Interference From Plasma Cutter Freezing FireControl

i was actually thinking of doing the same thing so i was going to make a before and after video of when the torch stays stuck ON with cutter right next to control box because of the interference so i placed my cutter right next to the control box, loaded a simply file and hit record on my phone and started the cut. IT DIDN’T HANG UP!!.. lol

weird that it used to before. I cut a few small things and didn’t hang up once. so i guess no video for now.

I performed this mod and unfortunately it still has not resolved my issue. Langmuir sent me 3 additional chokes. So I have 6 chokes on it (including the 2 built in chokes) and I have consistently had issues with Arc Fault.

To be honest, I’ve yet to have any real success with this table. I’m wondering if I just got a bad unit. It’s been extremely frustrating.

Error I get:

In this instance I was using a free GCode on the Langmuir FireShare. But it doesn’t matter what I use, FireControl constantly locks up. I’ve tried every possible distance from the Main control box to the Plasma Torch, doesn’t matter where I place it, Arc Fault, Arc Fault, Arc Fault. I’ve wasted a ton of material at this point.

Here is the mod. Looks right?

Any additional insights @langmuir-daniel? Any way to determine if I just have a defective unit?

The arc voltage lost error is NOT the same result when interference is at play. Interference causes your laptop and/or FireControl to freeze up. If a Arc Voltage Lost error was shown to you, then FireControl isn’t frozen.

Is your THC working properly? When its cutting are you getting a healthy voltage displayed? The arc voltage lost error pops when the voltage is less than 10 volts during a cut. Theres only two ways that can happen. One is you have actually lost arc voltage (or didnt establish it in the first place if a misfire occured), or your THC is not sensing the voltage properly.

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Interesting, when I emailed support, they said it was interference that was causing the problem…

“We’re going to send you an additional two ferrite chokes to connect to your USB cable. While you are waiting for that, can you try to do some cutting with THC disabled in FireControl to see if it still freezes?”

Before it didn’t seem to make a difference. However with the mod in place now, when I turn THC off, it does appear to be cutting… Suggestions?

Of note, I see that I have 2 blinking yellow LEDs on the board now… ‘TX’ and ‘RX’. Does that help with troubleshooting?

Also, how do I check if I have healthy voltage? I don’t see it showing up on FireControl. I have ‘Nominal’ set to ‘Smart’ and the Live voltage box (red box) never has anything in it…

If you are using a Razorweld Cut 45 check your retaining cap. It shouldnt be too tight. When too tight it causes arc loss. Also make sure the connections are kept clean on the cap ring and the 2 pins in the torch

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Ok so sounds like you had interference and that is now fixed by this mod (since you can cut now with THC off).

If you aren’t getting arc voltage displayed in FireControl, it could be that something isn’t connected properly. Follow this troubleshooting guide to help determine where the issue could be: THC Arc Voltage Troubleshooting Guide

Can confirm, mod works for me too. It will still sometimes stop firing in the middle of a cut but the table will still move and it doesn’t freeze up FireControl

Yeah, what cutter? If it’s the RW, I had the same experience. Turned out to be an issue with the internal air reg even though everything pointed at EMI and arc faults. My air was set at 70 and dropped to 60 during cuts, causing arc loss errors as it shut off the arc. Solution was to crank it up to 82. It only dropped 2psi to 80 after that and cut like a champ.

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I’m going to do the mod. I’ll post a video.

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I have had only a couple freezes, but I’ll be doing the mod. I’d love to run a longer usb cable, has anyone added say, a 10 footer and had any issues?

As promised. Here’s the video. I hope it takes a little of the mystery and scariness out of the process. It really isn’t that hard or possible to screw up.

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My husband ran across a video on You Tube ! Just put up the other day! By ManCraftingTM
https://youtu.be/wn12W4AdaDM

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The video is helpful. Lol. I just following langmuirs instructions above and took needle nose pliers to the board and that inductor crunched out.

My soldering job was even worse. Still need to fire up the table and verify it worked…

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I was nervous doing it, so I mailed it to Langmuir, its it’s on bbn it’s way back now!

The video from Mancrafting is very helpful. For those who have thought about trying this without dismounting the board, I just did and it was no problem. The sequence was remove cover screws, unplug four connectors, pry inductor loose with long needlenose pliers and dab on solder. The hardest part was getting my 55 yo eyes to even see the danged L1 label. I attached some images in case someone wants to follow along. They are: (1) & (2) the four plugs you will disconnect for access in their correct orientation; (3) the view of the inside with the wires tucked out of the way; L1 is near middle on the right side ; (4) an image of the pliers that worked (third pair I tried) and (5) a closer view of L1 inductor removed. I suggest starting your bridge on the top, so that gravity works for you. E58FE4A5-E9A7-49FC-ABFE-FD9780D8A796 13E7FC41-8B39-428E-928D-ADF13CFC2AAC C1919348-474E-43DE-8B77-03E5A0989C74 B24D353C-5B6E-4384-B5B3-FD7F8C898672 26972912-A18F-42BD-BD3F-401E27B197CF

Well, I tried, but the images are all whacked. I don’t know what happened. Point is that it was a very easy job. Sorry for the messy post, folks.

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I was thinking the same thing, it could be done with the board in and just unplugging the harnesses. I took mine out just to get a better position to solder. I don’t think it made a difference for me.

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Only my second time soldering, but apparently my deep TIG incompetence prepared me well for a process that requires touching filler to heat source. At least for a rightie, access is really pretty clear.

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I did this over the weekend and it seemed to work put have not run the torch much waiting for some new tips.

Did the process help your issues?

So far, it jogged great so I didn’t lose continuity or anything like that. I have a really noisy cutter and plan to test with it right under the table tonight or tomorrow night.

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