Series 1 Boss 5 - Keeps Stopping in Z Axis

[DaveinUK]

Help !

We are running a simple program - A series of holes, and the machine keeps
stopping in various positions in the Z axis. It seems like we have a heat build problem. We can turn the machine off for a while, it will restart then stop. There is no pattern to the lengths of time that the machine runs, but it always stops in the Z Axis. Could it be a transistor ?

I have given you all Duff information,

It seems to be the contol panel that's playing up. The panel is freezing during the program, it stops - and the keypad does not work. The only way I can get the machine running again is by lifting the reset button.

Any Idea's

Thank's
Dave

[Wilabee]

Yes, your problem is probadly a power transistor. The stepping motor transistors are located in the control panel back door behind two SMD boards. You will need to pull the two SMD boards, disconnect the wiring leading to the power transistor heat sink, check each of the four transistors for an internal short, and replace the defective transistor. I have replaced several of these in our Series I in the last few years.

If you need any more information, or photos, just let me know!

[Bill Clark]

I had one of those machines and thats all I did was replace transistors I actually became good at it but it made me so mad one day I scraped the whole machine out. I will look thru my spare parts. If I have any left I will send them to you. Good luck.

[creep_pea]

Is your program rigth, my control has done what you descride and that was due to the program being wrong.

[machintek]

Possibly a control lock up due to a programming error as stated above. Does it ever get through a program? Has it ever run a different program? Can you load in and run a known good program?

Remember that the easiest way to check for a blown trnsistor is to put it is step and make sure the mechanical counter keeps moving in the same direction.

I have seen one machine where the Z axis would stop and whine whenever it felt like it. It was the Z axis and every segment of the drive power was good. It was a BOSS 6 and the ZDI had a faulty opto coupler that sends the pulses out to the SMD board. Just an example of something that is very frustrating to find.

George

[DaveinUK]

Thank's for taking the time to help.

I have run the same program many times before.

Yesterday was a good day!! -- after I found that the cooling fan at the bottom of the main electics door had blown a fuse and once repaired the machine run allday.

Could it be as simple as that ?? ??

No!! is the answer it just stopped again!!

I'm taking time out to check the board contacts etc.

Dave

[machintek]

You are very lucky. If the fan below the card cage stops, usually the cards get thermally stressed (cooked) and fail, causing a great loss of cash out of wallet for repair.

It is well advised to at a weekly basis, check filters and all fans. If a fan starts to make noise, replace it! I have seen fans so bad and cooked that the actuall fan blade assembly could lift off. I have also sent a lot of these boards out for repair above these bad fans.
Story: setting: Kearny, NJ, maybe 1984. This plant made aluminum bats. Their BOSS 5 had a bad fan in the back cabinet. The insulation was falling off the wiring. That is how hot it was in there and how bad the damage was. I gave them an estimate of repair cost. Before I could return, it burnt to the ground. I never asked if the BOSS 5 caused the fire.

George

[DaveinUK]

Thank's George.

I will keep a eye on the fans in future.

Dave

[awemawson]

Sounds like a good candidate to put a temperature sensor in, and probably wire it into your 'fault' loop. A vane type microswitch is also a good way of sensing a stopped fan.

AWEM

[DaveinUK]

Thank's Andrew,

I'm currently looking at replacing the fans, and a possible sensor sounds like a good idea.

Regards
Dave