NM-135(2.1) spindle problem

[keithmcelhinney]

OK guys I am a complete newbie at this stuff and am slowly learning. I purchased a NM-135 and picked it up in Canada. Great experience and great people. The only disappointment was not getting to me Khai since he was out on a sales call. Packed it up got it home and set it up. I have had a couple of problems, but I think it helped me learn more so I will take it. Now I have one problem that I can't seem to figure out. I can not get the spindle to stay spinning. It will sometimes spin up almost to speed and shut down and others times it will just start and then stop almost immediately. It throws the "external estop requested" error. I am using the xml that I got with the machine. I actually had to reverse the x and z and change the parallel port but that is pretty much all I have done. The spindle will spin manually from the CD-300 no problem. Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance!
-Keith

[ihavenofish]

Originally Posted by keithmcelhinney OK guys I am a complete newbie at this stuff and am slowly learning. I purchased a NM-135 and picked it up in Canada. Great experience and great people. The only disappointment was not getting to me Khai since he was out on a sales call. Packed it up got it home and set it up. I have had a couple of problems, but I think it helped me learn more so I will take it. Now I have one problem that I can't seem to figure out. I can not get the spindle to stay spinning. It will sometimes spin up almost to speed and shut down and others times it will just start and then stop almost immediately. It throws the "external estop requested" error. I am using the xml that I got with the machine. I actually had to reverse the x and z and change the parallel port but that is pretty much all I have done. The spindle will spin manually from the CD-300 no problem. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks in advance! -Keith

off the top of my head, no idea why it would do that. email novakon and im sure they can figure it out.

[gleas]

You may have a loose connection on one of your limit switches or a bad limit switch. (not uncommon) If any of the limits go "open" even for an instant, it will shut down the spindle. You might also want to check them manually at least on the x and y switches. In Mach3 go to the Diagnostics screen and depress the switches one at a time. You should get a light on the screen when they are in an open state. also create some vibration by tapping the switch box and watch the screen.

The Z switches aren't as easy to get to. You will have to pull back the large cover to get to them. Be careful when doing so because there are wires attached to the cover and they could be pulled loose.

-Greg

[cjjonesarmory]

What voltage does your motor run on? I have an NM-200, it's a 3 phase motor with the inverter powered off 220V.

There was an initial problem with my CD-100 controller where switching any other machine in my shop that also runs off 220V would cause Mach3 to show "external estop requested".

The problem was resolved by replacing the breakout board/driver board. I personally think it was the breakout board being overly sensitive to power surges. Never fully diagnosed the problem, but it went away after Novakon sent me a replacement breakout/driver module board.

So, it could be another circuit in the shop switching on or off causing a surge, or (the reason why I asked about your spindle motor) perhaps the spindle motor itself?

I was also considering trying to add additional surge protection to the 220v circuit going to the mill, but after replacing the board, it's no longer an issue.

[keithmcelhinney]

It is a 110 motor. I have nothing else running at the same time except the computer. I did a test last night and basically turned the estop off and it worked fine. So I know it was the limit switches or anything. I am sending Novakon an email and see what they say.

At least I had my first successful cutting of air...

Thanks guys!
-Keith

[cjjonesarmory]

One thing (probably already mentioned) to check is faulty estop wiring. My NM200 had some pretty shoddy wiring. It had pinched wires, loose crimps, etc... The estop on my NM200 "activates" when the estop wiring is "open". So in other words, if the closed circuit becomes an open circuit, the estop is then triggered.

I am not familiar with the NM135, but I imagine it would be similar. Perhaps the vibration of the spindle running is enough to cause an intermittent break in the circuit. The quality of the wiring on mine was pretty poor.... I ended up cutting off and replacing every crimped terminal. In many cases, the wire was crimped on the insulation only, but made enough connection through the damaged crimped insulation to work, but on occasion I experienced strange movements of the axises (axes) lol not sure about correct term, but you get the point All of this type of problem went away after installing the new terminals (except for the previously mentioned issue that went away by replacing the breakout/driver board in the controller).

Actually one thing I just thought of, my spindle relay never worked. This is the little blue relay on my CD100's breakout board. Even though my parallel cable reads 5 volts (4.5 actually) on the correct pin, my spindle relay never activated. I believe it was PIN 16 that is the spindle relay output from the computer. Anyway, I resolved that with a workaround, but my point is that perhaps you have a faulty board and/or relay as well. Not sure this would trigger an estop, but it's something to check.... Feel free to email me if you want more help. cjones@cjjonesarmory.com

[Novakon]

[QUOTE=cjjonesarmory;623486]One thing (probably already mentioned) to check is faulty estop wiring. My NM200 had some pretty shoddy wiring. It had pinched wires, loose crimps, etc... The estop on my NM200 "activates" when the estop wiring is "open". So in other words, if the closed circuit becomes an open circuit, the estop is then triggered.


Hi Chris :-)

We recognize the wiring issue which has been addressed with the specific employee internally. Our QC procedures are much more stringent now and vastly different since your purchase many months ago. We are constantly improving our processes to minimize downtime for our customers. Little issues may happen along the line and we will do what is necessary to resolve them in a timely manner.

As for your estop comment, it is wired normally "closed" for safety reasons.

We strongly encourage customer feedback as it helps us improve our products.

Thanks for your input!

Khai
Novakon Systems

[cjjonesarmory]

Just wanted to make a note that Khai at Novakon is extremely responsive to customer issues. The issues I did have (and mentioned on this board) were all resolved to my satisfaction. Great customer service is a rare thing and Novakon nails it.

Feel free to ask me any additional questions you may have.