Wondering if someone could tell me whether I am inept or if I just purchased a boat anchor.

Machine in question is a

VM17 Series E SN 6529

We are a busy fabrication shop and this machine would be our first step into CNC machining. I purchased this mill relatively cheap from a casting manufacturer knowing it wasn't in the best shape but should suffice for milling rudder faces and plastic operations, etc.

We ran a subpanel from our main shop which is fed 240v high leg. My wire connections to the machine read L1->G 120V, L2-> 208V, L3-> 120V, Leg to leg reads roughly 240V avg.


Upon initial machine start up we let the smoke out. Machine seemed to fire up well, front panel operational and came online. Noticed smoke from the rear of the machine. Both braking resistors rolling smoke. Shut down the machine, cooled off resistors. I disconnected the B2 braking unit lead from the Yaskawa VFD. Upon restart of the machine I have a constant 61-70VAC.

The machine starts in E-Stop 450 which I assume may be a normal condition. I can reset the drives if I hold the reset button and jog them. I only get a few inches of movement out of the X and Y axis though.

I do notice that the red spindle stop button is illuminated. Not sure if this is a normal start up condition or possible contributing factor to the VFD charging the braking unit.

Where do I start?