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Thread: My big Triumph broke!

  1. #1

    My big Triumph broke!

    -- But I fixed it --

    I'm in the middle of engraving a bunch of cutting boards, shut down last night, fired up the machine this morning, and-- it wouldn't stop homing. The X axis just kept bouncing off the limit switch.

    So I checked the mechanics of the switch, it's 'clicker' was ok...
    DSC09541.jpg
    Grabbed my Fluke and checked the operation/continuity of the switch... click the switch and the Fluke beeped, un-click and the beeping stopped, switch is ok-

    Got to the controller, found the brown & black wires, and checked for continuity with the switch closed-- nothing...
    --somewhere between the switch and controller a connection isn't making the trip.

    --at least at this point, I know this will be free fix

    I trace the switch wires to the end of the gantry and trimmed some insulation off each wire to test, YES continuity...

    I trace the wires beyond the gantry and into the drag chain, and locate where they exit the chain and go down thru the cabinet to the controller. I stripped each wire to test at the end of the chain, NO continuity...

    This means the wire is bad somewhere in the drag chain

    I cut the wires at the end of the chain, and pulled them out backwards. The problem was pretty easy to find then, only half the brown wire came out! It actually broke in half, in almost the exact same place as my X stepper wire broke in the chain several years ago. The X wire broke at the connections where Triumph added wiring to the stepper motor wires. The brown wire just plain broke. There was about a 4" section of the brown wire that was brittle from heat, pretty much where the X stepper extension connects- This tells me, that connection must get pretty warm...

    Anyway, went to the basement and gathered up the the solder, flux, and soldering gun, and found a section of wire to replace the 6" of burnt brown wire I cut out. I soldered the new section in place, wrapped the fixes with heat shrink and re-wound the spiral covering. You can see the white replacement wire--
    DSC09542.jpg

    This is where I stripped to test, and where I eventually cut the wires just at the end of the gantry. Afterward I soldered the repaired wires back and covered them with heat shrink.
    DSC09543.jpg

    This shows the switch-side wires (stripped), and the controller side wires (not stripped) that I need to solder together--
    DSC09545.jpg

    And this is the final repair; the heat-shrink and sprial covering got put into place and all the wiring got tucked into the chain--
    DSC09547.jpg

    --once I got the wires reconnected to the controller's plug and plugged in, the plug at the controller tested YES for continuity-- and the machine homes normally again

    I love free fixes! And didn't even need to leave the house!

    Just want to point out that I mentioned here many times over the years that almost always, the problems I've had with my many machines boils down to some sort of bad connection, and is usually a fairly easy fix. Today was more of the same, fortunately. I'm happy!
    Last edited by Kev Williams; 08-05-2022 at 4:17 PM.
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    You must be livin' right Kev. Good job.

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