The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

The New Hotness

  • Brother BAS-311 Control Head Salvage

    A control head from an ancient Brother BAS-311 sewing machine emerged from a recent Squidwrench clearing-out session:

    Brother BAS-311 Control Head
    Brother BAS-311 Control Head

    The sturdy metal enclosure ought to be good for something, I thought, so I rescued it from the trash.

    One of the ten button-head screws galled in place and resisted a few days of penetrating oil, so I drilled it out:

    Drilled-out button screw head
    Drilled-out button screw head

    The PCB has no ICs! It simply routes all the LED and button pins through the pillar into the sewing machine controller:

    Brother BAS-311 Control Head - interior
    Brother BAS-311 Control Head – interior

    The ribbon cable alternates the usual flat strip with sections of split conductors:

    Segmented ribbon cable
    Segmented ribbon cable

    The split segments let it roll up into the pillar, with enough flexibility to allow rotating the head. I’ve seen segmented twisted-pair ribbon cable, but never just flat conductors.

    Maybe the control head can become Art in its next life?