Looks like I will be down for a few days

[jmoriearty]

My CW stopped in the middle of a carve with a z-axis stall error. The machine has about 30 hours on it. I went through checking to make sure no bearings or rollers were stuck, all were free. So, I tried another carve, hoping that it might be a software error. No such luck, my cut motor didn't spin up, which of course prevented my bit from going below surface level, creating, of course, a z-axis stall. So, I pulled the base plate off and checked all of the connections thinking maybe one was loose from shipping or got jostled loose. No such luck.

When I test my cut motor, the only sound is a barely audible electrical whine from the area of the cut motor. The motor isn't frozen, I can turn it by hand. My personal guess is the power supply not giving enough voltage to start up the cut motor.....or the motor is bad. One thing I noticed from the first day of having the machine is an inconsistency in the speed of the motor, it would often rev up and slow down. Anyone else have any thoughts that I may have over looked before I start tossing parts at it?

[Digitalwoodshop]

Could be the brushes are binding inside the metal sleeve and just not reaching the commutator.....

I would disassemble the cut motor and clean it... Do you have dust collection? At the brushes the slots in the cut motor case suck air into and through the cut motor. Could be something you cut like Acrylic.

Warranty?

AL

[fwharris]

It could also be the X termination board...

[jmoriearty]

Could be the brushes are binding inside the metal sleeve and just not reaching the commutator.....

I would disassemble the cut motor and clean it... Do you have dust collection? At the brushes the slots in the cut motor case suck air into and through the cut motor. Could be something you cut like Acrylic.

Warranty?

AL

So far all I have used on the machine is wood. Yes, it is still under warranty for another 170 hours. I was just hoping for a simple solution....I hear they exist for some people....lol.

I will give the motor a shot because I do not have dust collection on the machine yet. Honestly, the reason I was leaning toward power supply is the inconsistency in cut motor speed since the first carving. With any of the machines I am familiar with, that would be a warning sign of a power supply trying to go out.....but I don't know my baby yet. Only two weeks and 30 hours of run time, it will be a while before I know her mannerisms.

[jmoriearty]

Well, I finished cleaning out the motor, there wasn't much in it but a little dust, so no dice. I sent in a tech support request and got an email that he will be on vacation till the 26th. I'll give them a call tomorrow. I'm hoping that fwharris is right and it's the x termination board....quick easy fix! I'm definitely going to have to spend a few hundred bucks on some spare parts to keep around so I can avoid prolonged down time.

[jmoriearty]

Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it! It's good to have people around that intimately know their machine!

[Deolman]

Here is what I believe is a simple diagram of the cut motor.

59919

Unplug the CarveWright from the wall and AC power

Disconnect the wires coming from the controller to the cut motor so it is completely disconnected.

Measure across the wires TO THE MOTOR with an ohmmeter.

A good motor will measure about 3 ohms +/- a couple of tenths of an ohm.

I used a #1 Phillips screwdriver in the end of the armature to turn it while measuring. As I turned the shaft, it did vary a couple of tenths of an ohm.

If you measure a higher resistance, there is most likely something wrong with the motor.

Lacking an ohmmeter, an electrical motor shop would most likely test it for nothing.

Good luck.

[lynnfrwd]

Techs will be there tomorrow.


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[jmoriearty]

Techs will be there tomorrow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! I'll give them a call first thing in the morning.

[jmoriearty]

Before I start venting, I do want to say that the Carvewright staff was awesome on the phone support. Joseph walked me through troubleshooting the machine but we couldn't come up with a quick fix. He asked me to send in the cut motor so that it could be tested in house.

That being said, there is nothing worse than spending close to 3k on a machine and have it break down in less than two weeks, then pay to ship a part in for testing, and have your machine down the entire time. It's not so much frustration with the company, it's frustration with the situation. Honestly, when you spend that kind of money on a machine, you just hope that it stays up and running for at least a month and that when it breaks, you can have it back up and running without paying to ship parts back and forth hoping that it fixes the problem and the whole time the machine isn't able to make money to pay for itself.

Ok, venting over. I know it's no one's fault, crap happens. I'm just hoping that I'm not doing this every couple of weeks for the next year or two. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

[ladjr]

That is why many of us have more than one machine and stock parts.


Leo
Life is to short carve something today

[jmoriearty]

That is why many of us have more than one machine and stock parts.


Leo
Life is to short carve something today

Believe me Ladjr, I will definitely be tossing some cash at a spare parts supply. I just didn't know what to keep at the shop after getting the machine and thought I would have a while before I had to worry about it....plus tossed out cash for the warranty....lol. That won't last long though with the number of hours I'm putting on the machine. When I do my quarterly orders at the end of March, I will make sure to get a good supply! :-)