Still would of been possible to run it in the dark to develop B&W and test for even dev But probably easier to just go ahead and order sample, hopefully no changes will be required (still would of been nice to do phototherm cross-compatibility). How much did it set you back if you don't mind me asking?
➟ The Container Lab
➟ www.thecontainerlab.com/blog
$1500 USD for 10 machines worth of parts (not just the develop tank, but also a few other parts used elsewhere in the machine). Speaking of which, the parts arrived today and they look great!
https://www.facebook.com/midtonemach...07222046776680
[QUOTE=AndrewBurns;1518339]$1500 USD for 10 machines worth of parts (not just the develop tank, but also a few other parts used elsewhere in the machine). Speaking of which, the parts arrived today and they look
Very exciting, how are you planning to test? I'm a recent retiree, I worked in home appliances, we did testing to failure, (if done correctly a refrigerator door weighted with lead, will go at least 300,000 cycles before falling off ) and some field testing, usually with employees. Field tests are great but expensive, we would need to retrieve everything that was pre production do to safety certifications (UL, CSA etc.)
One of the servo pinch valves has done 16000 cycles before I stopped the test (no failure). I'll be using the prototype machine for all of my personal photography once it gets going, which will be at least a few sheets of 4x5 per week. I also plan to get some of the early beta machines out to other local people and potentially one commercial lab for testing.
New blog post is up:
http://midtonemachines.com/news/let-...ramming-begin/
I've started wiring and programming the machine now, can make the valves open and close and the motors spin around. Actually making the machine function is trivial compared to making a nice user interface! But I don't want the user interface to be super cryptic or hard to use like something designed in the 80's so it's well worth the effort.
New blog post, sorry it's been a while:
http://midtonemachines.com/news/the-...ing-continues/
Programming is more or less complete for now and the machine is nearly at the level of functionality that would allow me to develop some B&W film (which is my goal for the end of the year). Next stop is designing up a custom PCB to save on wiring effort, clean the thing up a bit and combine a number of functions currently being handled by off-the-shelf boards.
Looking good. I used a machine back in the 80's, it was for old school wet chemistry Kjeldahl nitrogen determination. It was 10 times more complicated. Imagine mixing concentrated sulfuric acid with 50% sodium hydroxide then steam distilling the whole mess.
Your plan of simplifying the wiring etc will clean up the bit of tangle. Looks great.
Best Regards Mike
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