Control Problems

I got the injection unit off once I figured out a good way position my lever. However, I then found that it was really heavy and that the only way to lift it is with a cherry picker.
I asked around but nobody I knew had one I could borrow. I found a coupon online for a harbor freight 1 ton shop crane for $99. This was cheaper than people were trying to get you to pay for a used one on craigslist.org. I would rather have the 2 ton model but I couldn't find a coupon and don't want to pay near retail.

Harbor Freight 1 ton Capacity Folding Shop Crane Coupon $99

The crane went together easy enough but I'm disappointed that the base is so high off the ground. If it was lower, then I could fit them under my equipment.

Once I got the injection unit off I removed the sheet metal top and exposed the valves in question. I found that the valves had been unplugged but plugging them in didn't fix the problem.
 

I then checked the voltage at the actual solenoid I am interested in and it was not registering anything when the button was pushed. I took a close look at the control box and found that somebody had modified the controls. They soldered a bunch of wires to some of the control boards and ran them all over the place. This is really disappointing because who knows what they did, what they damaged and what they took out when they made their modifications.


I found an electrical and hydraulic schematic so I scanned them. If anyone gets use out of it let me know. I have more stuff and am happy to post it if anyone needs it. They can be found in this folder.

I wanted to know if that solenoid worked so I applied 24 volts to it and it closed the toggle without a problem. I then took some time to clean the 3" of grease off the toggle mechanism. 

Because of the problem with the control, I may just replace the control with a new one. I have several options available. I am going to list all of them in order of what I think they cost.


Arduino mega micro controller
An inexpensive PLC
Or one of these 3rd party controllers 
nanoMagic
SH-900 Injection Mold Control System
Injection Mold Control System
Siemens
SMold Series Controller 
FACTS

I recently started playing with an Arduino micro controller. The one I have doesn't have enough inputs and outputs to control the injection molder but I could get started on it and maybe start by controlling just the toggle. I could then buy a different model and still use my code.

I emailed all of the companies that make the controllers designed to control injection molders. I heard back from one of them that makes a nicer one and it was $1500 plus shipping from India. If I could get one for more like $500 I think I would do it. I'm hoping the nanoMagic is in that range but we will see.