Chester Conquest (X2) mill - disaster zone!

[raynerd]

Hi guys
Not been doing a great deal to shout about lately due to the demands of two children - considerably more than just the one! However, I do pop down and have a tinker but never with enough time to concentrate.
Anyway, summer holiday and a few weeks off coming up so I went to the workshop to tidy up. You may remember that I had a trouble with collet chuck getting properly stuck in the spindle a few months ago which annoyed me greatly. Anyway, cleaned off some swarf I`d left on it and gave it an oil, turned the speed controller to knock it on and the orange trip light comes on immediately!  I can`t believe it. The motor does a fraction of a turn and then just trips.

I`ve of course googled and people say the controller board is a bad board and should be replaced but that is £120+ (and I`m not sure which I`d need anyway) That is money I just don`t have. I`ve also ready that the motor brushes can be the cause. Now please excuse my ignorance - I know most of you chaps are electric motor experts and I know loosely how a motor works but what exactly am I looking for on the motor?

Any help appreciated. I finish work in a week and was actually looking forward to some full days down there which I haven`t had for over a year! I really need to get it running.

A very fed up and deflated - Chris   

[vtsteam]

Very sorry to hear that Raynerd, but I'm very confident the guys here will help you get it running again. Will be following. 

 

[BarryG41]

Chris,
I had as similar problem, bought a  new board installed it and no progress.   Eventually  removed the speed control rheostat.  Do not disassemble the unit. Sprayed the inside with contact spray from an electronics shop.  Fix has lasted 2 years and still going strong.

 Barry

[John Rudd]

Chris,

If the board is bad, you can substitute the motor for a 100 watt lamp bulb...the speed pot should dim the bulb the same way as it changes the motor speed....

I have spare boards in good working order if they are the same as yours? Got a photo?

John

[awemawson]

Bad luck Chris - I'm sure it's fixable.

[matnewsholme]

Chris

Brushes are at top end of motor. Look for a pair of plastic screw caps 180 degrees apart on the outer diameter of motor. Unscrewing these will reveal the carbon brushes that push onto the motor commutator with springs. If they've worn down to nothing they won't work or motor could be shorted out by the carbon dust. A blow out with an airline could sort it. Worth giving top of motor a tap when power applied to check brushes are seated correctly too.

Matt

[ParCan]

I Popped a Speed Control board on my Amedeal AMA 16.
Repair was a few ££ for new Triac's. The big black square doofahs attached to the heat sinks.
Make sure you get the correct ones (There could be 2 or even 3 types) and put them in the correct way around.
I'd also advise clipping something to the Legs so the Soldering iron don't tost em. (Thermal Shunt)
You will need some CPU heatsink compound as well (any computer shop or Maplin)

The Job is not hard to do and may or may not work.
Test the board with a light bulb first ( as already suggested)
It should dim smoothly, no flickering.

[raynerd]

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies. I'm just on a short break and will get right back onto this early next week. I'll post some pictures up as well. I broke the controller switch mounting plate very early on when I purchased the machine so I'll fix that while I'm doing this. Hopefully with all this advice I can get it running again!