I thought this was cooler than most, because I knew it was packing an osPID. The Hackerbot crew got an osPID from our first batch, and they decided to use it maintain the temperature on the laser’s cooling system.

My favorite thing about this project? Their osPID is hacked. They needed a 5V PWM output, and (for now) the osPID only puts out a slow 3.8V cycle on the SSR pin. With a closed controller they would have been stuck: you get what you get. But with the osPID, it was just a jumper wire and a few extra lines in the firmware. Open-source at its finest.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing the osPID in use. Each implementation is cooler than the last! For tons more great photos check out 3ric Johanson’s flickr.

The osPID Kit is back in stock and ready to ship.

We have made several changes to the kit in this second batch:

• The MAX6675ISA+ thermocouple interface chip has been replaced with the MAX31855KASA+:
  • We finally managed to get our hands on the new MAX31855KASA+. Maxim has been well-known for it’s long lead times and we hope this chip is here to stay. Supplies were very intermittent at the start.
  • If you have plans to use another type of thermocouple (J, N, T, S, R, or E), it is possible (with a soldering iron) to swap our K-type chip with the appropriate Maxim part.
• USB-Serial interface chip FT232RL was replaced with the new FT231XS.
• The low in stock buck regulator LT3971 was replaced with MCP16301:
  • We were having stock issues with the LT3971, as they either come in a tube or a large 2500 piece reel (which we can’t afford). Most assemblers are unable to use the tube format, since they don’t have the necessary machine to handle them.
• We reverse-mounted the LED on the Digital Output card to simplify the assembly process
  • The earlier version of the Digital Output card uses an ordinary 0603 SMD LED. But, using this LED in automated assembly would mean doubling the reflow process and an additional cost on each stencil. We experimented with the reverse mount LED and made the necessary adjustments to ensure that excessive component drops don’t occur during the pick and place process. Although the reverse-mount LED is more expensive, we think it is worth it in the long run as it will save a lot of manufacturing time.
• Better laser cut casing:
  • We managed to find a local manufacturer that is capable of making deeper grooves in the casing. This provides better support to the IO cards, resulting in a sturdier unit.
  • Based on a customer suggestion, the voltage input range is now engraved above the power jack.
  • Getting the casing made locally saves cost on shipping and potential custom tax and duties.

This is the first time we have ever sent our boards out for assembly. The osPID Main Board & Digital Output card were assembled by the factory and the Temperature Input card were assembled on our own (tube packaging issues again).

Note: SOME osPID Kits from this 2nd batch are ready for shipping, while the rest are still waiting for the input card terminal block (we hope it’s a week delay, at most).

We have just picked up our batch of assembled osPID Kit boards from the factory. They all come in panels and it feels so much relaxed to have handed the assembly task to the factory. We are currently checking and testing all the boards.

We are very near to shipping out all back orders but we had a small glitch on the laser cut casing. We got all mixed up on our casing design files and sent the wrong revision to the manufacturer. It was either too small or too big! But, our manufacturer is moving as fast as they can to finish them within 1-2 days. We like the service of our new laser cut manufacturer very much! They insist that all laser cut casing will be randomly test fit with the osPID Kit electronics by them for every batch of 50 sets being cut to provide a more precise and accurate outcome. We’ll talk more about them shortly after all back orders are out in the mail.

We made some small improvements on the casing: a voltage input range marking and also deeper grooves for the IO cards to slot in perfectly.

We want to thank everyone that has been waiting patiently, especially those who have already backordered their units. We’ll drop a shipment notification mail once we ship them out.

We decided to get them assembled locally here in Malaysia. It was initially decided that we get them assembled somewhere nearby (2 km away!) so we would be able to monitor the process closely. But, after a couple visits to the factory that includes all the technical portions, the factory sales guy seemed reluctant to do our small volume production. We guess they wanted to stick to their high volume assembly jobs instead. To be honest, we wasted a lot time here and their assembly cost was not that cost effective either. On the plus side, it was awesome to see lines and lines of huge Juki pick and place machines doing their thing!

Anyway, we were lucky enough to stumble upon an assembly factory located in North of Malaysia that was kind enough to accept our small volume production (anything that is less than 5000 units is considered small volume). In addition, their assembly cost is much more affordable. This allows us to keep the osPID Kit price as it is for now (we had to manually assembled them for the 1st batch!) as the assembly cost was not present in the 1st batch. We also did some optimization to the BOM price to squeeze in these additional assembly costs.

At this moment of writing, we have all the parts ready for assembly (total weight of nearly 30 kg!). Here’s a picture of stash of osPID components!

We painstakingly tested all 500 buzzers to make sure no faulty ones are being fitted to the boards. The sound of buzzer is still ringing in our ears!

We’ll be heading 500 km North of Kuala Lumpur to get these babies assembled. If time permits, we’ll do a short video on the assembly process. It should take about a week for them to complete them (it only takes a day actually for complete assembly but setup takes some time and we have to fit into their existing schedule too).

Back orders of the osPID Kit is now opened but will not shipped for at least another week or two. We hope more people will get their hands on the osPID Kit this time around.

Happy tinkering & take care!

We now have our very own documentation wiki! It is still needs a lot of work, but the basic structure is there. Over time we hope this grows into a powerful resource for the osPID user-base.

Anyone is free to create an account and edit, so feel free to add content. Be advised however, that this is a moderated wiki; all edits are subject to moderator approval. We felt this was the best way to allow for user-modification, while protecting against spam.

Setpoint-Profile Support

Rather than hard-coding a reflow profile, we went with a more flexible approach. Using 3 different commands (setpoint STEP, setpoint RAMP, input WAIT) you can piece together a sequence that gives you your desired result.

Different profiles are stored as files on the desktop side. One profile at a time may be loaded onto the osPID and executed. The profile is stored on the osPID EEPROM, so loading is only necessary when you wish to change the profile.

IO Card support

The previous version of the firmware was pretty much hard-coded for the digital output card and temperature input card. This firmware breaks out all the IO code into a separate file, where pre-compiler flags let you specify which cards are being used. This should simplify card-swaps and prototype-card usage.

Hackability

The previous version of the firmware made awful use of the osPID’s resources. It used WAY more RAM than necessary, and only left 5k of free program space. In addition to adding a bunch of new features, the new firmware is much better on RAM usage, and leaves over 9k of free program space. This means that if you have the itch to hack the osPID, there’s actually some room for you to do so.

There’s always more work to be done, but I’m pretty happy with what we’ve managed to accomplish with this revision. As always, let us know if we messed up; everyone will benefit.

The goal here is a create a central place where people can get information, show off their awesome projects, and help to improve the osPID for everyone’s benefit.

So stop by when you get a chance. Help us leverage the power of open source to turn the osPID into the best PID Controller it can be.

He spent an hour or two the last couple of nights setting up a sous-vide rig: Two immersion heaters, a circulation pump, and a k-type thermocouple.

It’s hard to argue with results my friends. Being an engineer, there’s always a part of me that’s waiting for that huge flaw that I missed, the thing that will make what I did a complete failure. But it has not come to pass. osPID = tasty results. I’m over the moon.

The most obvious point made so far is that we were lacking a quick-start guide. I’ve since created a preliminary page for this here. This is a work in progress, but should give you everything you need to get up and running.

The second prominent issue was that the input card wasn’t reading correctly. This is strictly a firmware issue related to the switch from the MAX31855 back to the MAX6675. What this means is that everyone will need to update their firmware. DOH! The quick-start explains how to do this.

There will undoubtedly be more issues as the days go by. PLEASE complain to us. We will fix it and everyone will benefit. The only way we will be great is if we are told when we suck.

There are a few extra units that are being assembled as I write this. we’ll announce on twitter when orders are open.

We’re also working on our 2nd (larger) batch. hopefully this will remove availability as an issue.