What's not wrong?

[Orator98]

OK, I'll attempt to be a good boy here. Right now I'm very torqued at the whole carvewright LHR experience. My machine is an early A model machine. I bought it in 2007 from Sears as a compucarve. I finally got tired of trying to keep it going and sent it into LHR for the full upgrade to carve tight and the heavy duty belts.

First project out of the box and I broke a bit. I was cutting 1/2 aspen with it. Snapped the bit off... dug it's little self into the shiny new belts and broke the teeth on the small X-Drive gear. So, I ordered a new X drive gear train as you can't just buy the gear anymore. Got that in... cleaned the machine thoroughly put everything back together and I had all kinds of problems... board sensor problems... tracking sensor problems... board error problems, etc... I did all the sensor checks and all was well. Compression rollers showed released when no pressure and compressed with pressure... board sensor shows 152 on a nice piece of red oak... tracking sensor shows movement when using an old straight edge wooden level and sliding it across. So, I threw another board in that was a 2X4... seems to work... the problem was that evidently you can't have anything even close to 1/2 inch (It measured .515 inches on my micrometer). So, off to the store... get a piece of .75 oak... square it up nicely... run the first project.... Check tracking rollers... checked no problems.... clear board sensor... blew low pressure air on the glass... check with the sensor check menu and it reads 153 with my red oak... doesn't seem to be any problem... press enter and I get simply "board"... then nothing... press enter... "Board problem" So, I'm at my wits end with this one. Finally, I got an error code of 03-400

This machine has 89 hours on the cut motor... 97 hours "servoing"... very low hour machine with chronic problems... Anybody need a really nice boat anchor? If there was anything such as a lemon of carvewright machines, I've got it! Unfortunately LHR is not real good at answering e-mails and I work a day job that prevents me from calling with the machine in front of me to get help.

[mtylerfl]

Hi,

Very sorry to hear about your bad experience. With all due respect, considering the reecent upgrades you have had done, it's difficult to imagine the machine is totally at fault here, but we'll try to help you determine what's going on. Would you please post the MPC here? Wanting to confirm there is nothing amiss with the design layout before starting to troubleshoot the machine and/or the pilot.

[fwharris]

Well maybe not a boat anchor but sure sounds like a can of worms!

Have you done a head pressure check since getting it back from CarveWright?

Make sure the FSC cable is inserted fully into the back of the Z truck. Also check to see that there are no breaks in it.

Are you upgraded to the latest designer version?

[lawrence]

We're here to help... and listen to you vent a bit too if necessary...

I describe the machine to folks as being like an airplane... it is not unreasonable for an inexperienced person to crack up an airplane the first time they use it if they have not properly prepared/understand exactly what is going on with the machine and why it acts the way it does. It's pretty reasonable to then assume that an airplane that has been through this trauma would never again be the same. This isn't necessairally the airplane's fault... but it might be... problem is no one can really know. It sounds like your machine has been through a lot of trauma.

Lots of folks here will assist you in learning how to fly... some of it is trial and error but a much better way is through simple progression of projects from basic to advanced until one learns their machine backwards and forwards and can hear/smell/see that something unexpected is happening so that a crisis can be averted.

I hope someone else can step in to assist with your actual current problem- in the meantime we've all been there and sometimes just stepping away, unplugging the machine and giving it a good clean and then ensuring all the cables are secure and then formatting an reloading the project can make a world of difference.

I also have a simple carve that I do (a "C" ironically enough) when my machine gives me problems... when I am frustrated and a sensor isn't reading a piece of wood or I'm getting a tracking error I load up (the same each time!) a 12 inch long piece of MDF that is 4 inches wide and is taped on the bottom. When the machine (begins to) carve the "c" successfully I know that the problem lies elsewhere whether it is a knot or inclusion on an edge or too thin a board (you really need a bit more than .5 as the rollers seem to compress things a bit... a couple of strips of tape can sometimes help) or a dark piece of walnut, 99% of the time my problems have been operator error. (the other 1% have been a rolled under belt or a dirty sensor)

At any rate... we're here... if you keep up your rate of posting I'm sure none of us mind listening to you once every 2 years... but I encourage you to become a more prolific member of our little online society and I'm sure we can help you through this challenge and we will also be here to help you celebrate your successes.
V/r
Lawrence

[Proctorw]

We're here to help... and listen to you vent a bit too if necessary...

I describe the machine to folks as being like an airplane... it is not unreasonable for an inexperienced person to crack up an airplane the first time they use it if they have not properly prepared/understand exactly what is going on with the machine and why it acts the way it does.

Lawrence, Great analogy. I have had my machine since March 9th. I have learned a great deal about the machine and designer. I am an IT professional which has helped on the designing part and a part time woodworker/fixer of almost anything. My brother has asked me about buying one of these. I told him before he does, he needs to come up to my house for a weekend so he can understand what he would be getting into (he is not very good a troubleshooting). This machine is not magic. It requires a good amount of Preventive Maintenance and troubleshooting, a little more than I expected, but I understand why. When there is a problem, it can be a number of things, be it the machine/the software/the wood. I had an issue with the machine Air Carving and LHR helped me resolve it. Bottom Line, I am telling my friends it is a great machine, but requires a bit of "tinkering" with it every now and then.

[Orator98]

OK... I get the airplane analogy a little bit.... problem is I worked on airplanes for over 21 years. &nbsp;Airplanes are great... the technical data is great. &nbsp;If the Technical Manual says it'll handle anything over half an inch, I can put anything over half an inch... even if it's only .515 (15 thousandths over 1/2 inch). &nbsp;I was an avionics technician. &nbsp;If the program bit (built in test) said there was a problem with the board sensor, well by golly, there was problem with the board sensor. &nbsp;I'm honestly at a loss. &nbsp;I too have a cheater pattern I use. &nbsp;It's 4" x 16" very simple pattern. &nbsp;I generally put a 4" X 24" board in so that the project stays under the rollers. &nbsp;I've taken it apart again... cleaned everything with both vacuum and compressed air. &nbsp;This thing is almost as clean as the day I got it. So, my dilemma... if it says check board sensor and the board sensor is OK (still reads in the 150-154 range on my red oak) what's next? &nbsp;If it says check the board tracking sensor and the board tracking sensor is OK... what's next? &nbsp;I even made sure the "spring" (little rubber tube) is putting up-pressure on the board roller sensor so it is firmly against the project board... &nbsp;If it says there's a board problem and I know the board is square, flat and precisely measured to the properties set in the designer software... what do you check next? &nbsp;Prior to going in the military I was working in a machine shop. &nbsp;I know how to use appropriate tools to check thickness, length and width. &nbsp;My practice board is honestly within a few thousandths of the board properties in the designer software. &nbsp;The designer software is up-to-date. &nbsp;The program automatically checks all that good stuff when you upload a project to the flash card, at least if you have an active internet connection. &nbsp;At this point my experience with the carvewright and LHR is not condusive to me wanting to spend another $3k for a Version C.<br><br>So, other than a little C-4 or a few 5.56 mm or 6.5 mm rounds any other suggestions? &nbsp;Anybody have a clue what error code 03-400 is? &nbsp;I can't find it anywhere...

[ladjr]

The biggest problem with a airplane is the Pilot. (I'm a pilot)

[bergerud]

Search "E03-0400" and you will find some stuff. I do not think it will help however. The code just means board sensor error.

If the board sensor is reading 150, it is good. Maybe you should check the FFC (Flat ribbon) wire for problems and end connections.

[fwharris]

Now how did Lawrence know you are an airplane buy?

On your 03-400 error code what was the machine doing when this code came up? That might help to point to a possible problem area.

On the board sensor issue, when you do the reading test is that from just one spot on the board or have you done the test by moving the truck from O point (off of the board on the key board side) to across the board and off of it on the other side? For this method did the reading stay constant as it traveled across the board or do they jump around or even got to 0? If so this could be a bad/broken FSC cable. As the truck moves the cable flexes. You can also flex the cable by hand to see if the readings change.

At what point do you get the board tracking error? During the measurement or carving steps?

[Orator98]

Well,as a maintenance person, we blamed the pilots a LOT! My brother works for Southwest Airlines as a mechanic. He started out with Value Jet about two weeks before the "Crash". My father (Republic Airlines mechanic at that time), myself (U.S. Air Force aircraft maintenance) nad my brother were in the car talking about the crash while my nephew was in the vehicle with us. He piped up and said, Well, I know one thing, I know it's not a maintenance problem"

I was measuring the board when I got the error. 03-400 error. I got the error after the following errors in succession Check Tracking Roller, Board (literally, nothing else, just Board), then Board Problem. When I pressed abort, I got the 03-400 error. I did an advanced search for "03-400" and got "No Matches" So, I must not even know how to search if there's tons of stuff on it.

I'm gonna check everything one more time including the ribbon cables, etc. If that doesn't fix it, it's off to the rifle range we go!