Can't resolve "Clear board sensor"

[LarryLesniak]

I'm very, very frustrated with this machine! I've got maybe a total of five hours carve time on it and virtually every time I try to use it I run into a problem. I just ran a couple of tests on pine cleaning thoroughly during and after each run. Everything seemed fine until I put the good wood (mahogany) into the machine and now I've got the "Clear board sensor" and I can't get rid of it no matter what I try!

I checked the archives and read about masking tape and cleaning the "window" over the sensor. Did all that, window's clear, masking tape is in place, and I've still got the error. Tried the white paper under the sensor and got a zero reading. No matter how close to the sensor I place the paper and no matter how much extra light I put on it. When I put a mirror under the sensor I get readings and with the mirror close to the normal sensing distance away it reads in the 150 range. Without the mirror... nothing! With white paper... virtually nothing.

Keep in mind that this machine performed flawlessly in two test runs on pine and it's pretty much clean as a whistle. I understand the sensor may have trouble with dark wood but this is kind of ridiculous. I've tried everything but maybe I should just glue some white paper to the board and hope for the best.

It appears from some of the other postings on this topic that several forum members are running just fine without the "window" over the sensor. Should I just attempt to remove the "window" from the sensor and hope that step corrects this issue? In the mirror it appears to be perfectly clean and again, there are only about 5 hours on this machine.

The process I'm attempting to run is for a production item and I need to get these ready today. Based on my experience with the machine I'm beginning to feel that I can't rely on it to work properly when I need it, and that's not going to make me happy, make me money, or keep this machine in my shop.

I know some of you are able to use your machine(s) very effectively and I'd like to join that group of happy, productive owners. But it sure is tough to believe in the machine when it's so fiddly and doesn't like to work on dark wood. Gee...I guess I should be happy it was dark red mahogany and not black walnut, huh?

As always, any help you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!

Larry

[dbfletcher]

I'm very, very frustrated with this machine! I've got maybe a total of five hours carve time on it and virtually every time I try to use it I run into a problem. I just ran a couple of tests on pine cleaning thoroughly during and after each run. Everything seemed fine until I put the good wood (mahogany) into the machine and now I've got the "Clear board sensor" and I can't get rid of it no matter what I try!

I checked the archives and read about masking tape and cleaning the "window" over the sensor. Did all that, window's clear, masking tape is in place, and I've still got the error. Tried the white paper under the sensor and got a zero reading. No matter how close to the sensor I place the paper and no matter how much extra light I put on it. When I put a mirror under the sensor I get readings and with the mirror close to the normal sensing distance away it reads in the 150 range. Without the mirror... nothing! With white paper... virtually nothing.

Keep in mind that this machine performed flawlessly in two test runs on pine and it's pretty much clean as a whistle. I understand the sensor may have trouble with dark wood but this is kind of ridiculous. I've tried everything but maybe I should just glue some white paper to the board and hope for the best.

It appears from some of the other postings on this topic that several forum members are running just fine without the "window" over the sensor. Should I just attempt to remove the "window" from the sensor and hope that step corrects this issue? In the mirror it appears to be perfectly clean and again, there are only about 5 hours on this machine.

The process I'm attempting to run is for a production item and I need to get these ready today. Based on my experience with the machine I'm beginning to feel that I can't rely on it to work properly when I need it, and that's not going to make me happy, make me money, or keep this machine in my shop.

I know some of you are able to use your machine(s) very effectively and I'd like to join that group of happy, productive owners. But it sure is tough to believe in the machine when it's so fiddly and doesn't like to work on dark wood. Gee...I guess I should be happy it was dark red mahogany and not black walnut, huh?

As always, any help you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!

Larry

Can you post what the actual reading are with white paper? I am one of the users who removed the window on my one machine. It as been pretty much trouble free since I have done that. However, on my second machine it is also fine with the window in place. I guess I wont say I reccomend removing the window... but i was tired of getting the clear board sensor on every other carve... it worked for me.. I had intended it just to be a temporary measure until I could order a replacement sensor from LHR... but i've been running this way for about 6 months now.

Doug Fletcher

[Kenm810]

Larry,

Sorry to read your having problems with your machine.
Did you do a white paper check on the on our sensor to see what the reading are,
the reading should be around 140.
Also you might want to check the wire connection where they run into the circuit Board,
the same thing happened to me about 2 or 3 weeks after I first started using my machine.
It turn out to be a loose connection of the board sensor plug.
I figured it was never plugged in all the way at the factory or shuck loose in shipping.
I was able to push it back into its socket with a plastic soda through one of the vent slots
in the back of the machine, without having to disassemble the machine.

[LarryLesniak]

I managed to overcome the "Clear board sensor" error through a combination of things. First, as noted in my original post I was getting nothing or nearly nothing from the white paper test. Readings ranging from 0 to 9 were the norm although I could get higher readings if I put the mirror almost against the sensor. The sensor "window" looks clear but I didn't disassemble the sensor to check and/or clean it. What I did was to brush the sensor window with a soft brush then hit it with compressed air (again!). Then I glued white paper to my mahogany using removable spray adhesive. When I cranked the head down on this the sensor reading was between 35 and 39 but the machine went ahead with the processing of the pattern. Obviously I'll need to make a more permanent fix since the sensor reading is still so low but I'll do that when I have a bit more time.

For now, I was able to get a run of the parts I'm making and I've attached a couple of photos to show you what I'm doing. It's a single board 36 inches long with a repeating block with slots in it. These will be cut apart and further machined to make a small device we manufacture as shown in the second photo. I would've drilled the center hole in these using the machine but I can't seem to get the machine to drill a hole of a precise diameter exactly where I need it. Regardless, a carve time of 46 minutes for these beats the hours spent with a jig and handheld router doing them one at a time.

Thanks to all who replied to my post. Sorry for being so cranky about the machine but of all the tools I have in my shop (and I've got LOTS!) this is the only one that regularly gives me FITS!

Larry

[dbfletcher]

Sounds like one of the two emitter leds has failed. You'll probably need to order a new sensor.

Doug Fletcher

[liquidguitars]

Larry,

The pro's like to use carving sleds, a simple way to save wood and get repeatable results, one advantage of using a sled is the tail ends can be simple plywood free of any colorations of the dark wood. Center marks can be added in designer to the sled ends for flipping the stock ect.. "see R2 or "R3" in the image below.

The less experienced sled builders will add 1.5" 2" tails ends and load the sled/jig in the center of the CW Bad idea..

Make sure when you make your sled that you add 4" or 6" wide " no smaller" tails. load the sled off center in the CW over the plywood tail as the board sensor makes it way down the tail end it will encouter little to throw it off, you be able to measure the sled all day long with repeatable results.






http://liquidguitars.com/assets/images/TheJigsUP.jpg


Sounds like one of the two emitter leds has failed. You'll probably need to order a new sensor.

+100


LG

[Digitalwoodshop]

How about a shot of the back of the Sled? It's 2 sided right?

EXCELLENT Design and Artwork....

AL

[liquidguitars]

No, my sleds have solid bottoms. I did try the rail thing with a open bottom however I like to scribe the outline of the body on the plywood base first with the CW, then build the side rails over my marks makes for a quick but accurate sled design.

LG

[Digitalwoodshop]

Thanks LG.....

As for the low readings.... If you already have not.... I would cut the back off the board sensor and see if one of the LED's falls off.....

If they are both attached, I would pull the window and clean it and seal the back with masking tape like I did.... My Stock in Masking Tape is looking GOOD....:mrgreen:

AL

[myshop1044]

Hi Larry I just had the same problem and after all the testing I went ahead and ordered another one $15.00 + shipping. It only took a 15 min to replace it and she is running fine.
I do a lot of Corian and there is a lot of dust that has to be cleaned up.
The lens was very cloudy.

Myshop

[wally57]

I too had these same problems and I did what Al said. I removed the board sensor, cut off the back and cleaned the shield. Taped it back up and I installed a dust collector to my machine and no problems since! The key here is dust collector. Keeping the machine nice and clean after each carving makes a world of difference along with the addition of the rock chuck. Thanks to everyone with all the info here!
Wally57

[LarryLesniak]

Thanks to the helpful advice from this forum I was able to get one run of carvings completed. Today I went to run another board through the machine and the board sensor is completely dead. No reading whatsoever when attempting to get a reading out of it using white paper or a mirror and light. I've kept the machine clean and have VERY little use on it. Now I guess I've got to remove the sensor and clean or remove the window. Do I need to remove the whole truck to do this or can I just unscrew the sensor from the bottom of the truck? I also assume I'd better get on the phone to LHR and order up a new sensor (or two... failure seems common with this machine!) to be able to get it and keep it running.

Any further advice on how best to remove the sensor, clean it and/or remove the window, and seal it back up with masking tape would be appreciated.

Larry

[dbfletcher]

Thanks to the helpful advice from this forum I was able to get one run of carvings completed. Today I went to run another board through the machine and the board sensor is completely dead. No reading whatsoever when attempting to get a reading out of it using white paper or a mirror and light. I've kept the machine clean and have VERY little use on it. Now I guess I've got to remove the sensor and clean or remove the window. Do I need to remove the whole truck to do this or can I just unscrew the sensor from the bottom of the truck? I also assume I'd better get on the phone to LHR and order up a new sensor (or two... failure seems common with this machine!) to be able to get it and keep it running.

Any further advice on how best to remove the sensor, clean it and/or remove the window, and seal it back up with masking tape would be appreciated.

Larry

You can just unscrew it from the bottom of the z-truck. No need to remove the whole truck.

Doug Fletcher

[fwharris]

Larry,

The sensor can be removed with out taking the z truck off. Short screw driver of an off set with do the job. Make sure you have a board or rag layed across the sandpaper belts to catch anything that you might drop.

This is the link to the pdf for replacing the sensor:
http://www.carvewright.com/images/service/Service_instructions/CarveWright_service_replace_board_sensor.pdf

more documents:
http://www.carvewright.com/cms/customer_service

[PCW]

Just to add to what has been said. Crank the machine up as high as it will go for extra clearance.:mrgreen:

Yes I did that one time.:rolleyes:

[Digitalwoodshop]

And if you do crank it up all the way like I do, if it clicks and won't go down when your done, there is a hole in the jacking screw on the opposite side of the keyboard to prime the screw.

Yes, the 2 screws will let you remove the sensor. In my pictures I had removed the Truck to fix a bearing problem too.... If the cable gets pinched like my cable did, and you are getting the ZERO reading you can call up the Z Data and move the Z... You are looking to see if the Z numbers change.... If they change then it is most likely the Sensor but if the Z Numbers stay on 0000 with moving the Z... That can tell you that the cable wire is pinched on the board detector... The pinched wire shorts the data buss making other data not change like the Z.....

I also recommend buying a extra sensor cable to be able to quickly troubleshoot sensor problems by plugging the extra cable in on top and testing a sensor....

AL

[LarryLesniak]

Wow!!! You guys are the GREATEST!

I cranked the head up to about 1/2" from the top and removed the sensor. With a clear view of the window it didn't seem dirty or to have any trapped dust behind it but I was still getting really low readings on the sensor check (i.e. 9 to 15). I decided to carefully remove the window without cutting the whole sensor open. I did this by gently shaving away the plastic rim that holds the window in place. Once I had this cut down the window came out easily and a quick check with white paper gave me readings right around 150. Fantastic! I put the sensor back into the truck, loaded my board, and still got great readings so I started the carve process. NO board sensor errors! The machine is running right now and it seems to be going just fine. I'll probably still order a sensor just so I don't get stuck with a non-functioning machine AND I'll be sure to clean under the sensor thoroughly after every run. But I really have to hand it to the good folks on this forum because WITHOUT YOU I'D BE STUCK!

Thanks again!

Larry

[Digitalwoodshop]

Good JOB and telling me another way to take out the window.....

Masking tape on the back of the sensor and to the metal will seal out some of the future dust.

Good Job,

AL

[liquidguitars]

Nice work!

little off topic.

I was thinking removing the back cover of the Z pack was not a good idea overall but now i thinking Dam..


I was having some z depth errors for the last few days and after looking at a few things I decided to not head my own advise and removed the back cover to check it for dirt, guess what? tons of wood chips fell out.

I am wondering why the dust partical size seems a little big the cover must have been a little loose I guess.

LG

[fwharris]

Nice work!

little off topic.

I was thinking removing the back cover of the Z pack was not a good idea overall but now i thinking Dam..


I was having some z depth errors for the last few days and after looking at a few things I decided to not head my own advise and removed the back cover to check it for dirt, guess what? tons of wood chips fell out.

I am wondering why the dust partical size seems a little big the cover must have been a little loose I guess.

LG

LG,

Need a good dust collection system??? :mrgreen:

[CarverJerry]

LG, OMG, hard to believe that much came out of there. Tell ya what, one can't go wrong with ringneck blues dust collection unit. It sure helps a whole lot in keeping things clean but you still have to have a good vac unit to go along with it.

[Kenm810]

LG,

Good Grief, I've been avoiding looking for a Stash of Dust and Chips in there.
But guess I'll soon have to put it on my list of to-do's.
Thanks for the Info and Scary Photo :wink:


Jerry,

Quote: -- "OMG, hard to believe that much came out of there."
Those were nearly my exact words, the first time I changed my Grandsons Diaper

[JMD]

I tried the same thing. It worked good. I still have a new one coming, but I think I will keep useing the old one till it quits.



Wow!!! You guys are the GREATEST!

I cranked the head up to about 1/2" from the top and removed the sensor. With a clear view of the window it didn't seem dirty or to have any trapped dust behind it but I was still getting really low readings on the sensor check (i.e. 9 to 15). I decided to carefully remove the window without cutting the whole sensor open. I did this by gently shaving away the plastic rim that holds the window in place. Once I had this cut down the window came out easily and a quick check with white paper gave me readings right around 150. Fantastic! I put the sensor back into the truck, loaded my board, and still got great readings so I started the carve process. NO board sensor errors! The machine is running right now and it seems to be going just fine. I'll probably still order a sensor just so I don't get stuck with a non-functioning machine AND I'll be sure to clean under the sensor thoroughly after every run. But I really have to hand it to the good folks on this forum because WITHOUT YOU I'D BE STUCK!

Thanks again!

Larry

[earlyrider]

I think the dust gets in through the channel in the heat sink where the wires go through (along the length of the motor). The plastic cap only seals the back end of the assembly. A spot of silicone at the front end where the wires exit may end the dust entry. If you use an air nozzle to blow out the machine, it might push the dust into the unsealed channel.
Ron

[liquidguitars]

After cleaning the encoder I was able to run for about 7 hrs until that error returned. I guess the motor is bad and time for a new one. :eek:


I think the dust gets in through the channel in the heat sink where the wires go through (along the length of the motor).

Thanks!

LG

[myshop1044]

I just put a new one in and in only 7 carving the error reappeared, so I pulled it off and the lens was covered with dust from the inside, it appeared the lens was not seated right all the way. I was not able to clear the dust so I took a small pick and was able to pop the lens cover off, blew out the dust and it hasn't given any more trouble yet.

what we do to this the machine to keep carving going ,only heaven knows

Myshop1044

[liquidguitars]

I had about 13 months on the motor so I am cool with replacing it..:-D

LG