[Woodenspoke]

Over the past few weeks I have been messing with My Sieg X2 mill upgrading the stand and adding a flood coolant system. The other project was to make a bigger fixture plate so I can hold pieces almost the size of the table limits. So the table was finished the flood coolant working and I was in the middle of drilling the god awful number of holes in a 6 x 12" MIC 6 plate and Bam, the mill stopped moving.

Turns out the Xylotex board blew. I thought at first it was the PSU but that turned out to be fine once the stepper board was disconnected the PSU came back to life. I bought the complete Xylotex package including the case. When I went back to see about board repair at Xylotex there customer service is non existent as they do not offer board repair or discount replacements for current owners. Honestly a new $155 4 axis replacement Xylotex seemed like a rip off given the current market and then add a measly 90 day warranty, I dont have a warm and fuzzy feeling about going back.

I am looking at a Gecko drive g540 board as a replacement. I hear good things and I have found a complete system for not much more than what I paid Xylotex back a few years ago.

Now the real reason for my sob story is I was thinking I did this to myself. I didn't seal any of the connectors to my steppers. They were wet when I disconnected everything. I also did not do any sealing on the X and Y axis steppers wiring before I started using the flood coolant. I have always used mist coolant but got tired of listening to the compressor kick in. Never had an issue with things being wet or slighty damp. I do like the fact that the chips are swept away from the work with the flood coolant and its quiet.

So the question is; did it do this to myself. If so should I just replace the steppers as well? What do you suggest I do to keep any water out of the wiring. Maybe I am wrong and it just happened?

Opinions and suggestions or would be appreciated as I need some opinions before I replace part or all of my drive system.

[TroyO]

Caveat... I am NOT an expert on CNC (Yet, LOL) however I do know a few things about electricity in general.

I would reccommend letting everything dry out and try to get as much out as you can. Then, check the Ohm readings on all your steppers and make sure they still read what they should. If your Ohms are OK, and nothing reads low you at least shouldn't blow anything in trying it with a new board. (At least a quick test.)

Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in.

[pfred2]

I don't know if you've thought of it or not yet but you could try using some shields on your table to try to contain the coolant somewhat. I know its called flood coolant but that doesn't mean flood your whole shop out with it coolant!

I usually just lean sheets of metal in the T slots you know? Shields can make a big difference as far as keeping coolant from flying all over the place. That, and when you direct the nozzle you can sort of make it so it doesn't go all over the place too. Usually angling down at the back of the tool, so the coolant wraps around works. Also, just because you can pump gallons per minute doesn't mean you have to, or even should. I mean there's flooding, then there's FLOODING! Enough is enough. Every situation is different but good practice is to contain the mess as much as possible.

Guys who really go nuts with flooding usually do it in totally enclosed cabinets. You can shoot for a happy medium with your setup though. Or just wear flippers when you machine.

[TXFred]

Simple solution. Get rid of the connectors and solder the wires. I soldered each wire to the stepper with heat shrink tubing on each wire, and then used a larger piece of heat shrink to protect the whole bundle. That and splash guards on the motors have kept them nice and dry.

Having an electrical connector in a wet environment is just a bad idea. Get rid of the connectors and the problem goes away.

Fred

[mattbesquare]

ditto on the solder. and liquid (usually) doesnt fry a motor..most people dont realize that.

i used to run my RC brushed motors in a cup of water to clean them.. the key is drying and rust protection afterwards.


do check the resistance (the "ohms") before connecting things again-it may save you a headache later.

[cornbinder23]

ditto on the solder. and liquid (usually) doesnt fry a motor..most people dont realize that.

i used to run my RC brushed motors in a cup of water to clean them.. the key is drying and rust protection afterwards.


do check the resistance (the "ohms") before connecting things again-it may save you a headache later.

Oh the days of brushed motors still have a couple of "old school" brushed motors, went brushless and never looked back, but dont break those in the same way lol

[Woodenspoke]

I checked all my motors and I am getting 1.2 Ohms from each pin set on each bipolar motor so I guess they are still good to go. I will most likely move up to a more powerful stepper motor anyway and sell off this set or keep it as a spare. Same goes with my CandC breakout box as the Gecko has its own built in isolated breakout board. A good time to consolidate the Switch wiring and put in a large single connector that can be easily disconnected to move the electronics.

I think you are correct the short was from the connectors as two of them were wet, wet enough to short out.

I have decided on a course of action even before your answers.

1. make a low shroud for the table to keep some of the water off the rest of the machine and direct it toward the drain. That will also keep some of the water off the ways and ball screws. However it traps chips and will be a pain on very long production runs.
2. covers for the motors, either from plastic or from aluminum sheet.
3. As was suggested splice in a long cable onto the stepper outputs and heat shrink the whole thing.
3. Seal the wire opening on the steppers with silicone caulk

[mattbesquare]

Oh the days of brushed motors still have a couple of "old school" brushed motors, went brushless and never looked back, but dont break those in the same way lol

hek yeah, the days when a hand wound 8 turn and matched 1700s was "hot"

[pfred2]

Sometimes silicone on metal is the kiss of death. At least with automotive windshield repairs. Usually water can wick under the silicone and it just kills the whole frame. I've seen it happen uncounted times. Then again silicone is supposed to be the best. Personally when I want waterproof I use this:

http://www.pbsboatstore.com/3m-101-marine-sealant.htm

Its not the cheapest but it'll float your boat! When I redid my pool liner last year I learned the differences between water resistant and waterproof. Though it did cost me a day of scraping some silicone sealant off the skimmer box.

It might be a bit more demanding a task than you have. But I just figured I'd mention it. Even so called "aquarium" rated stuff didn't cut it. But that 3M stuff works like you'd think all that goop would. And for that fact alone its priceless to me.

Anyhow, like the old timers used to say, keep your powder (power in your case?) dry and you should be OK.

[cornbinder23]

hek yeah, the days when a hand wound 8 turn and matched 1700s was "hot"

now its 6000KV brushless motors with 12000mah 7.4V lithiums:cheers: