Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] POWER SUPPLIES

J wrote:

> Thanks for the advice, Tim. The white papers you pointed me to are very informative. After checking out the power supply in question, it is a switching power supply (rats!).

Well, thaere is nothing inherently wrong with switching power supplies.
But, there are a few things to know about. First, they are current-limited,
and will either limit output current to a set value or shut off, if overloaded.
Unregulated supplies will generally try to drive any load, until they either
blow a fuse, or self-destruct. Some switching supplies for special applications
have strange connections to turn them on and off, etc. Without documentation,
these can be hard to figure out. This one probably is simple, as it just has
a few terminals.

These power levels are not easily found on the surplus market. A switching
supply will be a LOT smaller and lighter than a plain, 60 Hz transformer-
rectifier supply. You may well pay $60 (plus shipping!) for just the transformer.

Jon