I was recently given the Cross Fire (2x2) from a friend who no longer uses it and apparently has not used it in a few years. It appears to be a Gen 1 machine so I downloaded Mach 3. My plasma is a Razor weld 45 and I’ve already used the plasma cutter separate from the table so I’m certain the razor 45 is working. I’ve shorted out the fire control cable with a paperclip, uninstalled Mach 3 and reloaded it. I see now people are speaking of a relay that could become loose. Not certain as to the exact location of this relay. Where can I get a new fire control cable or any other ideas for troubleshooting? I was also told I needed to send the entire control box in to be checked out, anyone heard of that before?
Welcome to The Forum.
I would start by going through the entire crossfire assembly guide for your new machine even though it is put together.
Then you’ll be able to familiarize yourself with the machine and make sure there wasn’t any issues during the original assembly.
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/crossfire/assembly
Not a bad idea to look through it but who told you that?
I did go through a standard crossfire electronic enclosure and take pictures of every possible thing and posted on the site here but I cannot locate that topic
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Here’s a link to the pictures of the electronics in the enclosure
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Here is a document that gives some information:
Torch Stays On.pdf (456.1 KB)
Here is the relay, I believe, but this is a photo from the CrossFire Pro table, not the CrossFire:
You might check the power supply:
Adjusting power supply voltage.pdf (2.4 MB)
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In the original Mach 3 system the relay was not plugged in, it was soldered inline with the Torch Control signal from the Mach 3 control board and the contact were wired directly (maybe with some butt connectors) to the torch on/off connector on the panel.
If you follow @TinWhisperer 's link, the photo ending with ‘550’ shows the relay enclosed in black heatshrink.
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Does the table respond within mach3 when you click on the arrows up, down, left, right? if not then you’ll need to figure that out first.
if you only installed mach3 and not the 2 other profile files, then that might be the issue. you won’t be able to do anything in mach3, to including firing the torch without any communication established between the board and computer. that’s what the 2 profile files do.
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Here is my board, Mach 3 is running the program but no movement on the table or torch fire. I’ve checked everything from the plasma to the table. I’m starting to think its the fire control cable being with a break. Where can I get a replacement cable? Any ideas?
Fellows I do very much appricate everyones help!
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the control cable is a standard usb a to usb b cable, the same as any printer. They are widely available
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is this a program you made or one you downloaded?
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If I was in this situation I would just bite the bullet and buy the new electronic enclosure for this unit so you can run fire control.
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Did you check the output from the power supply. They do go bad.
Tin’s suggestion about upgrading to FireControl might be a good option. Contact Langmuir.
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I disagree. Unless you’re going to install THC or, at least, IHS, then staying with the Mach3 control board it vastly superior in terms of trouble free, predictable results.
A new Mach3 board would only cost $18 (if you really need one, which I doubt) and you can get it in a day.
https://www.amazon.com/Interface-Controller-Breakout-Engraving-Stepper/dp/B0DSVV8RMZ
Step 1: When you plug the USB cable into your computer (with the enclosure open), do you get a red (or sometimes yellow) light on your Mach3 control board? That will tell you if you’re connected and getting power to the board.
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as i stated before, did you download and install the other files from the download section for mach3? you 'll need those 2 files in order to control this table.
show a pic of the mach3 screen.
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The files need to go into the Mach 3 installation folder, Mach 3 needs to be restarted, either referencing no config file (so it prompts for one) or the CrossFire config file you’ve downloaded.
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One other point that occurred to me:
Mach 3 will run on ANY Version of windows, from Win7 to present without breaking, reinstalling, or screwing up your project.
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Well after a long discussion and trouble shooting session with tech support today, I learned my Mach 3 control board is fried. So for just over $200 I can get a entire new control box with the latest Fire control and all my troubles are fixed. So thanks everyone for helping out.
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Oh, let’s hope so! There are lots of moving pieces but we shall keep our fingers crossed. Probably not what you were hoping to hear from the tech department.
Let us know how things progress.
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or for around $20, you can get another mach3 board from amazon and be back up and running.
Yes, but that was already mentioned. I doubt the board is ‘fried’. More like LS doesn’t want to provide support any more.
Which is weird, in one sense. If you take the percentage of ‘failed’ Mach 3 systems vs failed FireControl systems, there is no contest which requires more support.