CNC Router - Startup Problems <resolved>

[Phillip]

I'm new to the forum and also new to CNC as well so pleased forgive me if I ask some dumb questions sometimes as I'm sure there will be many.

About 18months ago I purchased a CNC router from a guy in Perth Australia who use to make them but has now retired. I used this machine to make perforated timber ceiling panels and had worked brilliantly for the three months I used it under an extremely intensive work load it basically ran for that entire time drilling holes non stop for 24hrs a day 7 days a week.

A new project has come up and now the time has come to torcher my machine again so after about a 6 month sleep I have dusted it off and tried to start it up over the past 2 weeks of fiddling around with it I seem to be going backwards.

Problem 1: There is no one within 300km of where I live that knows anything about repairing CNC machinery.
Problem 2: Machine was stopping after about 5 min so I trucked it in to a place in town and they diagnosed spindle fan was not working properly brought it back orderd a new one and replaced it which fixed that problem.
Problem 3: Turned the machine back on and was greeted with this message. (Photo One) I was advised by my electrician to carefully vac clean out the cupboard and spray cuircut boards with contact cleaner.
Problem 4: Turned the machine back on and it come on but would only sometimes go to the Error screen and other times only go as far as the PC boot screen after a few on and offs it would only go as far as the PC boot screen so I did some research and orderd a new generic card reader and card same as what's there (which is still on its way)
Problem 5: Now when I turn it on the boot screen won't even come up so I looked through this forum and found a similar problem where the battery on the motherboard needed replacing I tried this but still there is no signs of life to the monitor just keep getting the monitor brand come on briefly then a no signal box then it stays black.
The power supply is working I've also tried a new powe supply the fan on the motherboard is working to.

I think I have multiple problems on my hands here the biggest one being me not knowing much about this stuff I'm going to take my monitor and its cable after I post this and try it on something else to see if it's working.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[cnckeith]

that message is saying that the cnc software can not find the CNC control card that is plugged into the mother board.
so carefully removing and reseating the CNC10 card from the PCI slot in the motherboard would be the first thing i'd try. with the power off of course.

[Phillip]

Thanks CNCKieth I did try this I removed the CNC10 card from the motherboard and there was excessive dust on it and the motherboard so I cleaned both the motherboard and the CNC10 card with contact cleaner and replaced it but I'm not sure if it has worked or not as the system will still not start up.
I did notice on the motherboard that there was some slight discolourations around the port where the CNC10 card connects (See Picture) do you think this could be the cause of my system not starting and also this error message?
Should I purchase a new motherboard or maybe look at just updating the entire CNC hardware computer system and just start from scratch ?

[cncsnw]

If those are burnt traces between the PCI slots, that does not bode well, and you will probably be needing a motherboard replacement sooner or later (if not immediately).

However, if it simply fails to show any signs of life when you turn the power on, I would speculate that the motherboard battery is low, or got momentarily dislodged during cleaning. If so, you will need to short the power button pins to make it start up, then restore the BIOS setting that makes the motherboard boot up automatically any time the AC power has been turned off and back on.

See http://www.cncsnw.com/Motherboards.htm#MS7309 for the location of the power button pins.

[cnckeith]

your system would be a good candidate for an upgrade. many of the good cnc components can be reused. centroid has several nice upgrade paths depending on the system configuration and supports most of its older components in combination with the new software and hardware.
send photos of the electrical cabinet so i can identify the major components and i can recommend the least expensive way to upgrade.

[cnckeith]

if you have a dc3io , centroid offers the MPU11 Legacy Add upgrade path. here is a visual diagram with prices showing the basic connections. this allows you to run a modern PC with windows without having to change any wires in the electrical cabinet.
the mpu11 eliminates your cnc10 card that plugs into the motherboard. the mpu11 does not plug into the motherboard. so you can use any pc that meets the minimum hardware speed and memory requirements.
the existing motor encoder cables and fiber communication cables, simply plug into the new mpu11 eliminating the cnc10 card. then the cnc system will be running the latest version of centroid cnc software and any optional unlocks the old system had will be transferred to the new system.
the nice thing about it is other than switching the encoder cables and the fibers there are no internal wiring changes. so thats pretty nice since swapping the encoder cables and the fibers and mounting the mpu11 card takes about 45 minutes. some cons of the mpu11 upgrade are: a new plc program has to be created to match your machine, as the old plc program is not compatible with the new software.. but if your machine is simple (non atc) thats really not that big of a deal. also you'll probably need to upgrade the operators control panel as well. as most of the older ones don't work with the new mpu11. in my opinion , even with those two cons the mpu11 upgrade is still a nice way to go. i've performed several of them and have included a photo of the cabinet of an older linux based system not unlike the one you have with the new mpu11 card installed.

[Phillip]

Thanks CNCKieth,

I think that changing the hardware sounds like a good idea.
I will post some photos let me know if you need anymore.

[Phillip]

More photos.
My pendant controller is the old T shape one with a magnet on the back and an analogue wheel thing on it.

[Dave0267]

Hi Phillip
I no you posted this 4 yrs ago
I'm new to this
Just wondering is this machine a Procam??
Wondering did you change over the software and did it work
Thanks
Dave

[Phillip]

Hi Dave,

Yes it is a Procam machine.
I can remember possibly upgrading the version of Linux I think but I could be wrong. I have not upgraded the centroid software.
The machine has had a few issues over the years mostly due to me not knowing enough about this stuff but I worked through them and now the machine has been going fine.

Do you have a similar machine?