Belt reduction file.
 

Mark, it has been a while but I have dug up the aspire files used to cut the parts. I don't seem to be able to upload the .crv files so have converted to dxf. The design for them came from this forum someplace but I can not remember from who.
I hope they can help.
My Mechmate has been sitting in a shipping container for the last two years. I am getting closer to getting it out into a new home. I am looking forward to that day!

Micheal

Thanks Mich! They may be J.R.s? I vaguely remember him making some with standoffs like yours. Or run some electric to the sea container. Post some pictures when you get it to its new home. Just welded my gantry thanks again

Mich, RE: "I don't seem to be able to upload the .crv files". I remember "back in the day" we would just change the type on the file that the FORUM would not accept to something like .txt, upload it and instruct the person using the file to change the type back to the original type (in this case ".crv"). after downloading the file. I mention this since sometimes the conversions loose some of the information from the original file.

Well, nothing seems to be working for me today so if you would like the aspire files for my belt reductions send me a private message and I will email them direct.

Hi all,
I need a little assistance.
I had blue smoke today for the very first time.
As the picture shows my PMDX 133 board got upset for some reason. If anyone has any ideas of what might have caused this, it would be much appreciated.

What about the rest of the board, is it the same set of windings on each drive?

I would say start with a multimeter and check for shorts between the pins and to ground.
Also inspect the cables for signs of chaffing or cuts. Let us know what you find.

Are your steppers reading ok with a meter? You definitely have a problem with the B set of windings on two different drives. This leads me to believe that two drives are bad which is unlikely at the same time unless one is X and one is B, a connection issue with that set of windings. I would reach out to Gecko and PDMX also. They are normally pretty prompt

Thank you for the input.
Pictured is the z drive on the left which is not functioning. yes, the A drive looks to be having issues as well. I don't use the rotary for a long time and have not checked if it still works.
The X slave drive looks to going the same way as well, and maybe the Y drive.

So Pete yes it looks like it is the same windings on all the drives.
When you talk about the stepper readings, what should they be?
I have reached out to PMDX but not Gecko I will do now thou,

I saw very similar issues with one of my 133 boards as well. One day my slave X quit working. The terminal block on J2 looked a little crispy. The only thing I could find were sketchy crimp on connectors at that terminal. I pulled the terminal block, cleaned the pins, replaced the block with a new one and replaced the crimp connectors. No problems since. The other time I saw this involved a lame brained accidental injection of 120v mains into my wiring harness, but I am sure nobody is dumb enough to do that but me.

Ted

Ted

Thanks for the reply. I talked to an electronics mate today, he is of the same opinion. He said those connector are prone to dry poor connections. And they don't like high current. So I will check current draw but the resistor should limit that. He also mentioned they offen have dry solder joints on the back of the board pins.

I hope it has not damaged the gecko...

I second Pete's advise.....
Give PMDX a call or message, best to deal with them.....1St....They now a thing or two :p

Best of luck ;0)

Hello Mich.
I sent you a p.m. a while back.
Unfortunately I will not get to Darwin this year.

I have no advice to offer with your problem:o

PMDX Exceptional service
 

So I contacted PMDX about the burnt boards...
Within the day I have this response and new boards on freight.


The problem that shows in your photo is caused by failing contacts in the connector. The electrical waveform from a stepper driver is similar to that of a plasma cutter and if the connector is not making good contact, it will suffer from severe arcing that is sustained by the waveform.

The connectors chosen by Geckodrive for the G2XX series drivers are rated for 10 amperes, but in practice they have a higher than desirable failure rate.

The things that you can do to minimize the problem are:

1) Do not plug and unplug them unnecessarily, thus weakening the spring contacts.

2) Mount the drives and tie down the cables such that machine vibration does not shake the connectors.

Be sure to also check the connector on the bottom of the PMDX-133 and on the Geckodrives. If there are signs of overheating there, you should clean the pin headers on the Geckodrives with a mild abrasive such as an ink eraser.

I wish there was a magic bullet to solve this issue, but I am not aware of one.


The new boards arrived here yesterday fitted them today and all is back running.
I must give a big shout out to Steve from pMDX, I could not ask for more from them.

Mich,

I really appreciate your sharing the resolution of the problem including the E-Mail from PMDX. As you mentioned, the PMDX support is exceptional.

It's interesting that PMDX mentions "vibration" as a possible cause of the difficulty. I notice that your control boxes are mounted on the table as opposed to being mounted on the wall. I remember that Gerald recommended against mounting the control box on the table. I have even considered moving my control box from the wall to the table because of cable management issues and cable lengths. Given your experience and PMDX's E-Mail, I'm no longer considering moving my control box.

PMDX133 failure background
 

John
just a little background on my machines resent history that may give cause to this issue.
This machine has only run for around 10hrs since a 1000km road trip bolted to the floor of a shipping container over the last three years. I would lay money on that three-year trip being a far greater course of vibration and loose connections than the box being mounted to the machine.
I will, however, keep a closer eye on the control boards than I have done in the past.

Mich,

I'm sure you're right. Thank you for the additional information about your machine's history. I've moved mine too. I'm going to take the hint and check my connections.