Hopefully a quick question for those with hands-on experience. We are awaiting the delivery of the MK2 48 x 30, I have the bench all built and have run the 6" overhead dust collector duct.
Our shop lighting is in need of replacing and we’re seriously considering LED throughout the shop. In my past life I worked in the controls and automation industry and there were always concerns on LV control cables (i.e. steppers) that have non-shielded wiring and any RF interference from sources such as lighting or power cables running adjacent to unshielded cables.
So, for any of you that HAVE LED shop lights and are running a MK2 could you let me know if you noticed any issues with RF? We were just looking at the Amazon lighting, I’m sure at their price point they have RF issues but considering we need to run about 15 - 4" or 7-8 8’ fixtures, not a small cost.
My entire shop has LED lighting and I have never noticed any strange events affecting my longmill.
I also have a laser enclosure that is lit with with LEDs and they are within 20 inches of the steppers and I have had no problems there either.
The question is, do or can cheap LED lights cause a problem?
Good luck.
@exwhyzee Hey Alan, I have a good quality LED shop lights and have not had a problem. I don’t get kick backs from these folks, but really enjoyed their exceptional customer service and very good product. I encourage you to have a look. They even helped me with a layout for appropriate lighting at no charge. https://www.primelights.com
Not the cheapest lights, but a very good product.
Jake
Thanks @MikeH. Yes, the “cost effective hahaha” lighting CAN give off enough RF to interfere with even a garage door opener remote… at least that is what one of the thousands of reviews said. That said, the thousands of positive reviews do tend to counterbalance.
I would likely be a bit more concerned if I was running a VFD / Spindle as any potential harmonics could really make the VFD lose it’s marbles. I’m starting with the Makita router so I’ll give these Scottish Price Point lights a try lol (oh, I’m Scottish so there’s that lol)
Thanks Jake! Those look like a good fixture for sure. I put a few fixtures in my shopping cart then added shipping to Canada, it’s madness hahaha! Shipping costs have skyrocketed… it’s always fun for us when we have the 550lb. rated 60" long drawer slides shipped to us from the States, that makes everything clench just a tad.
I’m going to save the link however, I’ll give the cheapies a try and see what happens, worst case is they have RF interference and I’m out $135 for 10 - 4’ fixtures.
I have a pair of 4’ LED lights directly above my MK2. I haven’t experienced any issues. Where I did have some issues initially was with static from dust collection and some possible signal bleed in my wiring. I grounded my dust hose from the router all the way to my dust deputy and installed ferrites on my stepper wires and an additional ferrite on my router power chord so it’s muted at both ends. It was probably overkill but I paid $10 for 20 ferrites of various sizes [Ceedmon 20 Pieces Clip-on Ferrite Ring Core RFI EMI Noise Suppressor Cable Clip for 3mm/5mm/7mm/9mm/13mm Diameter Cable, Black https://a.co/d/fiHyHdo]
Thanks @CncJim! I’ve had my DC system up and running for a while now (2 years) and have run everything in 6" HVAC duct, I’ve used all steel blast gates and ground at each gate back to earth. Now, the drop I just made for the CNC DC is the flexible hose so I was planning on running an internal copper ground wire from the hose / dust shoe all the way back to the blast gate earth. Took your advise and have ordered the “big ol’ bag” of ferrite rings… there are a few other items in the shop that could use these as well.
I’m running a 2HP 240v DC on 6" duct so I’m pretty sure that’ll keep the workspace relatively clean.
I have LED shop lighting. I did have some issues with dropping the connection from my longmill to my computer which is outside my shop. I did have a 25’ USB cable running in my ceiling to my longmill, and replaced it with a 20’ (found out I didn’t need the extra 5 feet) shielded USB cable and my issues disappeared. I never associated the problem with LED lighting figuring I was probably maxing out the reliable lengths USB cable is good for. Hope that helps.
NO
I have 6 Honeywell linkable LED lights in my basement, been working fine for a couple of years. One is directly over my MK1 30x30. I can see really well with my piss poor eysight…
I’m running 14 LED fixtures in the shop now for the past 6 weeks or so. Absolutely no interference issues at all, these are the 40w strips off of Amazon.
I did find a gremlin with any brand of LED light when plugged into the same power strip as my Kobra Max 3D printer. The light flashed really fast and constantly so I plugged it into a different circuit. Problem solved. Still no issues with the LM.
Yes they definitely produce some wonky harmonics / distortion on the frequency of a circuit! I run my lighting circuit independent from everything else so must be why it’s working well.