Harbor Freight DC and Com Errors

[dcruze]

I have been running my 2003 PRT96 for the last year with a Ricon 1 hp dust collector without any problems. My control software is ShopBot 3.6.46. Last week I sold my 1 HP dust collector and purchased a Harbor Freight 2 HP Dust Collector.

I have a grounding wire running through my dust collection hose and connected to the body of the Harbor Freight Dust Collector and then it runs on to a ground bar mounted to the wall which runs back to the breaker panel. The ShopBot is grounded and have had no problems with it.

Since I hooked up the HF Dust Collector I have been getting Missing Com Errors in the middle of cuts. I have to turn off the machine and re-boot the computer and when I get back into the program my X,Y Home has moved, so I have to through that project away and start over.

If I run the project without the Dust Collector on it seems to run fine.

Has anyone had problems with the Harbor Freight Dust Collector doing this, or knows of a solution?

[shilala]

Unhook the ground running through your dust collection hose and see what happens.

It's winter. Static is crazy. I dump a bucket of water on the concrete floor every day just to keep the humidity up.
Point being, it may not be the dust collector. It may be the increased static created by a lot more velocity through your dust collection system.
You may want to drive an extra ground rod just for the dust collection and see to it that it's not connected to the Bot.

You can end the grounding wire right before it reaches the bot and accomplish the same thing you're doing now, without transferring all that static back to the Bot.

[jdwykrent]

I'm using the HF collector and have a ground hooked up... no problems.

[Logan Y.]

Not to derail the topic but how do y'all like the HF dust collector? I'm looking to get something for the shop to help with dust but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg either.

[dlcw]

Not to derail the topic but how do y'all like the HF dust collector? I'm looking to get something for the shop to help with dust but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg either.

Been using one since 2009. I have it dedicated to just my CNC machine. I have a big Delta 4-bagger for the rest of my shop. Just ground it really well to eliminate static buildup. So far no problems and it has held up for 5 years now. Not bad for a HF DC.

[Mike Windsor]

I had a similar problem , took me ages to track it down to the dust collection system which is a 5 hp shop vac . ( had the lights off and noticed the static sparks ) ---I wound up running a copper wire through the hose from the dust pick up and all the way through the shopvac and out to the frame of the shopbot . This worked for me , and I seem to remember trying to just ground everything using the electrical outlet grounds , but it wasn't entirely successful . ---something to do with "ground loops " I recall .

[Burkhardt]

I can not imagine it is the motor itself. These induction motors can spark and create EMI when turned on or off but normally not while running.

[dcruze]

Thanks, these are all good ideas. I like hearing how others solve problems. I tried Scott's suggestion and unhooked the ground from the ShopBot where it was attached to the router. I still have the grounding wire running through the hose and to the Dust Collector and on to the grounding bar.

I ran a file yesterday that ran for 1 hour without any problems. I will try this for a while and see what happens. If it acts up again I will try Mike's suggestion and run the ground back to the frame of the ShopBot.

[shilala]

That's good to hear, Dale.
I just figured it'd be better not to take all that static back to the bot.
My dust collection is galvanized pipe and I ran a short piece of 4" flex to all my machines just to gap the static.
It all goes right to ground rather than energizing the machines.
Everything is grounded all the way back to the panel just so I don't have any trouble.

I used to work on big HVAC equipment and a lot of times seperating the controls from the unit solved lots of factory created issues, just because of static.