I have a FDM 1650 which should draw about the same amount of power and
am using a UPS on the both the FDM and my workstation. It has been worth
the investment as our local power is quite "dirty" with spikes and dips.
The UPSs filter these out to provide a clean power source. Stratasys
told me that the controller is sensitive to power spikes and it is
possible for them to blow away the slice information. We also have
occasional power outages because of the increasing load on our areas
grid, due to new construction of homes and businesses. Our emergency
generators are not always reliable.
I have been very lucky, because the power outages have been fairly short
at 5 to 10 minutes and the UPSs have held up. However, mine are fairly
small and will probably last only 15 to 20 minutes. I have a 3/4
complete part (approx 48 hour build) that thanks to an errant squirel,
is now an excellent display model to explain the build sequence.
However, Stratasys has addressed the problem of power failures, whatever
the cause (like when your boss comes in and rests his hand on the stop
button!). Their latest version of Quickslice 5.0 has a feature that
allows you to find the spot where the modeler quit and you can restart
the build from there.
Workstation UPS: DELTEC PowerRite; 600va/400w or equivalent. About $300.
Modeler UPS: TRIPP LITE SmartPro 2200; 2200va/1600w, with surge and
noise suppression. About $1,100 through electronics distributors.
Wayne
-- ============================================================================== - Wayne L. Foss wlfoss@cacd.rockwell.com - Engineering Services Phone 319/295-2631 - Rapid Prototyping Specialist FAX 319/295-5429 - MS 106-176 - Rockwell Avionics & Communications - 400 Collins Road, NE - Cedar Rapids, IA 52498-0001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DISCLAIMER: Unless otherwise indicated, this correspondence is personal opinion and NOT an official statement of Rockwell Avionics & Communications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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