DIY X-ray Machine

Video Description

Click this link https://sponsr.is/bootdev_HyperspacePirate and use my code HYPERSPACEPIRATE to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. In this video I'll show how I built my own portable X-ray machine used for imaging electronics and other small objects. I initially used a KL-0.8-70 tube, but ended up using a KL11-0.4-70 tube for the final iteration. The anode is supplied high voltage by a 10-stage voltage multiplier using pairs of 1nF / 20kV capacitors in series and 100mA / 20kV diodes in series. Unloaded, it can output close to 120kV DC, but with the tube running, it puts out 50-70kV depending on the cathode current. The voltage multiplier is fed by a high voltage transformer driven by a ZVS driver at 24V DC. The transformer is made of 2 flyback transformer cores and has 4 turns on the primary and 750 turns on the secondary. It's voltage output is around 12kV peak unloaded. The transformer is submerged in mineral oil and was out-gassed under vacuum. The cathode heater current is supplied by an adjustable DC-DC buck converter I built. To get a good picture on the KL11-0.4-70 tube, I set the cathode current between 2.1-2.4 amps, but I found 2.3 amps to give the brightest and clearest picture. This number is highly dependent on the power of the anode power supply, and a more powerful supply would be able to provide a picture at a higher cathode current without pulling down the voltage excessively. The X-ray tube is housed inside an enclosure filled with mineral oil, which keeps it cooled, but also helps insulate the high voltage anode and block the bright light from the cathode heater (because the inside of the screen chamber needs to be as dark as possible). I also added a remote control, which allows the operator to stand far away from the machine for improved safety, and a timer circuit that limits the maximum on-time of the x-ray tube to 0.92 seconds, to prevent excessive radiation or overheating. The radiation levels immediately outside the machine were measured at ~0.5-1.0 uSv/h over a 1-minute average with a single 0.92 second shot being taken during that period. These levels fall off rapidly with distance, and at 10-15m away, a dosimeter barely registers a difference relative to background radiation. Schematic: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pz6mCtcKRF6M_m9eBsqdajyPbvOGoDZC/view?usp=sharing Music Used: Kevin MacLeod - Groove Groove