New to me EMCO compact 5 pc gonna need some help

[hoth2o]

I'm not afraid to ask questions and do research. I want to get this up and running.

So here's where I am.
Turn Key switch to position 1
Pilot Light illuminates
E-stop is in correct position
Turn mail Spindle Switch
and nothing happens
found a small clear box in the back with a small red button (main motor switch???)
if I hold the red button down and turn the spindle switch I get fans whirling and spindle turns.
if I let go everything stops.

so what is the reset button inside the back and what do I do to troubleshoot it?

Any ideas welcome!!!

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[Fastest1]

1 of these just got reinterfaced in the last few days. Samco seems to understand them very well. Here is a link. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...n-welmill.html

[hoth2o]

Thanks I have read that thread intently because I plan to use his Linux hack if I can get the power issues fixed

[Fastest1]

Pictures always help. I cant stress it enough. Many manufacturers use the same components so the wiring strategy might be similar.Take your phone in there and snap away.

It sounds like this device is a contactor and it isnt staying closed. It could be due to a door being open or some other type of safety interface.

Usually powering up a machine should take more than 1 step. Say, make sure Estop is released, turn on main power, and then there is a button that energizes that contactor and holds it closed. Like what you are doing manually except the electromagnet is not being energized.

Are you referring to the red button in pictures 5 & 7 of this group of pics of post #38?http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...oftware-4.html

[hoth2o]

ok here's a picture of the reset button. What is it? what does it do? how do I troubleshoot it?

[hoth2o]

Yes I am. I have posted the pic of mine too. Thanks for helping me out. I took some pics and will post in this thread.

[hoth2o]

here are some pics of my emco compact 5 pc

[hoth2o]

[hoth2o]

Pictures always help. I cant stress it enough. Many manufacturers use the same components so the wiring strategy might be similar.Take your phone in there and snap away.

It sounds like this device is a contactor and it isnt staying closed. It could be due to a door being open or some other type of safety interface.

Usually powering up a machine should take more than 1 step. Say, make sure Estop is released, turn on main power, and then there is a button that energizes that contactor and holds it closed. Like what you are doing manually except the electromagnet is not being energized.

Are you referring to the red button in pictures 5 & 7 of this group of pics of post #38?http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...oftware-4.html

Your comment on the button not being energized was on the mark. I traced all the wires and found a loose wire and it came to life! Have manual control over the lathe with the emco software. we'll see what happens tommorow! Thanks!

[Fastest1]

What is better than progress that doesnt cost a cent? Great to hear. Keep us posted.

[hoth2o]

Here she is up and running. Now on to SAM's Linix hack.

[Fastest1]

Having your own robot is fun ;-)


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[hoth2o]

ok now a really stupid question. I can load up demo programs and I made a couple quick programs. But if I want to load a file in the correct format on a floppy, how do I get the emco software to do that? or do i need to copy the file from the floppy to a certain directory so the software will see it?

[hoth2o]

I got it figured out. Had to brush up on my MSDOS. Sort of like relearning High School Latin....."I know that I used to know This"

[krlynn]

Your comment on the button not being energized was on the mark. I traced all the wires and found a loose wire and it came to life! Have manual control over the lathe with the emco software. we'll see what happens tommorow! Thanks!

Which was the loose wire and how did you find it?

Did you discover what the intended purpose of that contactor/relay/switch is?

[Fastest1]

Which was the loose wire and how did you find it?

Did you discover what the intended purpose of that contactor/relay/switch is?

Are you having an issue with an Emco? The contactor does a few things. It allows high voltage to be applied using a low voltage signal. It can be used as a safety circuit so when an Estop is triggered the magnetic contactor releases and the circuit is broken.

What happens if you hold the start button in?

[krlynn]

Are you having an issue with an Emco? The contactor does a few things. It allows high voltage to be applied using a low voltage signal. It can be used as a safety circuit so when an Estop is triggered the magnetic contactor releases and the circuit is broken.

What happens if you hold the start button in?

Thanks for your reply. I have several Emco Compact 5 PCs and use them in a small business with my son.

The contactor, which I've also seen referred to as a relay and/or switch, has cropped up as a problem (or the consequence of a problem) in three different lathes. In two cases it was unpredictably chronic. Those machines would just shut down, but then might power back up later after I'd turned them off. Probably not prudent, but I ended up doing a Band-Aid fix (almost literally) on both of them, using Gorilla tape to hold the button down and maintain the contact. My thought was that if one or both of them failed as a result, then I'd learn how do a conversion to more modern control hardware. So far, they've kept running with no other apparent issues. But I'd like to figure out what the underlying problem(s) are and fix them instead.

The third machine hasn't switched on and run normally since I got it. It's one of two I have that I'd guess to be of late make. Both have two identical contactors mounted inside the control box, one in the usual place and the other next to the fan on the inside of the back (removable) panel.

The newer (untaped) machine with a contactor issue appears to me never to have been used, at all. It's in absolute mint condition. So I really don't want to stick a Band-Aid on it and wait to see if it commits suicide in order to become a conversion project.

I've done the obvious things: checked the fuses, looked for loose contacts, etc. I have a multimeter, but don't know how to use it beyond checking for continuity, and I'm tentative about that on account of respect for the capacitors, which I'm not comfortable about discharging. I know next to nothing about electronics.

Probably unrelated but possibly of interest to note is that the other apparently late-version EC5 PC, which a prior owner had retrofitted to run Mach 3 (although it also has virtually no signs of actual use), was re-wired to completely remove the key switch from the control circuits. In fiddling around to see if I could figure out how too restore the wiring to original, I discovered that the key switch has three functional positions: 1) off, 2) between off and on, and 3) on. In the halfway position the contactor closes and the fan begins to spin up before shutting back off as soon as the key is fully turned to the on position. When I checked continuity of the three terminals all three position (BTW, only three pairs of wires connect to the key switch on these lathes as compared to eight in total on others I've seen), it revealed that connection of one of the three pairs (5-6) is broken when the key moves from halfway to fully on. So, at least to some extent, shorting the three pairs of wires to eliminate the key switch has the same effect as taping down the contactor button. For that reason, I decided not to use that machine either until I can sort out and restore the wiring. (FWIW, apart from the wiring, I've un-retrofitted the latter lathe by replacing the PC-interface board with a spare harvested from another machine and resetting some toggle switches to match those in a stock lathe.)

Hope this makes sense. Any helpful guidance or instruction would be greatly appreciated.

[Fastest1]

Most likely the reason you have to tape the contactor down is the magnet is not being energized. This could be due to an Estop or limit switch having a broken wire and not completing the circuit. Or possibly the momentary push button used to energize the magnet is not getting power.
There are plenty of youtube videos on how to use a multimeter. Start with the basics such as voltage measurement. You wont have to worry about discharging caps just to test the switch or contactor.
Btw, as I tell everyone, post pictures.
Do your machines have enclosures? Was there a door or shield safety switch in the Estop loop?

[krlynn]

Most likely the reason you have to tape the contactor down is the magnet is not being energized. This could be due to an Estop or limit switch having a broken wire and not completing the circuit. Or possibly the momentary push button used to energize the magnet is not getting power.
There are plenty of youtube videos on how to use a multimeter. Start with the basics such as voltage measurement. You wont have to worry about discharging caps just to test the switch or contactor.
Btw, as I tell everyone, post pictures.
Do your machines have enclosures? Was there a door or shield safety switch in the Estop loop?

Thanks. Will post some photos later. There was a shield safely-switch. I do manual tool-changes so the first thing I do when I get a lathe is remove any cover. They just get in the way, and the switches force restarting a program from the last line in LinuxCNC.

[Fastest1]

Did you jumper the switch? Or does it have a manual switch for bypassing?


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