Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20 <resolved>

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TheKitMill
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20 <resolved>

Post by TheKitMill »

Update Still no cause but progress made.

I have a second Table that is a Plasma/Router On the second 5x10 Plasma I was able to Bring the torch just above the part Start the torch jog through a cut without any drive faults. Machines are wired the same only difference is one is a 3 axis and one a 4 Axis. Setting in the Wizzard the same.

Other variable is one is a New TD plasma. Both Have Inverter driven spindles. Both are steel frames Ground lead to the slats.

Video is of Plasma Table 2 cutting, and then doing a tool retract with no faults. DMM Drive only faults while Plasma cutting no fault while engraving so it would seem that its not a Cable issue



https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/QR ... dLVTt6S6Pt
martyscncgarage
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20

Post by martyscncgarage »

TheKitMill wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:06 pm Update see attached video.

Everything is working on router side on the plasma side i can start the Torch and jog it around it the table at a height of 4 inches above the part as soon as i get near the part I get a drive fault (z ) and all movement stops, DMM servos and drives. All grounded to one point but it acts like a Ground loop but i can't find the source. Any ideas appreciated

Thanks

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/eB ... MZ6f8zkeD1
Chuck, is it doing it with 4.18 as well?
Marty
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
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martyscncgarage
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20

Post by martyscncgarage »

Is it only when Z comes down?
Suggest swapping the Z axis motor with X axis motor and try again.
I seem to remember a user having something similar happen and it turned out to be an issue with the motor.
What plasma torch are you using? HF start? I hear they are horrible for EMF

Marty
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
Mesa, AZ
TheKitMill
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20

Post by TheKitMill »

Hi Marty

Making some progress Still not 100% but i swapped the z and the x motors and its clear that the DMM Brake does not like playing with a plasma torch

I installed a separate power supply for the brake and a ice cube relay to start the plasma. I am installing on Monday a Ground Rod from the frame to earth ground and have redone all the grounds in the panel. Her are the latest results Starting with pre change failure video.

Please mute sound before watching as background noise is excessive I will edit shortly

1: I am able to start the torch jog it around the table and then as soon as it get close to the plate to be cut it faults (270 or drive fault error)

2: Second Video is of a second machine wired the same except no Z axis Brake and Hypertherm Plasma. It start and cuts with no faults amps were not high enough to cut 3/8 stainless but it did not fault and has successfully cut other part with no faults

3: After making above changes I am able to move the torch around and cut patterns with out faults but not 100% of the time

Additional changes to be tried are ferrite EMI noise suppressors on all step and direction wires and replacing z axis motor with non brake motor. The Plasma seems to not be playing well with the 24 v brake cable. Snubbers have been installed on the coils. biggest improvement came from moving the Brake wire away from the Plasma Cable.

Any other suggestions appreciated

And as before the System works great when running the router spindle with inverter drive no faults of any kind.
carbuthn
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20

Post by carbuthn »

I may be out to lunch and I don't have a Plasma table (next project after the mill) but on my handheld plasma, my torch is normally about an 1/8" above the material when start the cut. The initial arc is inside the torch and then jumps to the material that I am cutting.

The arc then stabilizes and current flows through the plasma to the material. Much like a TIG torch.

An un-stable arc produces a lot of radio frequency static (way more than a stabile arc).

Maybe someone that has a plasma table can report the torch clearance that they use.
Chuck
TheKitMill
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Plasma table update

Post by TheKitMill »

First thanks Marty, Keith and David for your help.
The plasma Table/Router is working and cutting well I have the Proma SD THC working and am working on a Easy way to switch back and forth from Router to Plasma. I did the following:

1.Larger separate Power Supply for the DMM Brake
2. Moved the Brake from the Z axis to the Y axis (furthest away from the Plasma Torch Cable.)
3.Made sure all grounds were solid and terminated at one point
4.Moved the plasma power supply further away from the label
5.installed a Grounding rod wired to the table frame and the cutting slats.( note this improved the operation of a Torchmate table I repaired it also had problems faulting out Just grounding the fram was not enough but ground the cutting slates to the ground rod fixed the problem)
6.Added a Ice cube relay to trigger the torch.
Using fusion 360 with Hypertherm post to program the parts and it works well.


Other observations: Part of the problem was the DMM Brake being close to Plasma torch cable. The surge when the torch completed the circuit dropped the voltage enough to kill the brake for a moment and fault the z drive

Adding a external ice cube to the Acorn Board seemed to help but may be over kill.

Part of the problem may be the age of the Thermal Dynamics Plasma power supply It cuts great but its 30 year old and i suspect not well shielded.

I have two other tables under construction. Table two had none of these problems and ran great from the start. But It never had a brake on Z and it has a brand new Hypertherm Power supply with a machine torch it cut fine with no faults and no alarms from the start. They are wired the same same DMM motors and drives and both Have a Router head. I have started another Plasma and will see if it has any problems. I will be using different servos and drives.

If anyone has any question please PM or call Be happy to help.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the solution
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20

Post by cnckeith »

right on, thanks so much for reporting back, great information for everyone to benefit from.
Need support? READ THIS POST first. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1043
All Acorn Documentation is located here: viewtopic.php?f=60&t=3397
Answers to common questions: viewforum.php?f=63
and here viewforum.php?f=61
Gear we use but don't sell. https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... _gear.html
cnckeith
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Re: Plasma Stopped working after upgrade to 4.20 <resolved>

Post by cnckeith »

Need support? READ THIS POST first. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1043
All Acorn Documentation is located here: viewtopic.php?f=60&t=3397
Answers to common questions: viewforum.php?f=63
and here viewforum.php?f=61
Gear we use but don't sell. https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... _gear.html
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