Odd Power Supply Question - Reusing AC Port?

adt2

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Apr 19, 2012
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Hi, folks. This is my first post, but I'm a long-time lurker. I'm building a case out of wood for a CNC machine I recently completed; tired of looking at the rat's nest of wires everywhere. I'd like to use the 3-prong female port that is standard on the back of every desktop computer as a simple "go-between" to mount to the box. I do not need any of the power supply's other components; just the actual connector. I have a dedicated power supply for the CNC electronics that is currently wired directly to a 16-gauge 3-prong power cord straight from Home Depot (per the manufacturer's instructions) and works great.

What I am intending to do is cut the 3-prong connector off the end of said cord and wire it to the power supply port stripped off an old, unused power supply, then mount the port to the case, then use a standard computer power cord to plug the contraption into the wall. My questions are, a) can I do this? and b) if so, do I need to make any modifications to the port that came off the original power supply? It's got three heavy-gauge wires coming off the back, which I presume are +/-/GND, but then it's also got some other stuff - a little component soldered into the +/- leads about the size of a Starburst and wrapped in yellow plastic, and a couple of small blue things about the size of aspirins soldered between +/-/GND and appearing (surely this is wrong) to connect them all together.

Wondering if I just connect the +/-/GND to my power supply's +/-/GND if everything else can be ignored? Any help would be appreciated. (Even help like "don't do it this way; look for a ???? part from Digi-Key or wherever and do it that way" would be great. Just not sure how to proceed.)
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
I would assuming the other stuff are capacitors and/or other parts of the early filtering stage. You can do away with them.

I have a dedicated power supply for the CNC electronics that is currently wired directly to a 16-gauge 3-prong power cord straight from Home Depot (per the manufacturer's instructions) and works great.

Then why are you looking to do this? I don't understand.
 

adt2

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Apr 19, 2012
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Because I don't want to just drill a hole in the side of the new case and run a cord out of it. I'd like to have some kind of "quick connector" like on the back of a computer case.
 

adt2

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Apr 19, 2012
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I couldn't find anything like a case-mountable plug/port at my local big-box, and Radio Shack didn't have anything either. Hence the attempt to use stuff I already have laying around. Just need to know if it's likely to work, and if any mods need to made first.
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
Yeah, those are just caps to help filter the incoming AC. Any hardware store should have all the electrical stuff you'd need. (Ace, Lowe's, OSH, etc.) As mentioned however you should be fine with using that.

The green cord is your ground of course and should be attached to your ground. I'd just clip the caps off and use the blue/grey wires seeing as they are already attached. Do you need to worry about wire gauge? I'm not sure how much draw a CNC machine pulls. I'd assume you're ok.
 

adt2

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Apr 19, 2012
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Sorry, I should've given a bit more detail. The CNC machine itself (i.e. the huge router) is not being run through this deal. This is a 48V power supply that powers the small electronic controller that provides logic to the stepper motors. The PS plugs into 110v outlet and steps the power down to 48V or less for use by the other gear.

I just wanted a fancier way to connect everything so it doesn't look like Ray Charles did it at night.
 

adt2

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Apr 19, 2012
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I actually tried Digikey before I came here. Unfortunately, they have the worst online catalog experience ever, and since I didn't know what the technical terms for my parts were, it was kind of an exercise in futility.