HELP! Electrical problems?

[lrheimpel]

Hi,

I have a Shopbot Buddy BT48, I am in Mexico, inside my customer's industrial building. I use the building electrical supply, individual 30A circuit just for my machine, off the main box.

Had problems in the past, people always pointed me towards grounding (which is in place, tested and working) as well as problems in the AC supply. No other machines in the building have problems. I installed a surge suppresor and a voltage regulator rated for 90<V>140. If voltage goes over 140 or under 90 the regulator turns itself off for protection of the machine.

Two days ago the regulator started tripping just about once per each cut I made. I record location and program line where it stopped, turn regulator back on, reboot SB3, reset XYZ coordinates and restart the program from the last lane it run. Runs for a while, then regulator goes off again and I repeat the cycle.

I tried another regulator, same results. Every time I measure line voltage it is ~120VAC. Changed the router, same results. Change cutter bit, same results. Router runs normally, no difficulty in cutting and does not heat up.

What else can I try?

Appreciate your help!

[Brady Watson]

A ShopBot will run if the input voltage is +/- 10%. This is pretty much a general rule with any 115v equipment. This puts your usable voltage range in the 105 to 125v AC. More or less than this & it will not run.

If the regulator trips - the problem points to your AC power input. Only from personal/professional experience will I say this: Mexico isn't known to have the most stable grid with the most reliable voltage. Many times shops are wired up missing either the ground or the neutral. It's pretty common. Line voltages are also all over the place depending on the town and infrastructure. (USA same as well in many cases) This is why someone else may have mentioned the part about the ground. (which is different than grounding dust collection against static).

I don't think SB support is going to be able to do much for you, but I would get a licensed commercial electrician to do a proper evaluation. Tell him to clamp his meter on the incoming power and record the high and low values. This is how I've always done it when there was a problem in a shop. See what he says to do from there. You may need a new transformer out on the street or your wiring straightened out.

-B

[lrheimpel]

Thank you Brady Watson for your suggestions!

I found a contractor able to help and performed measurements, found and resolved some problems.

Plant voltage was 122V +/- 2 incoming to Shopbot. Measured at point where router plugs into cnc. Same 122V +/-2. Measure with machine moving, same measurements. Measure with router on, air only. Same measurements. Measured with router on and cutting and oh boy, voltage went all over the place. Measuring amps we noticed it was very noticeable that as router made and effort to cut the amperage went up.

I ended up getting a higher capacity voltage regulator (replaced a 1500VA unit with a 2500VA) and added an electrical ground just for the cnc. Also replaced all table rollers (in the Buddy the table moves back and forth over 6 rollers) as they were not all moving easily. I also replaced the original dust foot with one of different design. It is very clean and sucks in 99% of the saw dust. It also reduced the amount of static electricity generated.

My Shopbot once again is working nicely and efficiently.

IMG_20180403_170647a.jpgIMG_20180404_091849a.jpg

[Brady Watson]

You're welcome - glad you got it straightened out. It can be very frustrating.

-B