PRT Control Board Repair

[APT]

I am in the process of selling a 2004 PRT96 system that belonged to my father in law. He passed away so I am selling some of his things or the estate. The buyer has been great to work with and only 20 minutes away! He has what I believe to be all the parts of the system. He has it up and running mostly.

There are 5 outputs for the control board. Two X, one each for Y/Z/indexer. Well one of the X axis outputs isn't work at all. My buyer reconfigured the indexer to be the second X axis which seems to work well. However, he wants the indexer to work too.

A call to Shopbot says $3000 to upgrade the whole control system. They do not repair them any more. Sometimes they get in old boards, repair, and resell for $1500. Are there any cheaper solutions?

I have seen the PCB for the control board and it didn't look that complex. Does anyone have further diagnosis of components? I work with automotive electronics so I'm not afraid to replace parts. But I have no schematic or layout.

Thanks for any help!
Aaron

[Brady Watson]

Look for burnt traces on the board. Usually one of the diodes fail near where the motor cable plugs in. The driver chip can also fail & these can be replaced as well.

I would call SB back and inquire about a 4G board upgrade. The price you were quoted sounds to me like a completely new RBK control box. You only need the 4G board with 5 drivers and you'll be up & running again in less than 30 minutes with much higher performance than what you have now. The last time I checked a 4G board was around $1795.

-B

[paul60]

I have a prt board well a complete control unit.
as i built myself a mach3 controller.
please contact me by mail
paul

[APT]

I talked with Diane @ SB Tools who offered two options. The V4G board alone at $1495 and a whole new control box for $3000. I assume this is what the board upgrade is (http://www.shopbottools.com/ShopBotDocs/files/Control%20box%20upgrade%20to%20V4G%202007%2012%201 0.pdf)?

[Brady Watson]

I assume this is what the board upgrade is (http://www.shopbottools.com/ShopBotDocs/files/Control%20box%20upgrade%20to%20V4G%202007%2012%201 0.pdf)?

Yes. It's an easy upgrade, but make sure your computer is not as old as the machine or it won't run right. You'll need SB3 v3.6.44 or later & you'll need to install the firmware via UI, and setup the machine via UR. If #4 input flashes after you're connected, go to VN and change it to a normally open E-stop.

-B

[APT]

Thanks, Brady. Should be able to download V3.6.46 (http://www.shopbottools.com/mSupport/controlsoftware.htm) for xplor52 Control Cards [using a Dallas microcontroller] with a V4G board now instead of the Atmel based board 3G?