Falcon030 dead after Centuriontech CT60/CT60PSU incident - investigation begins

[exxos]

Playing devil's advocate, you should also look for signs of possible user error. Could any of this be caused by a short caused by incorrect installation? Could it be caused by an attempt to refit the ESD shield?

Fair enough, and I'll check for that when it arrives, including whether anything has been pinched or shorted when fitting the shield. I don't want to rule anything out before I've seen the actual hardware.

That said, it's hard to see how user error fits here. This is from Centuriontech's own website:

Uncompromised safety. Current design hides all AC wiring from your reach, preventing accidental contact with high voltage. This allows you to work on uncased unit, safely, even under power.

And this is how it is all enclosed:

CT60PSU_0.png (751.17 KiB) Viewed 102 times

If all the mains wiring is hidden away from the user by design, there is very little left for them to get wrong. On top of that, more than one person has now reported problems, which is not what I'd expect from individual installation mistakes. So I'm not dismissing it, but the evidence so far points more towards the design than the fitting. I'll report what I find either way.

[alexh]

In that photo has the lower metal ESD shield been removed? I don't remember if that is a prerequisite for installation. Did the user remove their lower shield?

[Maximilian]

instead of the ridiculous situation of putting both high and low voltage circuits through the same small switch.

Totally agree.

I would personally use two switches,

Me too, but I was trying to find a sollution for it to work with the one switch and not be a fire hazard...

I've used those all in one type power supply blocks many times (there's one on my desk as I type) and think I'd still rather keep their enable circuits away from a £2000+ difficult to replace computer system.

I'll give you that one, it also isn't a perfect sollution.. I've never opened those modules, do not know if they (all) use an opto coupler inside.

Thanks for your imput

[Badwolf]

And this is how it is all enclosed:

With the exception of the switch, which makes me itch, that otherwise looks like a very smart and solid design, TBF.

Although I might question the tight spacing of the power bricks. Not related to this issue, I fancy, but do those things get hot at all? Would there need to be a bit of separation for convection to do its job?

BW

[PhilC]

@Badwolf yes they do get pretty warm depending on the load as you'd expect. It is a very good point re their proximity to each other.

[exxos]

With the exception of the switch, which makes me itch, that otherwise looks like a very smart and solid design, TBF.

Although I might question the tight spacing of the power bricks.

Just to clarify, I only posted that picture to show how the unit is meant to be enclosed, in answer to the user error question. It's an enclosure image, so it doesn't show the board underneath the switch, which is where the burning is.

From the photo of the failed unit, the damage appears to be on the PCB around the switch rather than inside it, so I wouldn't put it all down to the switch itself. What worries me is the mains tracks and the low voltage signal sharing the same small area. I'll measure the clearances when it arrives.

Good point on the brick spacing as well. I'll have a look at that while I have it apart, but I wouldn't read anything into it for this failure.

[HigashiJun]

I have the same setup and as you can see, the lower shield is also fitted:

Falcon.JPG (299.78 KiB) Viewed 48 times

I had no issues so far, but maybe because our 100V is less prone to arcing than higher voltages...

But since this thread has put me off, I will now avoid using my Falcon.

[redpixel]

From the photo of the failed unit, the damage appears to be on the PCB around the switch rather than inside it, so I wouldn't put it all down to the switch itself. What worries me is the mains tracks and the low voltage signal sharing the same small area. I'll measure the clearances when it arrives.

Agree, from the photo of the failed unit it looks like it has arced from mains to lower voltage side on the PCB. You can also see that the high current has burned away the solder mask on the edge of the shapes. I wonder why he used such large shapes and so close to each other, perhaps it's because he thought he was switching on N and it wouldn't be dangerous? However I think in many countries you can't rely on N really being N, as the plug can be reversed in the wall socket.

[rubber_jonnie]

I have the same setup and as you can see, the lower shield is also fitted:


Falcon.JPG


I had no issues so far, but maybe because our 100V is less prone to arcing than higher voltages...

But since this thread has put me off, I will now avoid using my Falcon.

I'd personally pull the Black & White wires that go from the switch board to the accelerator, that way even if you do get flashover the won't go beyond the switchboard to your machine and you can just use a jumper on the accelerator. Inconvenient perhaps but better than a very expensive paperweight.

Also your 100v may be better from an arcing point of view as you say.

[Badwolf]

I will now avoid using my Falcon.

Bit extreme!

BW