Centroid Community CNC Support Forum

Looks like I am about to become the owner of a non-functioning DM45NC mill. Just looking to find out what information might be available for this machine - don't know the serial number yet, but it was supposedly made in 2005. Any manuals or other information that might apply to this mill would be appreciated! I won't have the machine for about 2 weeks.

Thanks,
Dan

Hello Dan,

I can send you the Operator's Manual for the software, but I would need a serial number to match it with the correct version. Do you know what is wrong with it?

All I know right now is that it won't power up. It acts like there is no power getting to the PC motherboard. He says no fans run right now. Just gong on the previous owners comments - I'll know more after getting it home and starting to troubleshoot it. I've worked in electronics my whole life, so I figure at the very least I can troubleshoot to the board level. One general question - the pdf of that mill indicates that it can be ran from single phase - If so, that would save me wiring it into my VFD to do the troubleshooting. Is there wiring info for single phase power available somewhere?

YMMV, but most likely the control has a "low power" cabinet, with two separate AC service connections: 120VAC single-phase to run the control system and servos, plus 240VAC single-phase or three-phase to run the spindle drive.

If that is the case, then you only need the 120VAC single-phase connection to start up the control and run all functions except the spindle.

Assuming that it has a VFD for the spindle, and follows typical conventions, you would only need to connect 240VAC single-phase to legs 2 and 3 in order to power the spindle. The VFD will make the necessary three-phase power for the motor, even on a single-phase input.

If the control console does not boot up when 120VAC power is applied, it may be as simple as a dead motherboard battery. See http://www.cncsnw.com/Motherboards.htm#MS7095 for an example from approximately that time period, and notes about starting up if the battery is dead.

If that is not the problem, then it could be a failed console power supply (standard micro-ATX supply). Also check that the CPU heat sink and fan assembly on the motherboard are secure. Sometimes the plastic bracket holding the heat sink cracks, allowing the heat sink and fan to separate from the CPU. In that case, the system will typically begin to start up, but overheat and shut itself back down in a minute or less.

Thanks for the info - that is very helpful. I hope to get the mill home Tuesday, so that will give me a big head start. I wondered about the motherboard BIOS battery, especially since the owner told me it worked fine when he last used it a few months ago, and it wouldn't start up when he went to use it again. I wasn't sure how the PC power was ran , if it was 110 or 220 from one leg of the 3 phase. There is a small VFD in the upper right corner of the cabinet on the back of the mill.

Ok - got the mill home and plugged in the 110 cord. Powered up and the cabinet fans ran but nothing else. Lithium cell measure 3.16, so it is OK (I popped a new one in anyway, since I had one). Shorting the power pins did start the CPU fan running, but no video on the screen. Shut everything down and re-seated the Ram module - applied power, shorted the power pins, and it came up! Re-seated the PCI card, reset the Bios to power on after AC loss and the control seems to run. It is serial number 5007 and is running V1.02. Looks like an MSI 6787 motherboard. Looks like I'm going to need a new keyboard, since I keep seeing "Invalid Key" pop up on the screen, and the one on it is a mess! Should I upgrade the software to a later revision?

Oh - also, I see a box marked 1 axis Servo PLC sitting on top of the other drive - is this set up for a 4th axis? It looks like there is an extra Fiber Optic cable plugged into the serial port on the PC.

Hello,

Yes, it sounds like there has been a single axis servo drive added to this system making it capable of 4 axes of operation. (Assuming a compatible motor and/or rotary table is attached)

Serial number 5007 is not a valid control serial number for a DM45 system. Look at the serial tag on the back of the control pendant or provide the numeric system ID from the
F7-Utilities F8 Options screen and we determine which serial number it really is.

I see I left a 0 out when I typed that - the numbers on the cover of the PC are - Model - DM45-NC Serial # 50007. I'll check the places that you mentioned when I get home this evening.

Also - are there any mechanical parts available for this mill? I need new way covers - both Y axis and Z axis are trashed, and the hand wheels and arms for the Quill rapid depth control (the three arms with knobs) are missing. I've looked at Grizzly, since they sell a similar manual mill, but they don't list the way covers.

System ID number 0729040138. Version number of software is 1.02. There is no label on the back of the dongle. I have been trying to get familiar with the controller and have powered it up and homed it a few time - Question - I would think it would home to 0, 0, 0, but it homes to numbers that are like .549 Y, =3.45 Z and .245 X - I can send it to 0,0,0 using the MDI and doing either a G00 or G01 and sending to 0. Is there a setting for the home that I need to look at in the controller configuration or is this normal?