Delta DL40 electronic problem

Group,

Need help/advise. I am a high school shop teacher. We have a Delta DL40

The lathe and electronics all worked, as it should. After a short period of use the lathe shut down. I noticed the cord had gotten warm and the lathe would not restart. I replaced the cord with an appropriate gage wire, checked the F1 fuse it's good, F2 and F3 fuses soldered to the circuit board also look good. When the red on/off button is pulled to the ON position a relay on the circuit board clicks but no LED readout lights on the microprocessor control panel. I moved the microprocessor control panel to the alternative location with the same results. We have a second identical lathe and replaced the microprocessor control panel on the working lathe and the panel worked fine. Did I fry the electronics by having a to light gage wire? I looked for a thermal overload button on the motor but haven't found any. Besides the motor never got warm much less hot. Also, there was never that hot electrical smell. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.

Gay

Sorry to tell you this but you probally have fried the electronics. Some of these things are very touchy if the anp or voltage get out of wack, which it probally did as you said the light gague wire did get warm, indicating a high resistance which will drop the voltage.

Hello Gay,

I would suggest that you contact Delta with the same explaniation. They should be able to guide you to a fix. It is quite possible that the relay that clicks when the switch is pulled to the on position is faulty and may have been the problem in the first place rather than the old power cord. Apparently, it applies power to the system. If a contact has broken, the relay could activate but not connect power.

The manufacturer would be your best bet.

Fred Holder

I don't entirely agree with the answer below. It may be that the electronics are fried but I doubt that the use of a thin wire (even if it got hot) would be the cause.

All modern VFDs detect the under voltage condition and will (or at least should) shut themselves down when they detect the condition. They also detect shorted leads between themselves and the motor and shut down without harm -- or, at least, they should. The ones I use do.

So, if the wire was big-time under sized, the IR drop on the wire would give you a low voltage at the input to the VFD and it should shut down properly.

Question -- I can't remember if you can see the vfd display on that machine or not. If so, when you power down one which is working properly, it should run for a few seconds and then report under voltage as it goes to sleep.

Bill

triker3 wrote:

What Fred said. You're really in the remove/replace game with modern boards. Not worth the time and equipment required to repair them. Shake and sniff troubleshooting is a thing of the past.

From experience in IA, I suggest BX armor for future floor or wall wiring. Or drops, but no locking plugs if you use 'em..

Hi Gay, Your post was a very welcome rarity for many of us here. First that your high school has a course in shop. (I hope you have a decent shop to teach in. 'G') and secondly that the teacher is interested in woodturning and turning equipment. Shop has been discontinued in so many high schools when the world is crying out for competent workmen and workwomen. (workpersons?).

I'm no help with your DL40 problem, but I think you should be congratulated and the good sense of your HS administration acknowledged.

Hope you get the DL40 working quickly or before next term. How about a series of posts re your experiences as a HS shop teacher? Maybe as usual, I'm behind the times and shop has again taken its rightful place in the curriculum. I sure hope so.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

This leads to a story...

Some of you know who I am -- I run a little business called "Stubby Lathe USA". A salesman for an alarm company has left his card on my door several times -- his schedule and mine don't seem to agree so he keeps missing me. Finally he called me on my cell phone whose number is listed on the door, and asked me "is this Stubby la-th-ee"?

I know that he couldn't think it was my name because of the USA part. Anyway, he had no idea what a lathe was, what it was used for, nor how to pronounce the word. BTW, there is one sitting in the front window of my place -- maybe he can't see either.

This is a pretty sorry state of affairs, I think. I wonder what other exotic things he hasn't a clue about.

I graduated high school in Elgin IL a long time ago (1958). We were all REQUIRED to take wood shop, drafting, bookbinding, typesetting (had to learn the California job case), electrical shop, sewing, and cooking. The same for all the girls. It didn't matter if you were going to college or not, everybody did it.

You may notice that typing is not on that list. My mother insisted that I learn to touch type and I've thanked her every day of my adult life for that.

I see a future where the masses are held hostage by the few blue collars who actually know how to do things and know how to learn to do other things.

We have two adult daughters. The older builds for Habitat for Humanity, has torn out her old kitchen and rebuilt it,... The younger tackles projects like replacing electrical fixtures and such although she isn't as handy as the older one. We've done our part in making sure that they were well rounded and knew enough to get jobs done themselves or, at least, get jobs done by others without getting taken.

But, I will now end this rant...

Bill

Arch wrote:

Mind you, I don't have the schematic, but the relay that clicks is probably the problem. Typically, the "ON" switch is actually an EMergencyOff swicth [EMO] and controls power to the circuit board - and everything else. If it doesn't operate, no power, no green light. Try replacing that relay [and the power cord ;-} ]. Try McMaster-Carr supply house