what type of plasma cutter are you using?
Everlast 62I, and just put a new machine torch, and new ground wire/clamp.
strange…I have run a 62i…with machine torch…on a Pro table for 2 years and never had an issue like this.
you say you are blowing out circuit boards when they stop activating the torch to fire right?
where are you getting voltage readings from for the VIM box?
you are clamping to material when cutting right?
now a really strange question…your main power supply to the shop…or garage where you work…can you describe it…
I ask about your power supply as I do not thonk the plasma is the issue…not do I think the table is the issue…
and with all the help people have provided here…I don’t think it is the mixture of the 2…I wonder if you are having power supply to your shop issues…just a thought…
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I’m thinking this is a power supply issue, as well. Either the supply to the shop or the power being put out by the power supply in the control box.
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Where did you get the transistor. I found some but minimum order quantity is 3000
To be honest, I didn’t… this was right after the THC upgrade kit became available. I had been working with the support folks to troubleshoot some odd issues. Langmuir sent me a replacement board. As mentioned in my post, I had some really odd stuff going on. The system worked just fine without the THC but not with the THC kit installed. I was never able to resolve the huge spikes coming from the plasma cutter. That’s why I switched to the Hypertherm 45XP. Interesting troubleshooting sessions for sure. I should still throw a scope on the trigger circuit of the old plasma cutter just to measure the spike. Had to be pretty big to shut down my Fluke meter… I was going to go down the road of adding some ferrite cores to the torch trigger line to clamp the spikes but didn’t want to take a chance on killing another board.
As to where to get small orders of transistors, I’m not sure. Been a while since I’ve bought components.
Here’s a link to a couple sites that may be of help for sourcing components.
Here’s the search parameters I used to find these…
“hobbyist electronic component sources”
Also keep in mind, my relay was latched on all the time after the first firing when the transistor punched through.
Is yours doing the same thing or is it just not firing at all?
Wow, I recently purchased my Pro and have not been able to get it run yet. I can do dry runs but I cant get the torch to fire either through a program or the enabled test button. I looked through the troubleshoot schematic and in it stated it might be my PrimeWeld Cut 60. Worked with Gene at PrimeWeld and did some diagnostics and then he suggested I connect the pos and negative on the torch on/off cable barrel connector and the torch took right off. That told me it is not the plasma cutter.
The difference with mine is that I can hear the relay click when I try to activate through FireControl but nothing happens no fire no air. I have the THC also and haven’t even started working on that.
I have a message into Langmuir and waiting for them to get back to me. Just before this, I had a problem with some corrupt sofware but they took care of that very fast. Someday I might be able to make a part…
Could be the relay in the box bad. Can you use a meter to check the control box to see if the relay is closing the circuit.
I don’t recommend tested stuff unless you are confident in what you are doing. Not saying you don’t just I don’t want the blame if something goes bad.
Where do you have the torch on/off cable barrel connector plugged in? It may sound silly, but a surprising number of people plug it into the VIM box and then wonder why their torch won’t fire.
It should be plugged into the Electronics enclosure port labeled “torch on/off”.
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It is plugged into the Torch on/off terminal
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The relay is closing when the torch is called for, I an hear it. Thats why in the forum when it was mentioned that the board the relay is plugged into has been a problem in the past, it made sense to me that it could likely be the same for me.
I guess I will find out when I hear back from Langmuir.
Thanks for your suggestion.
It definitely is a problem . Just because it clicks doesn’t mean it isn’t bad. But I take it that is your conclusion as well. If I remember correctly the relay could be changed but now I believe 5he whole board must be.
you should be able to see continuity across that relay when I’t activated. If you have an ohm meter just connect to the back of the connector inside the box and you should have no continuity. Once you test fire the torch you should have 0 ohms or continuity. I’m thinking it’s a bad solder joint on the connector or the board.
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