Roller problem

[cooter bec]

Here is what is going on. I tried to cut a design in a 2.25 in board. It cut about have way through and CW shut down because of a stuck front roller. I removed the board and I have ck the rollers and they are working fine. I performed a ck in the configuration menu and both front and back rollers are released and when I push on them compression come up on the on the menu. Since I donot want to waste another board so I have tried to measure a board just to see if the roller are wording correctly. The length is the problem. I put a board in the CW and when the rollers start rolling to measure it sounds as it there is a clucking noise as the rollers role. It sounds as if there is piece of something in the rollers.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. I have about 145 hours on the CW. I have a dc on the CW . usually there is very little dust in the CW.

Thanks

Bruce

[myshop1044]

Bruce attach your MPC, so we can see it.

Perry B.

[cnsranch]

Pretty thick board - if the front and back (face and back) surfaces aren't parallel, as the board runs through the machine a roller will continue to compress, causing an error. If it gets too tight, you'll blow an X gear (don't ask mo how I know) - that could be the clicking sound.....

[cooter bec]

How do I ck this.

[bergerud]

The clicking may indicate damaged x drive gears. Does the board move smoothly? You can do an x drive test. I think (I am at work) 0 - 8 on the keypad? It will run the x drive and you can listen for gear noise.

[Digitalwoodshop]

For a project like a narrow board you are better off making a Sled that has rails on both sides and make it 6 or 11 inches wide. Narrow boards cause the machine to crush down on a narrow area of the sand paper belt causing wear. This causes the belt to DRIFT to the keypad side and Roll Under and JAM the Sand Paper Belts. I TEAR a 1/2 inch section off the belt so a 1/4 inch at least area of metal is shown to keep an eye on the drift. This is assuming you have Sand Paper belts. I don't think rubber belts drift.

A wide board and you double stick tape the narrow board to it. You design the designer board to the sled width. You draw your rails on the designer board for reference.

So a inspection to the X Gears is in order....

Un Plug Machine.

Remove the right side of machine.

Remove the plastic gear box cover.

Inspect gears for broken teeth.

I would remove both sand paper assemblies and inspect the belts looking for a rolled under belt.

I have "A" model machines. I don't know if changes were made to the "B" and "C". But to quickly change the gear that normally snaps I cut away some of the machine frame at the bottom of the big gear in front to let me remove it to get access to the back gear. INSPECT and find all the missing teeth..... They can Jam a new gear.

Replacing the whole plate involves removing the X Motor and inserting it at the same time to mesh with the gears and if you drop the motor and RIP the wires... You are down again...:mad:

LHR now sells the gears as a set like the picture.

To address the Stuck Roller... When the rollers are compressed and you blow dust around it gets on the flat resting plate and when the roller is released it packs it down like Filo Dough in layers. Eventually the layers get so thick the micro switch won't wall into it's slot and gives a stuck roller error. See Picture to understand. Normally just blowing the dust out while holding the roller up with your hand will clear it but sometimes you need to remove the Keypad side and clean it... Caution removing the keypad side, the wires damage EASY.

And a picture of the Ripped off Belts.... I cut a lot of 6 inch wide stock and THAT causes the belts to drift and JAM.

Good Luck,

AL

[mtylerfl]

Hi Bruce,

We need the following info...

1) Upload your MPC (if it doesn't have any non-copyprotected patterns)

2) We can find out what size your layout board is in the software once we see your MPC - otherwise, please tell us what the dimensions of your layout board is in the software

3) What is the length of the board you are putting into the machine? (it must be long enough to stay under both rollers at all times)

4) If the board is very large (we already know it's a thick one), what does it weigh? There is a 20 lb. limit for the machine

5) Is your shop at least 50-degrees or higher? Cold temps will cause roller pressure and board feed problems


Please provide all of the above as soon as you are able. It will (hopefully) help avoid a multi-page guessing game of troubleshooting ideas like we've seen countless times before! Thanks.

This will help us determine what led to the problem (and how to avoid it in the future)...however, if you broke the x-gear(s)...well, you'll need to replace those, of course.

[cooter bec]

Attached is the jpeg of the what I was trying to carve. The file is to big to upload. Anyway, I will ck the x drive today.
The sled board is 28 " long by 11" wide a d 2.25" d. The actual board is irregular in shape so I made the sled. I think part of the problem is I used tape to make the CW think it was a solid piece of wood. I laid the board in the sled not securing it in anyway. It did move a little. Any hints on doing this would be greatly appreciated.

Bruce

[SteveNelson46]

When I use a sled I usually add an extra 1 inch on both ends of the project board and use screws from the back side. I put the screws where they will not interfere with the carving and make sure they don't come through the top surface. You can also put the screws in from the top. Just make sure the head of the screw is below the surface. Put a piece of masking tape over the screw if necessary.

[cooter bec]

Ok, just took the CW apart and it is the x drive gears. Will be ordering today. Thanks for all the help.

Bruce

[Digitalwoodshop]

Since the sled has sides, you can use 2 wood wedged in a few areas and held with masking tape. Some double stick tape on the bottom of the board too.... Some have had good luck with HOT Melt Glue. The wood wedges face each other and are tapped to get tight.

Nice pattern.

AL

[cooter bec]

Found that the problem was the x drive gears. I have a C machine with about 145 hours on it. I received the gears and now I am ready to install them. The old ones had some sort of grease on them. The new ones has no grease. What kind of grease do I use?

[Digitalwoodshop]

Any grease will work.

Take the extra time to remove the sand paper belt units and check them for a rolled under belt.

Check the teeth of the other gears for broken teeth too.

AL

[badbert]

What Al is trying to say, is that the broken gear is usually a symptom. You need to solve the problem. What caused the gears to break?