Problem- HL-90/ ESAB shilouette 1000 motor/driver problem

[Z77Z77Z]

I have an HL-90 optical scanner mounted on an ESAB silhouette 1000 plasma cutting table. I seem to be experiencing two separate issues. First my x-axis drive motor has been moving slowly then recently it would occasionally stop operating in one direction. Upon switching x and y axis motors to troubleshoot the problem, I found that my x-axis motor still performed slowly on the y-axis circuit but worked in both directions, however the y-axis motor worked intermittently, but at full speed when it did function. So it seems I have one failed x-axis drive motor and a drive circuit issue.
I'm trying to find the motor, the pittman site has been useless so far, i did find a service bulletin stating that spade terminals where no longer an option, but still can't find the exact motor. I've found a GM9434 that is similar but just has the large body motor, and not the secondary motor part thing on back.

My motors are :
Pittman
GMT9434F832
51022
24VDC 38.3:1 Ratio
11-20-95



Second, I'm looking for a testing procedure to check to make sure the output to the motor is correct.

What i have done/found so far:
Checked voltage coming out to the leads, everything is 24V, not sure how the system works, if it adjusts amperage or sends pulses or uses that secondary motor thing to govern speed.

Took a IR gun to see if any part of the circuit board was overheating. found that one of four small black boxes on the board that seem to correlate with the direction of travel would run about twice as hot(160 degrees F) as the other 3 when the faulty motor would turn, but not when it wouldn't turn.

Took the motor apart and checked for signs of worn brushes, overheating, wear, etc i did not do any resistance checks.

Any help would be very appreciated.

[WSS]

I do not have any real experience on this set-up, but am wondering if the black boxes you speak of are removable and if it is possible to switch places among the four? I think the secondary thing on the back of the motor is your encoder/counter. It sounds as though you have a motor locking up, possibly in the gearhead or in the encoder (I have cracked some encoder discs before from hitting them). If it has no heat when it stops, it could be tripped and shut down for a moment, hence the cooling. Try to dry run it without the gearhead attached to see if it still heats up and viseverse with the encoder.

I am sure you have thought of about everything, these problems can drive one nuts.

Good luck,
WSS

[Z77Z77Z]

No unfortunately they are integrated into the circuit board. I hooked my good motor to the same circuit and it runs warmer but not hot when running, with nothing hooked up it does not warm up at all. I'll try and take some pictures of what I'm taking about and post them tonight.

As far as it having a bent shaft, the motor turns freely with my fingers with no hard spots, the gear box is removable, and doesn't really make a difference the motor still does not turn as fast as it should.

I've learned a little more since yesterday when i posted:

1st, I took the motor around to the electric motor repair shops, and none of them were familiar with it at all or deal with Pittman products, but one guy told me by my description that he believes that the second smaller "motor" is a tach. which is something i was thinking too. I went to my welding supply who are an ESAB dealer, they called ESAB for me but they were closed yesterday do to inclimate weather, I think they're out of the south.

Second, I'm not getting anywhere with Pittman corporate, they want me to set up an account and credit line before anything happens, so if anybody knows a distributor/reseller for Pittman let me know. I'm just trying to find out if they still produce this motor and/or have replacement parts.

and last, the x-axis stopped working all together, but i still get 24volts on the volt meter.

[WSS]

You may have to deal directly with Esab in this case. One of our machines was purchased as a kit and has servos with there board or software loaded onto it. Meaning, I have to go to them for replacements. Yours is probably something similar. Esab should be able to walk you through it.

WSS

[Z77Z77Z]

Pittman responded back, the motors are proprietary to ESAB must be purchased through them. I can't wait to see that cost.

Linatrol the maker of the optical tracer says unit must be sent in for diagnostic/repair, cost if board needs to be replaced $1000-$2000....wonder it that's Canadian or US dollars, lol

guess thats my answers, i might be better off just buying a CNC setup using the table and ditching the optical scanner.

thanks guys I think i'll be hanging out researching a new set-up.

[Al_The_Man]

Identify the two DC motor armature leads and run it both directions using a Automotive battery.
This should test the motor and gear box, if you have a tach on the motor, this is a DC generator and should output a DC voltage, the level of which will depend on rpm, and the polarity depends on direction.
Al.

[WSS]

Originally Posted by Z77Z77Z Pittman responded back, the motors are proprietary to ESAB must be purchased through them. I can't wait to see that cost. Linatrol the maker of the optical tracer says unit must be sent in for diagnostic/repair, cost if board needs to be replaced $1000-$2000....wonder it that's Canadian or US dollars, lol guess thats my answers, i might be better off just buying a CNC setup using the table and ditching the optical scanner. thanks guys I think i'll be hanging out researching a new set-up.

Check out Tom's stuff (torchead). He has proven gear and good support. If I had to do it again, I would go this route.

WSS

[Z77Z77Z]

Talked to a repair guy at ESAB today, very helpful and easy to talk to, hooked me up with the actual ESAB part number with for the motor, still have to call my local welding to supply to get a quote on price. We also discussed the issue with the tracer and he seemed pretty certain by my explanation that its a failed drive motor signal amplifier, should be far less inexpensive to repair but since its soldered into the circuit board they need to do the repairs in house.

I should clarify that the person i spoke with at Linatrol did say that the $1k-2K was a worst case scenario.

I'm still thinking I'm going to look into building a CNC table but at least it seems I'm looking at it being worth repairing

Thank you all very much again.

[jcc3inc]

Z77,

What you have is a motor-tachometer combination. The motor is a DC permanent magnet motor and it is the larger of the two cylinders near the gearbox. The tach is a permanent magnet DC tach opposite the gearbox end. The tachometer is used to make a servoed drive system to maintain constant speed as the load on the motor changes. The system is a DC amplifier/motor/tach that is straightforward to make and test.

Generally it is NOT a good idea to remove the armature from the motor's magnetic field; it may result in a permanent loss of the magnetic field.

Possibly your best bet is to have someone service the entire drive/tracing system. Where are you located?

Regards,
Jack C.

[NoLimit]

When Esab first came out with this model I believe they were switching wires, and led to my company getting 2 motors from them for free. I actually just put these two new motors in to help with the "shakes" of the machine because the shaft of the motor had play in it. If you ever retrofit your machine I would love to see it!