[zane]

So I am having problems with my torq cut 22. I believe the AUF board is toast. I have a permanent emergency stop activated alarm. Measured the voltage at wires 80 and 81. Nothing when the emergency stop was pulled out but just over 24 volts when it was activated. (I thought it would have been reversed.) Anyway, both LEDs on the board are lit constantly. Do I just need to pony up and buy a new board? I was really hoping to get this figured out before I had to move the mill from the shop it is at with 3 phase power to my homes where I am going to have to get a phase converter. Kind of hard to diagnose if I can't even hook up the power and if I shell out for a phase converter the wife will be pissed if I am not making chips right away because I am saving up for the dang AUF board.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. and thanks for all the info I have already gleaned from the forum here!

Zane

[CTAC]

Zane, those LED's on the boards are supposed to slow blink, I know none of them are usually solid-on. I would say PM George (machinetek) on here or call EMI (electro-mechanical integrators). That should get you pointed in the right direction....

[zane]

thanks for pointing me in a direction!

[CTAC]

ha ha ha! I hope it wasn't a circular direction! Did you get it fixed?

[cncfixxer]

I would suggest that before you slap another board in ... that you find out what fried the original. Using boards as if they were fuses can get $$$$ fast

[zane]

I have not done much with it yet as I have been moving. machinetek has not responded back to my PM I sent him. Hope everything is OK and he returns soon. He is an invaluable resource to those of us trying to keep these things alive. I am sure it was my fault with the AUF board. Last thing I did with the mill when it was working was hook up a new coolant pump. The previous owner only had this tiny little parts washer pump that wouldn't even clear off any chips. Anyway, I replaced it with an irrigation pump I had sitting in the garage. The specs on the motor said the mill power should have been able to run it. I tested it buy plugging it strait into a wall outlet and the coolant flow was great! When I plugged it into the machine though it blew the fuse. the only replacement I could find locally was rated at I think 2 more amps so I said what the heck. That fried the relay on the board. I didn't think it would affect anything else on the board so I replaced the relay. Then one of the capacitors on the circuit that converts the 24V to 5V was trying to cook its self. by the time I got that done and back in the machine it wouldn't clear out the emergency stop. I've done everything I know how. replaced several components on the board that were looked like they might have been affected. I guess I have been hoping for a magic unicorn to show me something simple and cheap that I missed. I think it is time to face reality. Lesson learned. Never use a larger fuse no mater what. If its burning out, there it a reason!

[CTAC]

Well, lesson learned! At least you didn't blame the machine like others would do! :-) :-)

If you can't get hold of anyone here, just call EMI they have rebuilt boards in stock generally - and they're a great resource (former BPort employees)

FWIW, I got rid of the coolant in our TC22, it's got too much way lube coursing through it's veins and generates a ton of tramp oil. I just cut stuff dry on it, but might have to make it wet again soon as I need to run some 6061 on it. Not looking forward to that. Plus, the pump on it is 1/4 horse or so, puts out very little pressure. OK for side milling, but deep pockets are not too good. I'm going to try boosting it with a little air pressure since there is a check valve on the coolant line ahead of the pump.

[cncfixxer]

Use the coolant pump from a wall outlet ... put either an inline switch on the cord or go "Star Wars" with a X-10 remote (about $20 bucks for tiny Transmitter and receiver rated at 15 amps)
It's illegal to have 2 feeds into the control (460 and 120 for the pump) unless you can remove all power with "One operation of the hand" or I would tell you to hook it to the coolant relay ( if it's large enough).
Now you know why they had a little "piss pump" .... That fuse you blew was on the control transformer ,,,, they are rated to supply just a few amps, in fact I had to replace a few after someone decided to hook a super wattage light into the machine ... then of course after the fuse blew they replaced the slo-blow fuse with the no-blow. If your bound and determined to run it from the control then you could mount a transformer outside (or inside if you have room) and up-size the coolant contactor or maybe even put a SS relay.

This troubles me .. you said "Then one of the capacitors on the circuit that converts the 24V to 5V " ... because thats not what capacitors normally do. Over-voltage will cause most capacitors get hot and sometimes explode ( I just had a flashback to the old Parametrics Drives ... when one of those caps went it was like C4 and a roll of toilet paper .. opps, sorry) . Over-voltage may have come from a surge the new pump generated or a voltage regulator failing.

I must have installed at least 2 dozen TQ's before I retired from Bridgeport. I liked it. The most common problems I had were hard drive boot issues and tool change alignments. I thought it was a great machine for medium size shops. I still do an occasional service call but can't charge more than gas and coffee due to social security