DynaTorch motor failures, Anybody else having same trouble?

[WSS]

Our DT has been cooking motors on a regular basis, No one can isolate what is happening. Just wondering if anybody else has had these problems and if they have a solution. I am running a laptop with the machine and DT has had me add some grounds here and there, but it really has not fixed it. It has lost only one master and the rest have been the slave side. The Z and Y motors have never missed a beat.

HELP!!

WSS

[magma-joe]

Originally Posted by WSS Our DT has been cooking motors on a regular basis, No one can isolate what is happening. Just wondering if anybody else has had these problems and if they have a solution. I am running a laptop with the machine and DT has had me add some grounds here and there, but it really has not fixed it. It has lost only one master and the rest have been the slave side. The Z and Y motors have never missed a beat. HELP!! WSS

WSS, sorry to hear about your motor. I have the earlier version 2315 series motors. Zero problems with over 5 years use now. I do know the maximum RPMS must be kept under a certain amount depending on the series of motor to prevent problems.

I recall reading somewhere that rotating the motor shaft when the power is off can cause electrical feedback within the motor and damage it? I have manually raised the torch and noticed the light on the motor comes on when the power is off? Maybe someone with more knowlege can offer some insight?

Does the new motor have to be programmed before you install it?


Magma-joe

[WSS]

Magma-joe,

Our machine uses the SM2316DT motors. When you install a new motor (or move one around), the start-up window will recognize the mis-matched motor and show it as red instead of green and go through a upload sequence that puts the right software to the new motor.

rotating the motor while off is one of the tricks tech will have you do to see if it is the board or the motor (ours has been knocking the boards out on the last four failures). With the motor out and off of the gearbox, spin the shaft with your fingers and if the light goes on (with a good board borrowed from another motor) then the motor is still good. This will save you about $75 as the board is $475 and a refurbished motor from DT is $550 (last one anyway, I think a rebuilt motor is now $650)

I was told by DT to search the internet and find Animatics info to get them to help if I needed it, so I am waiting for there response. I intend to send it to them for them to evaluate this one before I get another spare. It is getting financially harder to keep a spare in stock, so I am hoping they can shed some light on what might be happening and possibly repair it. The hard part of having a "spare" is the warranty is usually already expired before you use it (used/refurbed motors have a short warranty period) But I just can't hang my customers out every time a motor fails.

I have talked to a few guys who have the same problems and they really have no solution either. Ours has never failed while running, and this last one was the first that failed while the machine was on, I was cleaning a torch tip and saw a warning screen pop up about torch i/o communication was lost, I checked right away and the lights were on on all the motors but would not communicate. I restarted the software and then the slave toasted.

WSS

[WSS]

Lost another slave servo on Saturday. A isolation transformer was in place so that was not a solution.

I have a tripod mounted machine gun that shoots 100 dollar bills and it has been pointed at the cutter for some time now, the barrel is overheated. It does not look like Animatics or DT is going to step to the plate. I was told by DT that the motor was out of warranty, Animatics said by the serial# it was in warranty, well isn't that a piece of luck! Here is the "failure analysis":

Hi Tom,

Unfortunately, Minarik nor the factory offers loaners for this unit as
it is considered non-cancellable & non-returnable & made to order.
But, good news, I just received the failure analysis report from the
factory this morning. They have found this unit to be out of warranty
due to mis-use, see the report below...

Failure Analysis : Over voltage applied to +5vdc power pin or back EM
Analysis detail : The +5v regulator rail has been shorted to ground.
This can happen if a high voltage (48v) is applied to the +5 volts pin
or if the input voltage is reversed. It can also happen if the motor
experiences a sudden stop, the magnetic field will collapse quickly
and send a current spike into the control electronics. Back driving
the motor can also cause this. In addition, if the mosFET?s draw a
large amount of current, all of the other components place a heavy
demand on the 5volt regulator , which can short the regulator.
Replaced both the drive and control board. Motor passed testing,
burn-in, and final testing.

Your cost to repair this unit is $665.00. If you would like to proceed

with this repair please fill out & return the attached credit card
form approving the repair fee. If you have any questions please call
or email me. Thank you!!

END of report

The motor in question was not the failed one from Saturday but one or two back.


I told them I would just get a used one from DT and they came back and said I had incurred a $300 "diagnostic fee". The act of cutting is very neat and drawing dxfs is cool too, making money is even more fun. This end of CNC is for the birds!


WSS

[Hworks]

WSS, i feel for you man , what a hassle, my own machine will freeze if left idle, sometimes the slave does not drive and there is only one light on, I then have to use task manager to shutdown, after rebooting it is fine. also has trouble homing the x-axis. ( going into my 3rd week LOL)
That being said some thoughts/ideas in no particular order,

Your gantry glides freely when air cylinders are bled down i assume.

Can you set home to other end of table for an extended period to see if that changes anything.

Master motor relays info to slave via fiber-optic cable, does that include voltage or does it come directly from the controller.

Does the controller have any saved diagnostics that can be reviewed, how long between failures? swap out controller and harness P1 or P2

How long does your unit sit idle but left on between cuts?

My gantry came with the ground attached across itself from slave to master but i added one from the master side through the track to the main ground attached to the grounding rod.

Keep the faith, DT's neighbor there in Ky, Victoryplasma also use the smart motor.

Hworks

[WSS]

Hworks, It gets even better, I had a motor next day'd and installed about noon and initialized. Then came back about 5pm to start up again and cut and found the used motor has a bad shaft or some wierd thing. I think the shaft is broke inside or bent. I had to file some big dings off of the mount area to get it to sit in the saddle.

Looks like I need to reload a money clip.LOL

The gantry rolls like silk. I had one idea this afternoon with the Z axis add-a-motor junction. The report said "back driving" can effect it. When I shut down and turn off the power the Z drops fast to the bottom bumpers. Leon said to check the voltage and it was only 12vdc tops that was with both torches mounted, I usually only have one mounted. 30vdc might be a problem but 12 is not. The Z feeds power to the X slave via that cable/harness.

I do not think any info is saved. All but one of our failures have been at start up, or conversly at shut down and not noticed until next start-up. The distance between failures is getting very close now. three weeks since the last. This problem existed from the begining and was not cured while under warranty, so I am absorbing the brunt of it now. It hurts. Our office is putting together a cost anylisis this week and it looks like we have paid $2200 dollars in shipping alone to date.

I think we have hit the wall I am sad to say. I do enjoy cutting and it cuts great when it is running. It is just to high of an operating cost, not to mention the upset customers. Every one is in such a hurry these days and so easily upset.

WSS

[super95awd]

I had one Y motor die on me for no apparent reason and they offered me no particular analysis on the matter. It was replaced under warranty, however. It died at start-up as well. My X motors have been doing fine, knock on wood.

[Hworks]

Wss, you say your torch drops when you power down, that's not normal is it? My torch doesn't
hworks

[WSS]

Hworks, ya that is normal. When power is on, the motor is held in position electrically. Dynamic braking I think it is called. The Z slide gets pretty slippery once it is broke in. We also have a dual torch holder and our oxy torches are pretty heavy. Once in a while the slide will hold it's position, but usually drops as soon as power is shut off.

WSS

[WSS]

Originally Posted by Hworks Victoryplasma also use the smart motor. Hworks

I think Victory is using the machmotion.com package now. I have looked into that a month or so ago and it looks like a robust and powerful system, just expensive. To retro-fit our table with the teco servos (from machmotion) is going to be in the 9 to 10k range.

[WSS]

Originally Posted by super95awd I had one Y motor die on me for no apparent reason and they offered me no particular analysis on the matter. It was replaced under warranty, however. It died at start-up as well. My X motors have been doing fine, knock on wood.

super95awd,

Just curious, is your slave add-a-motor harness hooked to your Z motor or your Y motor on the carriage? It is the other end of the rolled up cable that sits on the end of the slave motor and fits in between the power input cable on either the Z or Y (mine is the Z).

WSS

[PlasmaGuy]

I'd enjoy hearing what Dynatorch has to say on this matter.

13 motors =

And the service guy telling you there's a $300.00 diagnostic fee after the fact.

There's always Tom Caudle's "open system". I'm kidding here but to have spent the $$$$ you have on parts not to mention you have contributed lots of positive feedback about DT's machines on this forum. Hearing this type of information makes a guy think.

Please keep us up to date on what going on.

Tom