Help ! sander oscillator trouble

[curly]

I've bought in a new sander for Curly timbers . A SCM 900 wide belt sander , a sandya 1k to be specific .
I put it through it's paces at the sellers factory , all good . Some funny business with switches but all working , some minor damage to the plattern where a bit of timber must have shattered . All in all a nice machine in good order .
Until I got it back to my workshop . This morning I finally got the fresh belts in so I got air up to it , pulled some quick flexi duct just to try it out and fired it up .
The belt travelled across to one side hit the sensor and the machine shuts down . The little pneumatic ram that actuates the oscillating mechanism is not firing .
I called JC Walsh and they say not enough air pressure as I was running it on my nail gun compressor . So I pulled my finger out , went into town and got some fittings to plug in the big 3 phase McMillan . Now I definitely ! have enough air pressure , and constant .
Still the ram is not firing .
I've opened the front of the machine where the whole pneumatic and electric business goes on and I'm certain to say that I'm not qualified to f#%@ around in there .
So my question to you good folks is what avenue would be best to get it going ? JC Walsh would be my first port of call ( I'm in Daylesford , Vic ) but they say at least 3 weeks till they can see me .
Mobile pneumatic / electrical engineer . Now that'll cost the big ones .
Anyone happen to be good with that sort of work and want some really flash timber ?
Thanks .
Pete

[demonx]

Call Des Elliot's, ask for Danny and see if he can do an on site repair. That's if you can't drop it off to him.

That would be the first place that comes to mind. Feel free to say I sent you that way. He knows me and has been to my place on multiple occasions, usually to help deliver a new machine!

As a back up plan, you could try Saw & Tool in wendouree, but I don't know if they'd do an onsite repair. I'd try Danny first.

[Trevor Gore]

So my question to you good folks is what avenue would be best to get it going ?

At risk of being completely wrong, here's some deductive reasoning:

1) It worked at the seller's factory
2) You changed the belts
3) The oscillating mechanism is pneumatic
4) It doesn't oscillate now

Having shipped a lot of gear around in my time, generally it doesn't "break" in transit, but frequently fails due to set up issues on arrival. That's generally good news, because it generally doesn't take much to get it going. The oscillator mechanism is pneumatic, therefore no fancy servo stuff (which would need hydraulics), so it probably works on sensor switches. I'm guessing the belt travels to one side, occludes a photocell (or similar), throws a relay, switches the pneumatics and the belt travels back until it fires a similar photocell/proximity sensor on the opposite side.

As this was likely the first time you changed the belts I'm guessing at something occluding the photo cell when it shouldn't (dust, grease, belt too wide, etc. etc.) or you managed to misalign the photo cell/proximity sensor, or maybe accidentally disconnected it.

So you could try looking for a problem there. I would guess that the oscillator sensors are located not far from the limit sensors that shut the machine down.

Other than that, could be a million other things, but worth checking the simple ones first. Work safe. If there's nothing obvious, call in the experts (and hope they recognise nice wood when they see it!).

[curly]

Thanks for the prompts fellas.
Danny from Des Elliots doesn't travel it seems Alan .
I reckon your reasoning is really sound Trevor . Thinking about it , I'd be fairly certain of how the damage happened . I gave the machine a really good blow out with the air duster to get it freshened up , that would have sent shit everywhere . My reasoning went that if it can deal with me feeding it Gidgee ( yet to be seen ) then it could deal with a blast of air . Thinking about it those little air guns could easily misalign a sensor or loosen an electrical connection . Now I just need to find the problem ....
JC Walsh are photocopying and posting the entire service manual to me at no charge .
Gabbots quoted me $117 + gst an hour , with a two hour call out charge and a two hour minimum ! I know who I'll be dealing with in the future . Some serious pleading will be dealt on Bernie from Walsh's if I cant find the problem myself .
As an aside with that talk of air guns , I have discovered that it's really pleasant to stick them in your work boots and give a little blast when it's hot in the workshop . I also discovered it's important to keep your earmuffs on while using the air duster to clean your self off at the end of the day . Talk of misaligned sensors and loosened electrical connections .
Pete

[ZOOTMAN]

Sure sounds like either the sensor is misaligned or covered with dust. The sensor alignment can be adjusted so that the head will return before it triggers the shutoff switch.

[ZOOTMAN]

Sure sounds like either the sensor is misaligned or covered with dust. The sensor alignment can be adjusted so that the head will return before it triggers the shutoff switch.

[Mark Fogleman]

Having shipped a lot of gear around in my time, generally it doesn't "break" in transit, but frequently fails due to set up issues on arrival.

Must be different in AUS. Here the freight shippers have bumper car contests with the front end loaders and pallet jacks.

[demonx]

Danny from Des Elliots doesn't travel it seems Alan .

Pete

He must pick and choose, or it could be that Daylesford is too far away from his business, as he's been here to setup stuff for me before. I know of one of his other regulars (local though) that he has. I know he does repairs for Sims, which have some big machines. Maybe it's not his standard practice but he might go the extra mile for regular customers? Don't know.

Did you try saw & tool. They replaced a fried circuit board in my carbatec drum sander under warranty. I did have to take it to them, I'm not sure if they do call outs, but they're a LOT bigger business than Elliot's.

[Kamusur]

Pete, may i ask what sort of mechanism is the tracking adjustment? Simple clockwise tighten anti clockwise loosen bolt as the platten oscillates and what approximate length/range of movement is available for the tracking on this machine?


Steve

[curly]

I haven't really got into the tracking adjustment yet Steve . I expect the fine adjustment is governed by a double nut on the little pneumatic ram that tilts the top roller back and forth . At this stage it's just not firing .
Unfortunately I won't get much time to get in amongst the sander for the next few weeks . Minor issue of ongoing orders to fill , two young kids to look after and a house to build !
I've got the service manual coming from JC Walsh this week , hopefully the troubleshooting guide will have some prompts .
All the best
Pete

[kiwigeo]

"Let me at it......I'll fix it!!!!!"

stock-footage-workman-wearing-hard-hat-and-holding-large-sledgehammer-ready-to-work-and-posing-for-camera.jpg (10.28 KiB) Viewed 12497 times

[curly]

Makes me think of the old saying ' Sometimes I use my head and sometimes I get a bigger hammer "
One of my favourites , think I lifted it from a Guy Clarke song .
Pete