As usual it won’t take long before I take new stuff apart to see what’s inside. Usually if warranty is involved I manage to take a hold of myself for a few months but in the end everything will be opened.

Likewise my new powder coating machine.

What I see is no rocket-science. It’s a high voltage module built in Chinese tradition so lots of hot glue. It’s put together quit poorly but it’s what you pay for and it does the job.

It’s pretty basic, a epoxy filled high voltage generator and a low voltage psu for the leds and the relay.

The machine can be set from 30KV to 50Kv in steps of 5 kilovolts.

This machine transports the high voltage using a shielded cable made from silicone material. It’s similar to a spark plug wire apart from the shielding that is also used to ground the gun. Most professional machines generate high voltage in the gun it self, a way more safe and practical solution if you ask me.

Professional machines also have separate air flow and pressure control for the powder hopper and the powder cloud. With this machine it’s just one regulator for the hopper and the cloud although you can adjust the airflow on the gun itself.

I happened to have a beautiful aluminium black anodized housing, an old compact manometer, a pressure regulator and some connectors. Because the machine is very unpractical to store in my garage I decided to upgrade the housing and put connectors on the cables.

The high voltage cable was a bit of a hassle, I thought I could get away using SHV connectors but abouwe 30Kv they made sparks 🙁 To solve this I ordered some round 20mm PTFE material and used it at “the office” for “self education” during my lunch break.

The design

Part 7, 9, 10 en 12 are PTFE (Teflon) material. Part number 3 is a turned down brass part of a 4mm lab style banana connector, 4 and 11 made of brass and the rest is aluminium.

The principle is to keep the connection outside the high voltage wire as far from metal and other components as possible so the connecting parts are moved away from the housing using PTFE isolator as a spacer.

The result

Next to the High voltage connector there is a push in fitting for a 6mm air tube, a front mount voltage selector (on the original machine it was on the back), a connector for the trigger pedal, a ground connector, a pressure regulator and a gauge for the air pressure.

Adjusting the settings is way more convenient now and using a small 6mm air tube has advantages over using a regular power tool air hose with euro-connector

The main air supply is now on the back of the housing next to a fused C14 connector for a wall plug.

The connector is not perfect yet, although the fitting of the outer aluminium shieling is a close fit it’s not a perfect ground. I am planning to add a simple wire coming out of the grommet to attach to the ground.

The machine works perfect again, no sparks and easy to use.