Ace Monster Toys (hackerspace)

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Tech_Marco
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Ace Monster Toys (hackerspace)

Post by Tech_Marco »

Aug 8/25, 2017

Machine: XYZ machine 1200x900
Made: @Jinan City, Shangdong, China
Location: OakLand, CA
Power: SPT 80W
Controller: Leetro 6515
Problem(s): Laser not firing, system slam on gantry, noisy

Trip:
I drove from Sacramento to Oakland with good weather. It took me roughly 1.5hrs to get down there. Beside bringing my tool box as usual, I also bought a spared laser power supply, DC36V/24v power supply, silicon tube/wires, and a spared 80W laser tube.

When I arrived I noticed that it was two stories building that mean I needed to carry up the stairs. After ring the bell a day answered my called and came down to 'welcome' my arrival. Her name is Rachel Lucky that there was a ramp on the side allow me to carry my tool box (with rolling wheels) to her lab. Took me two trips to carry my stuffs there. After settle my tools and other accessories then taking a sip of coffee, I rang the bell and start charging (joking)

The machine was kind of old, around 7 yrs per Rachel. By looking at the machine in and out, it was in pretty bad shape. Belt was lose, 2:1 wheel was noisy, Emergency button was gone, cover harness was not connected... The system was running at AC220V with their own circuitry for charging system (they charge by hrs used). After power it up and test the laser. No good! I saw sparking happened inside of the laser power supply, the brass casing type.

After a brief discussion with Rachel, we have to replace the controller card no matter what would be next. Plus, the laser power supply need to be replaced even though I told her that she may recovered it or repaired by 'tech_marco'. But she decided to neutralize. Ok, let's start the show!

Before removing parts away, I used my phone to take a couple shoots of the current wiring setup just in case I need to put back the old fellow to machine even though the odd was extremely low. It took me roughly 2hrs to take old card out and replaced it with LightObject T9 DSP controller (Ads time smile ). What an excited moment when ready to power it up with new controller!

Ops! When powered up the machine, I could see lights ON on the motor driver but no movement on the gantry. The LCD screen show nothing but I could hear a beep sounds from the controller which was a usual. My first thought was that the power for the controller may be lose or discounted. I tested it with my DVM and found nothing wrong. I unplugged the terminals on the card and put it back, the machine started running but in wrong direction. No problem I could get it fixed by going to the manufacturer system setup and reversed the Datum direction. After that, I recycled the machine and thought that the problem should be addressed well. Well, surprised me that it didn't run as it should and it happened exactly as the first power up. I started to scratch my head and wondering why. I unplugged the power and plugged it back again, it started to run again! Then, I noticed that there was a green LED blinking on a DC 24V power supply. The first thing came to my head was that the DC power supply may not output enough current. Ok, then I swapped it with my Dual36V/24V dc power supply which was good for both motors and control power. After I swapped the DC power supply, it runs as it should. But...then....

After swapping the power supply I thought the machine should at least running without a problem. Well, yes it worked to some extend but not the Y axis. It worked for a moment and that's all it could. I saw the LED on the motor driver was blinking and the model is 2M542. I have spare 2M542 with me so I swapped the drivers and guess what? Yes, it worked!
Now the machine was able to move and with correct homing location. Except that the button Left and Right were reversed in respond to my press. No problem, it was nothing but easy fix. Again, use manufacturer setup and I could fix this little issue quick and easy. Ok, the machine works in both direction(homing) and button direction. Next, laser power supply replacement!

The laser power supply was arcing from the inside so the bad guy must be replaced! The original LPSU was manufactured by Jianan MingYue where I been there twice 8 years ago. Not a quality made LPSU and the defective rate was 35% because my friend was a distributor for MY but finally given up because of high DOA. After LPSU replaced, I need to hook up an DC 30mA current meter to set the max current and monitor the tube current. Most user didn't realize that a laser power supply could output much more current than a tube need even with the same rating! For example, a 100W CO2 laser tube usually output full power '100W' at 25~26mA. The Reci we recently tested was able to reach 100W at 19.6mA. Usually we allow up to 28mA for 80W and up. And if the tube could reach the full power with lower current, I highly recommended you guys stick with lower current. It keep both tube and laser power supply happy and long life! Ok, the new 80W~100W laser power supply I stalled, it could go up to 35mA. So, I have to do 'Fire test' to get 28mA and wrote down the % showing on the controller. It ended up that around 75%(if I'm not forgotten). I changed the 98% setting on the controller to '75%' to lock up the max current to avoid over current driven the tube.

After power supply installed, gantry moving correctly, laser power level set. What is next? Yes, calibration.
I draw a box of 100mm x 100mm and let the machine cut it with low power. By using the 'um' calculator , I entered the the 'expected' value which was 100mm and then entered the 'actual' value. It came up a magic number. After X, I did that to the Y. After 'um' re-calibrated, it cut precisely.

Last step, I cleaned the rail with WD-40 by soaking all rails (linear guide), wheels, and motor. Then, I used so many cloths to clean all those parts up until I saw 'shiny face'. Then, I applied gel type lubricant to all those parts again. I could hear that the wheel, bearing were all quiet without screaming sound in the previous. I then cut out something for test and did an engraving sampling. I showed it to the owner and her partner and they were stunned. The machine was never able to provide a quality engraving quality with 300mm/s! The speed I used for the engraving was set to 500mm/s and the image came up great and even. So, we have happy ending :D

Pack 'n Go
The traffic in Oakland, Berkley were sucked. It took me 2hrs to drive back to Sacramento. Lucky that I was not in San Jose or it would took me 3.5hrs!

Preparing for the next job smile
Marco
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