Sieg KX1 & Mach3 won't come out of emergency reset

[Jess]

The estop and the spindle power are of course on separate cables but they run together from the head into guts of the machine. I could be wrong but I don't think either cable is shielded. But surely that would be a major design flaw... and they must have made thousands of these machines?!

That they're next to each other is suspicious. Shielded wires should be fairly obvious - they'd look like little coax cables, and there'd be a screen connected to the ground point.

Regarding it being a design flaw, it's likely an issue of margins and tolerances. Of course, the design should take account of that! There doesn't seem to be a slew of complaints, so, presumably, other Seig KX1s don't have this problem. (Cold comfort I know when your machine is the one that's faulty.)

Now, whilst I love to see the forum fix this, it does strike me that Arc should be the ones fixing this at their expense (or replacing it or refunding your money). Your contract is for a working mill, so they're legally obligated to supply said working mill or otherwise 'make you whole'.

The next thing I'd do is try to come up with a scenario that reliably causes the problem. I know the last thing you want to see right now is probably for your machine to go into e-stop, but this will at least allow you to tell if you've fixed it - or at least if you're seeing an improvement. (Alternatively, if you are putting the problem onto Arc, then you can show them that it doesn't work and easily test if they've fixed it.)

I'd avoid making major changes to the wiring right now, at least if you're hoping Arc might provide some remedy. Whilst JAZZCNC's wiring suggestions - star ground, separating cables etc., - are perfectly good, once you start cutting cable ties and rewiring things you're modifying the machine.

[lateAtNight]

t Arc should be the ones fixing this at their expense (or replacing it or refunding your money). Your contract is for a working mill, so they're legally obligated to supply said working mill or otherwise 'make you whole'.

I have considered asking Arc to make it right. Like I say I've had the mill for a while but only really got down to putting it to use over the last few weeks. I was concerned that they'd use that somehow against me. That and they aren't the ones providing the support. I am covered under UK law for a year right? Worth considering I suppose... I'm planning to do a few parts tomorrow and we'll see how that goes.

I'll check for shielding on the wiring as well.

[Jess]

So, this is my understanding of the law as a layperson; I'm not a lawyer. When I've had trouble, mentioning 'The Sale of Goods Act' and 'Trading Standards' has usually helped, albeit we were talking about significantly less money. I'm also talking strictly as a consumer; if you bought it as a business - or with the appearance that you were a business - different rules apply.

Obviously, if do have trouble with Arc then you may want to speak to someone like Citizen's Advice etc.,

I have considered asking Arc to make it right. Like I say I've had the mill for a while but only really got down to putting it to use over the last few weeks. I was concerned that they'd use that somehow against me.

Certainly, it's easier when it's a recent purchase. There's a period of time where the seller is responsible for showing that the buyer broke it; and after that the onus moves to the buyer. However, given its just been sat on a bench, it seems fairly obvious that you didn't break it. Definitely get in contact ASAP to say that you're still having trouble.

That and they aren't the ones providing the support.

Your contract for a working mill is with Arc. They've just asked you to speak with their subcontractor for support. Even if the subcontractor messes up, liability - as far as you're concerned - remains with Arc. (Arc may be ab

I am covered under UK law for a year right? Worth considering I suppose...

UK law doesn't state a period here; just that to be of satisfactory quality, the goods must last for a reasonable amount of time. Reasonable depends on the goods; a reasonable life for a bio might be a few weeks whilst a washing machine might be 6 years. Seems a >£3000 CNC machine.

[cropwell]

These may be stupid questions but:- a. was the machine purchased new from Arc and b. has it always had this e-stop problem ?


Another stupid idea - Is your workshop power properly earthed ?

[Jess]

Another stupid idea - Is your workshop power properly earthed ?

Good questions; I vaguely remember an extension lead being mentioned?

Come to think of it - I seem to remember warnings about extension leads being a great way to produce lots of EMI with welding equipment. Obviously, an arc welder is a beast for producing EMI, but presumably a mill could also see an effect?

[m_c]

How about you back to basics.

Do you have a multimeter?
If so, work out what input on the controller is the E-stop. Then measure the voltage with the E-stop circuit complete (all buttons out and guards in place), and with the E-stop circuit broken (hit an e-stop button). Make a note of the values, then when the fault happens again, measure the voltage at the input. That will tell you if it's a switch/sensor/wiring fault, or a controller fault.

The fact Mach is still communicating with the board and not locking up, tells me it's not an interference problem on the USB side.

[lateAtNight]

Cropwell: Yup from Arc new. Bought in October but although I unboxed and played around, it basically went into storage not long after. I never actually set Mach to run a part until recently and thats when I found the problem and its done it at some point every day I've gone out to use it.

I don't think the power to shed is the problem. I can't discount it though.. wouldn't really know how to. There is a fairly large capacitor inside the mill, but that might be for the output of the transformer... not the input.

It locked up on me again today. Pretty much as soon as it went into the material, so I got to work trying to diagnose... Disconnected the estop circuit from the control board and tried various things on the estop wires with a multimeter. All seemed fine... continuity on guard switch, estop button, wires etc etc. So tried bridging the the estop pin on the board with +5v which to my surprise DIDN'T work... still refused to come out of estop. Which was interesting. Went away and had dinner and decided that as there was plenty of free inputs, I should just try moving the estop onto a different pin. The machine came out of estop straight away and I was able to do another small part. I don't want to get to presumptuous... I have been at this stage before. Again only time will tell but my instinct tells me this might be it... maybe a dodgy / intermittent opto isolator on the control board. Decided to end on a high while there was still plenty of daylight so I didn't do anything else. Guess I'll find out tomorrow if I'm onto a winner.

Oh, and I was wrong... there is shielding on the signal cables.