Re: Solid State Voltage Regulator

Posted by Packard Don On 2023/5/7 1:17:18

Thank you! I am doing this mainly as an exercise for fun as they would be far too costly to produce a few at a time. I know that no one would pay anywhere close to what this one cost!

I do need someone with a 3D printer and the ability to design and print some black plastic insulators for the openings where the connectors come out, mainly to add some strength to them and to better emulate the original (although I have several and they're each different so I am not sure what original is!). As it is, pushing down on the screws to tighten them would put considerable strain on the daughterboard. Also some kind of back cover to keep out water would be nice but I may opt for something pourable to seal it really well if I can find such a product.

Then there is the matter of heat. If this work at all, I expect that there will be heat to expel but there is nowhere for it to go, especially if the back is sealed.

One concern is whether PCB traces can handle the current so the next design will take that better into account. On this one, I originally tried to make multiple traces across up to four layers where possible to spread out the load but the design was not only difficult to follow but also the boards with inner layers were quite expensive to make.

Also the steel connector tabs on this design are each different which made them quite costly to make but the yet-to-be-made redesign has them all the same.

Obviously this is the Delco-Remy design but after I had designed and made it, I finally got an original 1956 Autolite and see that it is much narrower so I'll have to somehow try to compress the design and I have no idea how I am going to do that as it's tight already!