The start caps do go bad and are cheep to replace. Do that first.
It has been a long time since I have posted here. The mill sat dormant for the last year as I was busy with other things. I had a small job the other night and was excited to dust it off and make some chips. Well, not so fast. When I tried to turn on the spindle, the motor hummed a bit then started turning. I shut it off then tried again. This time just humming. While in low gear I turned the power back on and gave the spindle a twist and got the motor to spin under power.
My guess, starter cap went bad?
So, I'm at a crossroads. Try to repair this motor or move to something better. I've been searching other threads, but I'm not sure what the current thoughts are. VFD + 3 phase motor is tried and true. DC motors? The machine is currently 120V, but I have 220V single phase available. I'm still running Mach3 and would love to have the motor speed controlled through Mach.
Thanks for your help and insight.
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The start caps do go bad and are cheep to replace. Do that first.
youtube videos of the G0704 under the name arizonavideo99
Great advice. I popped the covers this morning and found 400uF and 25uf capacitors. The 400uF discharged with a nice spark, but the 25uF didn't seem to have any voltage on it. From what I can tell, the higher capacity capacitor is usually the start. So maybe the run capacitor gave up the ghost?
I picked up a new 25uF capacitor and swapped it out. The machine motor still hummed. On further investigation the FWD-REV switch was loose. It seems at some time in the past I must have broken the plastic and the small detents no longer worked. If I press and hold it in either direction the motor is reliable. Guess it's time to look for a combined e-stop and direction assembly to get this thing running again.
Anyone who has upgraded to VFD will have the extra switch. I should have one somewhere.
youtube videos of the G0704 under the name arizonavideo99