Old Shopbots

[roy_shimp]

Thank you.

[Brady Watson]

Just to clarify Brady. Are you leaving the router end free and not attached to the frame of the Shopbot at all? At the DC end are you connecting to the frame as well as having the DC connected to earth via the mains plug?

Yes. Think 'antenna'. You want that bare wire to act as an antenna to wick up the static charge in the dust hose. If you connect it - "the path of least resistance" may very well be one of your prox switch wires or some other low volt wire that a high voltage static charge can 'stand on'.*

*If you have a guy with a 100 watt HAM or CB radio and you only have a 1 watt radio - If you both talk at the same time - Mr. 100 watt will 'stand on' your 1 watt signal and nobody but those in the room you are in will hear you! Same with static - higher voltage trumps lower voltage and false triggers are likely to occur.

-B

[roy_shimp]

... to all of your help. Got it grounded. thanks again.

[SAR Monro]

Assuming that you didn't lose steps from pushing too hard or too deep...

It's Winter & dry...static can do some weird things. Make sure your dust collection is grounded using the following EXACT method: Take some .025" MIG welding wire (not flux core) or equivalent BARE copper wire and run it THROUGH your dust hose. Let it poke out of the 4" hose at both ends (just fold it over the end of the hose @ the router end) and connect it to the chassis of your dust collector. This is assuming that you didn't break the grounding lug off of the end of the plug & it is in fact grounded.

-B

Question for you, our collector is on wheels (a Grizzly 5HP) We're having tool stop issues every time we run it. It's grounded to the chassis of the collector, but that seems pointless since the collector isn't truly grounded (except internally at the 220v outlet). Where else should I be running the collection hose ground? If I run the bot w/o dust collection, it will run all day cutting PVC. Add the dust collector and it will tool stop every time about 20% into the job.

[bleeth]

Matt-Try continuiing the ground at the collector to an earth ground. Could be at the hook-up in the DC or at the wall receptacle, or if you have a commercial wiring setup with grounded galvanized EMT to it or the ground lug inside a wall box.

[SAR Monro]

I have the option of going to the ground in the 220 receptacle or to the earth ground right in front of the bot. It seems to me, if I go to the earth ground at the bot, it could just loop....but I could be wrong (and most likely am).

I didn't want to go to the 220 ground without checking since I am electrically challenged.

[joe]

Some materials seem to create static electricity on their own. For example if I take a hand router with my 1" PVC the waste sticks to everything. I mean everything. I've wet the material down with no success. Can't imagine what this does in a vacuum Pick-up.

With all the static problems it seems to me the Vacuum is the major problem. At one time we wound copper around the vacuum hose and grounded it. On my last SB I grounded everything. Even the 3' copper rod in the ground. Still there was problems. Wish I knew a quick fix but it seems to be the nature of the animal.

[khaos]

Did grounding solve the issue?

[bleeth]

Matt:
It doesn't matter where the earth ground is physically as long as you DON'T ground the DC ground wire from the bot end to it. Since it seems your DC is away from the bot, I would connect the wire in your DC hose at the DC end. Winding a wire around a DC hose cannot solve the issue. The DC ground wire MUST go though the DC hose. THAT is the nature of the beast.

[joe]

Joe

Nope I never found a satisfactory solution.