EEZ Bench Box 3 - Sequel to EEZ H24005

[Kean]

OK, it was late and I was tired... but I just couldn't sleep without assembling my unit.   

The design is very straightforward, and the assembly documentation was excellent - so it was a walk in the park.

Just two issues I encountered
1) The aforementioned front panel display mounting damage.  I used some large M3 flat washers and spring washers to remount the display securely with the 3 remaining threaded posts.
2) Two of the holes in the PSU mounting frame, and one hole in the side of the front panel (near the paint damage), had not been threaded.  I had an M3 tap handy so that didn't really delay me, I just had to be careful with cleaning the metal swarf.

So I'd just recommend inspecting the holes to verify they are tapped where required prior to commencing assembly.

Ran just a quick output test, and calibration looks spot on.  Big thumbs up to the EEZ team. 

[Kean]

I have some firmware updates to apply, but that can wait for tomorrow.

No idea where I am going to put these now.  Most of my work benches already have several lab supplies.  And there is another BB3 coming!
So lots of test equipment rearranging to do.  I think one H24005 can go to the home bench.

[prasimix]

Kean, this is great, and when you upgrade firmware the "Not installed" area will disappear, and the screen will be equally divided between the two modules (until the third module is installed).

[AkosL]

My kit arrived as well, the LCD is a bit loose, but looks like no damage. Designed and manufactured in EU <3

Has anyone checked parts prices for the bare kit recently (in EU)?

@prasimix: Looks like you are working on an "upgraded" two channel unit, the DCM224. Thinking about leaving the DCM220 PCB unpopulated, and jumping to DMC224. Will the new unit fit the DCM220 front panel? Do you have an updated BOM? Or how will you sell those?

[prasimix]

@prasimix: Looks like you are working on an "upgraded" two channel unit, the DCM224. Thinking about leaving the DCM220 PCB unpopulated, and jumping to DMC224. Will the new unit fit the DCM220 front panel? Do you have an updated BOM? Or how will you sell those?

Yes, you can use DCM220 front panel for DCM224, if you can live with the wrong name printed on it . I'll publish DCM224 details soon on GitHub and in the main thread, so stay connected.

[Kean]

Kean, this is great, and when you upgrade firmware the "Not installed" area will disappear, and the screen will be equally divided between the two modules (until the third module is installed).

Firmware updated no problem using STM32 DfuseDemo app. All good.  I like the auto adjusting screen layout.
My only confusion was I went looking for a firmware update for the DCP modules, but of course they don’t need any firmware.
Maybe the firmware info page could include a list of modules that don’t need their own firmware.

And BTW I had a bunch of screws left over from the build. Is that intentional to make us question our skills? 

[Kean]

My second BB3 shipment tracking info shows it arrived into Sydney last night while I was building this one.
I should have it on Monday... 

[danielbriggs]

So I got home this evening to finding two boxes FedEx left outside my front door, left out in the cold all day for anyone to walk off with...  (Thanks FedEx, nice and safe)
However... I spent the evening building them, it just couldn't wait until tomorrow!

In short: MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to Denis + the whole Envox team. These have really exceeded my expectations so far, and I feel there is much more to explore.

If I am honest I was slightly aprehensive on the module assembly of what would be received after all the "drama" from the assembler. However: the units I have recevied look perfect, no visible faults, and seem to work well and be manufactured to a high quality. (Not tested under load yet). So thank you for going through all that to get excellent units shipped with the kits.

Packaging is really excellent; nicely thought out and very compact.

The units are brilliant and have 100's of features burried inside the UI, but at the same time, quick and clean to use + operate.
The interface feels very intuitive, snappy and smooth and all in all light years ahead of some products.


The comments below are either very minor nitpicks, trivial things, // constructive criticism  or user error in myself not understanding how to use this properly yet. 
They in no way detract from such a fantastic job you and your team have done. The list of positives would be 100x longer than the following list of minor issues:


Hardware + fixings:
- I ordered identical two units, one had two untapped holes on the PSU top lid AC-DC plate. The other unit had all 4x holes tapped, so maybe this one slipped the net. Easily solved my end by running an M3 tap through; absolutely no issue.

- One unit was 4x M3 black countersunk screws missing; again no problem as had plenty on the shelf. Both units however did ship with 7x extra silver pan head screw for some reason.

- One unit was missing a pluggable front terminal block. If you can let me know the part number, I'll pick a spare up on my next Farnell/Mouser order.

- One unit display was flapping around in the breeze on one side. Re-fixed by re-clamping the holding nuts, but now it looks offset. I think I'll fit some M3 washers and shift it so it's clamped properly and central to the cut out.
The other unit was 100% perfect display, in clamping + position.

- Silkscreen on the front panel of one unit is a bit chiped / flaky in a few minor places. Again, perfect on the other unit.


Software:
Possibly ignore all of these comments as I've only had a quick test with the shipped V1.0 firmware.
I'll updated to 1.3.2 or whatever is latest tomorrow and have a deeper play.

However:
- Manual fan control PWM settings has a crazy resolution. 0.005% increments when using the encoder to adjust 
Maybe it's ok to limit it to 1% increments? I like the self-PWM calibration feature.

- On clicking "Encoder and UserSW" Options... there only appears to be encoder options visible. How do you change what the UserSW does? (More than likely user error on this feature!)

- There seems to be inconsistencies in the number of decimal places displayed. e.g. 5V displays as: 5.00V, and then 5.100V displays at 5.1V, is there any way to fix the number of DP?

- I have not calibrated my units yet, but when turned to 0mA set, they flicker between 0mA and -0.5mA quite fast. Again, might be an old firmware related issue, or is this normal behaviour? It's just slightly distracting in the background, no actual use problem.

Questions:

- On output coupling mode:
When using common GND mode with 2x DCP405's and 1x DCM220... are all 4x GND's common? The GUI only shows the first 3x channels are linked, but I assume all 4x are?

- Could I reshuffle my modules to have 3x DCP405's in the same BB3?
I understand only coupling series/parallel applied to slots 1+2. But could I drop in another DCP405 into slot 3 for full functionality?



All in all, this is a really really excellent product and lives up to the excitement. Thank you so much; very much worth the wait.
I can't wait to have a more detailed play with it over the weekend + upgrade the firmware, and put it under load and use it on an upcoming project.

I'm hoping I can sell my DP832 very soon and these two units can take centre stage on my bench
Really looking forware to the upcoming modules you have in development and would like to expand more into this ecosystem to make some really useful test setups for prototypes we make.

All the best,
Dan

[mcdanlj]

My unit arrived yesterday, but had to wait until this evening to play with it.

Just finished assembly. I didn't notice any loose components gratis Bolek & Lolek. I looked for empty spots on the boards; since both DCP405s don't have C94 populated I'm assuming that it's not supposed to be populated. One DCP405 had some discoloration of the blank white label, I presume from necessary rework.

The DCM220 kit didn't have any M3 mounting screws to mount the third meanwell power supply. I haven't found matches yet looking in my random pile of screws, so I have a few missing from the module front plates to fill in some day. I have stainless socket drive flat head, but they would look a little out of place so I'm going to keep looking for black at least. Or use only socket head flat head for the modules so they look alike. Socket head looks nice anyway. ☺

I didn't have to break out an M3 tap, though I think there was paint in some of the holes. Didn't notice any flaking paint or chipped silkscreen.

I added star washers below the nuts for mounting the feet, because I didn't want the nuts coming loose. Felt much more secure.

The display mounting screws were (like others noted) rusty and the display a little bit offset to the left, but usable, so I'll probably not bother moving it.

The UI feels nicer than the H24005. I like the "max" and "min" shortcuts on the settings panels. I usually don't like animations, but you made them fast and smooth enough that they look nice. I'm quite impressed!

Changing the ntp server was a very minor irritation. To change from europe.pool.ntp.org to us.pool.ntp.org I had to delete the whole string; I couldn't just change "europe" to "us".

My only load testing was a quick check with a 100W R2 power resistor, just to make sure it worked.

Just updated to 1.3.2. Using fedora, which also has dfu-util, just a different command to install it.

dnf install dfu-util

Very nice work! Thank you!

[prasimix]

Massive thanks @danielbriggs for detailed report. It will definitely help us to improve things further and help others evaluate BB3 and everything that has been done so far.

- I ordered identical two units, one had two untapped holes on the PSU top lid AC-DC plate. The other unit had all 4x holes tapped, so maybe this one slipped the net. Easily solved my end by running an M3 tap through; absolutely no issue.

Yes, unfortunately that’s one of the things I need to add to a bunch of other flaws sent to Varisom, Portugal. Unfortunately, this is one of those that we did not notice during the packaging, we assumed that if there are four holes that they are all identical, and it turned out that they are not. I'm glad you managed to fix it.

- One unit was 4x M3 black countersunk screws missing; again no problem as had plenty on the shelf. Both units however did ship with 7x extra silver pan head screw for some reason.

This is directly my fault, I miscounted the number of screws required, which was corrected in the next round of packing. That's why the difference between the two units you got.

- One unit was missing a pluggable front terminal block. If you can let me know the part number, I'll pick a spare up on my next Farnell/Mouser order.

We probably missed it when completing the accessory bags. Send me your address by email or PM and I'll send you the missing piece.

- One unit display was flapping around in the breeze on one side. Re-fixed by re-clamping the holding nuts, but now it looks offset. I think I'll fit some M3 washers and shift it so it's clamped properly and central to the cut out.
The other unit was 100% perfect display, in clamping + position.

The least I can say is that I am very disappointed with the design of the display frame, and that was supposed to be so trivial. I spent so much money and time prototyping the boxes and ended up getting a pathetic solution. This is one of the positions that will definitely need to be improved.

- Manual fan control PWM settings has a crazy resolution. 0.005% increments when using the encoder to adjust 
Maybe it's ok to limit it to 1% increments? I like the self-PWM calibration feature.

I agree . A new issue has been added (#68).

- On clicking "Encoder and UserSW" Options... there only appears to be encoder options visible. How do you change what the UserSW does? (More than likely user error on this feature!)

You're right, the name of that menu is confusing because it currently only contains encoder options. If nothing else you should add info here how to enter the User Sw menu or add a link. I added this as a new issue (#69).

- There seems to be inconsistencies in the number of decimal places displayed. e.g. 5V displays as: 5.00V, and then 5.100V displays at 5.1V, is there any way to fix the number of DP?

That is now issue #70.

- I have not calibrated my units yet, but when turned to 0mA set, they flicker between 0mA and -0.5mA quite fast. Again, might be an old firmware related issue, or is this normal behaviour? It's just slightly distracting in the background, no actual use problem.

It is mainly rounding issue in combination with fast displaying. I think the situation could improve with newer firmware.

- On output coupling mode:
When using common GND mode with 2x DCP405's and 1x DCM220... are all 4x GND's common? The GUI only shows the first 3x channels are linked, but I assume all 4x are?

Yes, all 4 GND are connected together. DCM220 outputs share the same GND since they are powered from the same source.

- Could I reshuffle my modules to have 3x DCP405's in the same BB3?
I understand only coupling series/parallel applied to slots 1+2. But could I drop in another DCP405 into slot 3 for full functionality?

Series/parallel is applied to first two slots, but you can combine your modules in any possible combination up to three modules . Module params such as working hours counter and calibration data are stored in their own EEPROM so there is no fear that something will be lost.

[prasimix]

My only confusion was I went looking for a firmware update for the DCP modules, but of course they don’t need any firmware.
Maybe the firmware info page could include a list of modules that don’t need their own firmware.

Sorry for confusion, I added red marked text.

And BTW I had a bunch of screws left over from the build. Is that intentional to make us question our skills? 

No, it's due to my difficulty counting over 10
I’m glad there are more of them left.

[prasimix]

- On clicking "Encoder and UserSW" Options... there only appears to be encoder options visible. How do you change what the UserSW does? (More than likely user error on this feature!)

Oops, I forgot to answer this to you completely. For the User sw menu you need to click and hold User sw until it appears. If you do not want to change anything, click again. This is described in the User manual (Section 9.8.), but yes, it may not be very intuitive

[elekorsi]

Well i can say that i am using mine now for few days and i LOVE it. After some initial problems, we solved everything with Denis and i can just say that its been long, since i have seen somebody so responsive and helpful. Hats down to Denis!

Once again, my apologies to all the backers who waited so long for this one. It was really not my plan to get it before everyone else got

[prasimix]

Many thanks @mcdanlj for you feedback!

The DCM220 kit didn't have any M3 mounting screws to mount the third meanwell power supply. I haven't found matches yet looking in my random pile of screws, so I have a few missing from the module front plates to fill in some day. I have stainless socket drive flat head, but they would look a little out of place so I'm going to keep looking for black at least. Or use only socket head flat head for the modules so they look alike. Socket head looks nice anyway. ☺

Um, yes, in the main bag with accessories there should have been enough screws for all the modules. I have already reported that due to my counting error in the first round of packing there was a lack of screws.

I usually don't like animations, but you made them fast and smooth enough that they look nice. I'm quite impressed!

You can get rid of the animation by setting the "Anim. duration" to 0. See Section 8.10.

Changing the ntp server was a very minor irritation. To change from europe.pool.ntp.org to us.pool.ntp.org I had to delete the whole string; I couldn't just change "europe" to "us".

I recorded this as issue #71.

[Ranayna]

I assembled mine as well. I know now that i severly misunderstood the pictures of the buiding instructions  . The BB3 is a lot smaller than i thought it would be 

Those black screws though... Apparently they are made of pot metal...
I managed to almost strip three while securing the modules. The threading on the front panels of the modules seems just to be that tiny bit too small.

Everything seems to work great in first preliminary tests, but i still have to update the firmware.

@AkosL: I am still trudging through the BOMs, considering where i should order. Simply importing all parts available into a cart at Mouser, including the Minimum Order amounts, came to around 400 Euro if i remember correctly. I am still fighting with the import tool at TME to properly compare, but i think they might be cheaper, but they don't have everything that mouser does, and vice versa.
Maybe i will get around to finally getting this done during the weekend, then i will post my experiences

[prasimix]

I can confirm that TME is in general way cheaper then anyone else listed in BOM. However, they don't have all ICs. One of the possibility is source at least TI ICs from directly from their store!

[mcdanlj]

Um, yes, in the main bag with accessories there should have been enough screws for all the modules. I have already reported that due to my counting error in the first round of packing there was a lack of screws.

I found one identical replacement screw so far as I've been looking through my spares. ☺ I also found a similar stainless screw; I need to confirm the thread but I have black sharpie if it's right. ☺

You can get rid of the animation by setting the "Anim. duration" to 0. See Section 8.10.

You made them work so well I don't want to get rid of them. Well done!

[prasimix]

I added the following section to the building instructions:

Field report update

A large number of backers have already successfully completed their EEZ BB3 kit. In the process, they also encountered some shortcomings and the most common were the following, so please pay attention when assembling:

- 16-pin IDC cable is faulty (Fig. 3, Item F). The cable problem can be detected by visual inspection, and if it is connected between the AUX-PS and the MCU module, the MCU module will not work (nothing will appear on the display, no tone will be heard).
- Missing M3 threads on 2 of the 4 holes on the Mean Well AC/DC converter mounting frame (Fig. 1, item 5)
- One Hexagonal M3×6 mm metal spacers (Fig. 3, Item J) may be missing.
- One or more M3×5 mm countersunk screws (Fig. 3, Item J) may be missing
- You can find excess M3×4 mm screws (Fig. 3, Item M)
- TFT display on enclosure front panel (Fig. 1, item 3) came with broken glass

Feel free to contact us if you notice any defect that we can arrange a replacement.

[Kean]

- TFT display on enclosure front panel (Fig. 1, item 3) came with broken glass

Sorry to hear this has happened.  All the other issues are pretty minor inconveniences.  Even the IDC can be re-terminated pretty easily.
I'm hoping for all our sakes that the damaged TFTs are rare...

[prasimix]

I'm hoping for all our sakes that the damaged TFTs are rare...

So far, only 2

[danielbriggs]

Hi Denis,

Just a quick post:

Firmware update on both units to 1.3.2 was a breeze 

Hardware flexibility:
I had a thought: "it would be easier for my work flow if I had three DCP405's on one chassis, and more voltage rails on the other unit". 5 mins later... it's as easy as swapping the modules. Now 3x channels on one unit, and 5x channels on the other. I'm really impressed with this, and think this flexibility will only continue as more modules get released.
Speaking of... I see some are ready, and some are in progress on your site. Any idea on guestimated release dates for pre-assembled modules ready to buy? (I am sorry to ask, you probably have enough to do right now).




Very very minor:
The black M3x5 screws are maybe made from Technical-Butter™ or even Structural-Toffee™.
I think I might swap them out for some nice black stainless, especially if needing to frequently swap modules. For one time assembly, they are sufficient.


Software suggestion:
Is it possible to label the channels with text? I couldn't find a way, nor any mention in the manual. "DCM220 #4" is a great default... but would be nice to have the option to put useful labels on things that persist through power cycles, (or even profile based?) especially when lots of rails going on.



Keep up the good work.

All the best,
Dan

[prasimix]

Hardware flexibility:
I had a thought: "it would be easier for my work flow if I had three DCP405's on one chassis, and more voltage rails on the other unit". 5 mins later... it's as easy as swapping the modules. Now 3x channels on one unit, and 5x channels on the other. I'm really impressed with this, and think this flexibility will only continue as more modules get released.
Speaking of... I see some are ready, and some are in progress on your site. Any idea on guestimated release dates for pre-assembled modules ready to buy? (I am sorry to ask, you probably have enough to do right now).

We are still trying to recover from the damage caused to us by Bolek & Lolek enterprise. It is financial damage and wasted time that will be hard to catch up. However, we are working on it, we have three modules in preparation: SMX46 is finished entirely, PREL6 is a piece of cake (but it can be very important in some applications) and MIO168 for which the addition of software support is nearing completion.
The launch of the new modules raises, of course, the issue of funding: so far we have had to use crowdfunding and something similar will probably need to be organized again. Honestly since it all came from this forum I would rather pay a percentage to Dave than to any crowdfunding platform. However, obviously this is not the way things can be set up, otherwise I believe that Dave himself would have organized a group buy instead of going to, for as the still inaccessible, Kickstarter (we are in the wrong state).

Software suggestion:
Is it possible to label the channels with text? I couldn't find a way, nor any mention in the manual. "DCM220 #4" is a great default... but would be nice to have the option to put useful labels on things that persist through power cycles, (or even profile based?) especially when lots of rails going on.

Reported as issue #75.

[Andrew McNamara]

I added the following section to the building instructions:

A large number of backers have already successfully completed their EEZ BB3 kit. In the process, they also encountered some shortcomings and the most common were the following, so please pay attention when assembling:

- 16-pin IDC cable is faulty (Fig. 3, Item F). The cable problem can be detected by visual inspection, and if it is connected between the AUX-PS and the MCU module, the MCU module will not work (nothing will appear on the display, no tone will be heard).
- Missing M3 threads on 2 of the 4 holes on the Mean Well AC/DC converter mounting frame (Fig. 1, item 5)
- One Hexagonal M3×6 mm metal spacers (Fig. 3, Item J) may be missing.
- One or more M3×5 mm countersunk screws (Fig. 3, Item J) may be missing
- You can find excess M3×4 mm screws (Fig. 3, Item M)
- TFT display on enclosure front panel (Fig. 1, item 3) came with broken glass

Feel free to contact us if you notice any defect that we can arrange a replacement.[/i]

Might be better to say "in a small number of cases, they encountered issues with the supplied parts. The issues seen are:" ... no need to imply this is wide-spread problem (fingers crossed, anyway!)

And for "16-pin IDC cable is faulty", it might be better to say "the 16-pin IDC cable may be faulty"

[prasimix]

Thanks! Fixed.

[Ranayna]

One question just came to my mind: In which direction should the fan blow?
Now that i think of it, in the pictures of the assembly instructions, the label of the fan is not visible. In my experience, that way the fan would suck air in and blow it on the modules, which seems sensible to me.
The premounted fan in the kit though blows the air out of the back.

Should i turn the fan around?