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Bridgeport Interact Failure

scott_walker

Plastic
Joined
Aug 2, 2016
Experienced a major fault with the TNC145 Interact. Powered the machine up after a few weeks sitting idle, for some reason when i pushed the power on button the z axis started moving downwards until it hit the limit. I tried to reset the system but couldn't get it to run through the initial axis setup. Opened the control panel and smoke met me. The Z15 control board to the far right had blew up. Has anyone had this issue? I am putting it down to damp winter conditions in my workshop. Plans for a new insulated and heated workshop are now a must. Has anyone came across a cheap way of heating their workshops by PV panels or ground source heat pumps etc?
 
Sorry for late reply, the z axis started moving as soon as I hit the main breaker to power up the machine before I pressed cycle start to go through the axis home routine. I have the board out of the machine and thought it was a 250mA fuse so replaced it and still the same issue. The smoke seems to be coming from a Black
Box on the board with VAC on it. There is a few boards on eBay at the moment but I am scared if I change the board the same issue will happen and will scrap another board
 
These boards are pretty reliable. I don't think I have replaced one in 27 years.

I don't think it is anything but the board however. if the control was commanding a Z down, it would stop at the limit. There is no failure of the motor that would cause it to run.

I would be confident enough to swap the x board to the z wiring and see what happens.

IF the ebay boards are not insane, it would be worth buying one.

keep an eye out for spares, its an old machine.
 
there is a cheap one on ebay that is busted, but if it is one of those zkb409/502 there are several and it might be worth swapping them out. cheap enough

there are repair companies around, but they are usually not cheap.

I don't think it was the damp, just age that killed it. if you are well below freezing you might be below operating specs tho
 
....I am putting it down to damp winter conditions in my workshop. Plans for a new insulated and heated workshop are now a must. Has anyone came across a cheap way of heating their workshops by PV panels or ground source heat pumps etc?

Air to air heat pumps are popular around here for auxiliary heat. (Mitsubishi mini-splits the most popular.) Not very efficient below 20 deg F, unfortunately, which we have a lot of, but could work well for you in the UK.

Used PV's can be pretty reliable, if you want to go that route. There are Sunpower 215 Watt panels on US Ebay now for $100 a pop. I was lucky and scored 8kW of used panels for $.15 a watt, with racking. Deals are out there....

Is wood heat an option for you?
 
From looking at the board it seems to be the zkb409/502 that has blown. It would be worth buying the broken board and swapping out that part. If I get a new board is it only a matter of wiring it up the same as the original and it is good to go or will there be parameters to change when the machine is powered up? PV panels would be a super job but its jut trying to keep the heat in. I am currently planning to build a loft in my workshop where my machines are located and insulating it so if i had some sort of heat source i could put a ring of radiators around it to keep the machines snug.
 
I have not even looked at these before, as they have yet to fail on me, and I have a spare, but it appears that part is a little transformer, and it feeds the output device.

I have even money on that device just giving up the ghost, and the output device failing and taking that out.

The cheap one on ebay is in the UK, so less than 100 pounds its yours, swap that part out, and try it, if it blows again, then you have 3 more and I would swap the output device[I would call it a IGBT but I am not certain it is one]
 
Success..... Bought the faulty board off Ebay and it arrived yesterday. i changed the complete lower board with the VAC chips on it and re installed the board and it is working perfect. :) An easy fix in the end and came to a total of £50 so really pleased.

Onto the next step now of trying to connect the control to the PC. I understand that the 145 control can only work with 1000 lines of code but is there any way around this an what is the best way to connect a PC to these controllers. I am using fusion 360 and have a post for it off the autodesk forum.
 
Success..... Bought the faulty board off Ebay and it arrived yesterday. i changed the complete lower board with the VAC chips on it and re installed the board and it is working perfect. :) An easy fix in the end and came to a total of £50 so really pleased.

Onto the next step now of trying to connect the control to the PC. I understand that the 145 control can only work with 1000 lines of code but is there any way around this an what is the best way to connect a PC to these controllers. I am using fusion 360 and have a post for it off the autodesk forum.

Good deal

You may want to consider sending the old one out for repair so you have a spare on the shelf, now you have time to research the lowest cost option

I edited a custom post for the 151[full 3 axis] that makes compact enough code for many basic parts.

Watch the stock posts, there is an M code that sends the Z to a hard limit, the first time in 27 years that has happened.

download tncremont from heidenhain, using the tnc server app within it works well with the older controls

I 'think' the control will drip feed, bu t have never done it.

I built a jumper adapter to make the pc serial port work with the TNC, but I really don't know at this point if it is needed with newer computers or not
 
I have my eye on another board so i am going to buy it if i can and keep it as a spare.

I have tnc remo downloaded but im not sure on how to connect with the machine. I had tried a usb to serial port converter on my PC but wasnt having any luck. My knowledge on this side of things is very limited so any help would be great.
 
I have my eye on another board so i am going to buy it if i can and keep it as a spare.

I have tnc remo downloaded but im not sure on how to connect with the machine. I had tried a usb to serial port converter on my PC but wasnt having any luck. My knowledge on this side of things is very limited so any help would be great.

I have been using the same old windows xp laptop that still has a serial port so I cannot be of much help. Perhaps Heidenhain can be of help. They no longer support the 145, but they probably support controls that have a serial port so the knowledge is still there
 
I didn't think that you can drip feed a TNC145. I thought the first drip feedable Heidenhain control was the TNC151B ?
 
I didn't think that you can drip feed a TNC145. I thought the first drip feedable Heidenhain control was the TNC151B ?

could be....


IF you are doing 2 1/2 axis work, it is not hard to keep within the thousand lines. A pretty complex 2 axis shape can be programmed, but just don't make multiple passes, do it at the machine with datum shifts and label calls. Don't try to do fancy ramps in.
 
TNC server works well on my 151A, but only after 8 parameter changes, gotten from Heidenhain when they still supported it. You'll also need an RS232 null modem cable and an old computer. If you're serious about it, pm me and I can email you what I have.
 
Publish those eight parameters in this thread so that in the future people stand a chance of finding the info via a Google search.
 
TNC server works well on my 151A, but only after 8 parameter changes, gotten from Heidenhain when they still supported it. You'll also need an RS232 null modem cable and an old computer. If you're serious about it, pm me and I can email you what I have.

Have sent you a PM. Cheers
 
Publish those eight parameters in this thread so that in the future people stand a chance of finding the info via a Google search.

OK! It actuallly turned out to be 6, but here goes.

Parameter changes to make TNC server work with Heidenhain control TNC151A:
P218, 17736; P219, 16712; P220, 279; P221, 5382; P223, 1; P224, 4. All of these parameters were originally set to 0 from the factory.

After TNC server is installed, file name extensions for part files are .H for Heidenhain conversational and .I (that's capital aye, not ell) for G code. All file commands (down and upload) are at the control now, and one has access there to all files in the directory of programs that TNC server (at the PC) is opened to.

Hope this is helpful...
 
Thanks Neil for the parameters, received your email earlier, going to check my ones later on to see what mine are set to.

I have found a company online that sell heidenhain connection cables and they have a cable made up to suit TNC 155 controllers. Does anyone know will this cable suit the 145?

Cheers
 
There is an interfaces manual downloadable on the German Heidenhain site that details cable requirements for all the early TNC controllers. If you can't find it PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy.
 
There is an interfaces manual downloadable on the German Heidenhain site that details cable requirements for all the early TNC controllers. If you can't find it PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy.

I have checked through the heidenhain site and going by there control manual the 145 and 155 controllers use the same wiring diagrams so they must be the same.

I powered up my machine last night and checked the parameters that Neil has posted. A TNC 145 controller only has 79 parameters so the above parameters must be to set up the 151 for drip feeding.

On the US ebay you can buy a cable that is USB to 25 pin made up specifically to suit the 145 controller. I know that they require 'real' RS232 but has anyone ever tried using these cables with any success? It has some special FTDI chip that supposedly works.

Cheers
 








 
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