New board or Fix the old one.

[Tom Bachman]

Alright, I have determined that the X2 driver is bad. (see my other thread).

I'm now trying to determine, whether or not, I should have this board repaired or upgrade to a new board. I am right now leaning toward having this board repaired. I really need to try and keep the costs down as much as possible, that's why I am leaning toward the repair option. I just need to get the machine up and running so I can start making it pay for itself. I understand the advantages of upgrading, but I'm not sure whether or not it makes financial sense at this point.

Need to decide pretty quick.

[steve_g]

Tom…
Replace or repair… IMHO if you repair you still have an old board with ageing components. Likely you’ll need to replace it sometime in the future!
SG

[jerry_stanek]

Does that board have an A driver? If it does then you can use it for the x you just have to set it up in the Values screen

[Tom Bachman]

I believe that someone told me it does not have the A driver. I don't know what I'm looking for, so I can't say. Here's a picture of the board

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/toms94/other/Control%20board%20connection%202_zpsagro1zb4.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/toms94/media/other/Control%20board%20connection%202_zpsagro1zb4.jpg.h tml)

[Tom Bachman]

It appears to me that there are just the 4 drivers (four big heat sinks), right?

[bob_dodd]

Tom
I do not see the picture of the board now , but I remember seeing one in a early post , As you say there are only 4 heat sinks which are for the drivers , There were one heat sink by X1 , X2 , Y , Z , but the "A" channel looked like just an empty space
if cost is an issue at this time get it repaired , keep your eye out for a used 4 G on forum ,,, There is a bid difference in performance with the 4G , but will work with what you have if you get it repaired
There are some people who run there Bots with MACH3 and gecko drives , you could give Gecko a call , check out there web site Gecko.com

[srwtlc]

...if you want to go the Mach3 route. Almost plug and play, if you want to learn how to use Mach3. Mach3 license required.

[Gary Campbell]

Scott...
You should know most of these guys have outgrown the "MachDonalds" not so happy meal 3

[srwtlc]

;) Yeah, but in the right hands it would make his old iron sing a bit sweeter again. I'm sure you could fix him up with something nice too! ;)

[MogulTx]

Fix it. It is quite possibly just the zeiner diode that comes just before the driver. I blew one on a previous machine ( don't know if I did or the previous owner)... but my brother who is a brilliant guy with computers adn what not, showed me what was needed and I ordered it off ebay for CHEEEP. I took out the old and soldered in the new... worked like a CHAMP. I sold that machine and sent along the spares I got in the ebay deal to the new owner.... but it ran GREAT after I replaced it. My current machine does not have that set up or I would send you a photo of what you would be looking at. ( And the fourth drive may have one in it, even if it does not have the driver. I bet they populated the board- and you could unsolder the one from that driver's set up and have it moved over in a few minutes and tested out and running... and order the replacement as time allows!

Monty

[8Ball]

Scott...
You should know most of these guys have outgrown the "MachDonalds" not so happy meal 3

Could you elaborate on your comment?
Is there something better than Mach3?
I'm fairly new to cnc and I use Mach3, but if there is something better, I could be interested.

[Gary Campbell]

8ball...
Sorry, that was a bit of a private joke between friends.

I don't wish to specify that one control is better than another, as this is usually subjective. What I will say, and using ShopBot as an example, is that the good current day control systems are provided by companies that are continuously improving the product and provide hardware that is compatible with the control software. Along with this software/hardware combo they also provide a brick and mortar operation that offers support, replacement parts and software upgrades. Users have an email address and a phone number where knowledgeable persons will assist them with their issues. This is not the case with all control software.

[Tom Bachman]

It went off with UPS today to get fixed. Hopefully I'll have it back sometime the week of 24th. I called and talked to the tech who will, more than likely, be doing the repairs. He assured me that it would be fixed right. I felt really good about sending my equipment to them.

[Mayo]

Anyone reading this who may have a similar problem - this is what fixed my board - I think it cost less than $5.00 a couple years ago.
If anyone needs one, I have a spare because I originally bought two just in case.
Some time about a year or more after that, one of my driver chips went bad, and I opted to upgrade to the 4G board.
The IMS driver chips under those heat sinks were no longer available from Shopbot when I had the problem and they were hard to find even on Ebay.
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=29118&stc=1

[Tom Bachman]

Well, the news wasn't great. The repair place called today and said that the board had some major issues. Three "modules", (what we call the drivers, I think) are bad, one completely shot and two others are not good, so,replacing at least three. He said when I get the control box back, it will be better than new. $550 was the quote. Oh, well, I got to have it to use the machine. Some here are probably thinking, I made a mistake by not going with a new 4g board, but I guess that is a mistake I had to make. I'm ok with going this route, and I can always move to 4g later if I want to and this board will have some value.

[bleeth]

Tom:
The board is basically a control card and the drivers are separate components that are directed by the board.
From the point of view from someone who has gotten their kicks over the years (although at no small cost monetarily) by upgrading on a constant basis to the latest and greatest improvements possible to their tool my advice is purely subjective. That subjectivity was driven by business parameters to get the most productivity resulting in highest efficiency possible from what was and still is one of the cheapest USA produced tools with great support and upgrade-ability in existence. But, from the point of view of someone who is using their tool for hobby or does not need best possible production speed and efficiency from their tool than there is no reason to lust for the latest greatest etc. The main thing is to clearly identify your own goals for you, and make your choices for repair or replacement accordingly. No-one here can make that decision for you. For an example-think about a choice in a hobby car. Would you prefer a cherry classic vette despite it's many deficiencies or pony up the bucks for a new one? :rolleyes:

[Tom Bachman]

Thanks for the reply Dave. I'm hoping for this machine to be a little more than strictly a hobby machine, but I really never expected it to be a full production machine either. I figure that I really need to "get my feet under me" before I delve into any upgrades.

[Tom Bachman]

I got my control box back this afternoon. I just spent an hour and a half hooking it up and testing it.

Once I got the wires attached (I'm sure I didn't get them all right on the limit switches, I left one wire off on each one, because I'm not sure where the +24 volts is on the board.) I did a trial run dry (well above the cutting surface and motor not running). It seemed to run pretty smooth, so I Zeroed the bit and ran my Logo, we are up and running! Very smooth cut actually, and very quiet in operation.

How do I go about checking my Z-Zero plate? How do I go about running the Z-Zeroing program? This version of the controls does not have a Z-zero icon like the one on the Buddy at school.

Now I mounted my planer bit and Zeroed (by eye and trial and error) the bit but what is the name of the program that will flatten the table surface....or do I have to create my own? I've looked in the SB folder, and found some programs, but nothing that looked like (by file name) to be the table flattening program. I just want to take about .01 off each side of the spoil board.