorial rather than a full blown thread, any rosin i do will be in the other pressing times thread... That it for now till next time take it squeezie .... Edited September 7, 2017 by Notarf 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSZZ Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Its pretty invaluable info so I have pinned this topic and unlocked it so users can help each other out. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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