Its alive!

So, for those of you who are following, I've made some real progress! I decided to go forward with the control rebuild (which I'll discuss in detail  in a later post.)

To get it ready for the new control I had to gut the control box,  rewire the solenoids and limit switches and provide power to the new control, relay boards and solenoids. (I was planning on using the old transformer for the solenoids but it wasn't working and a new power supply was only $10)
The switches were all worn out and I was never able to replace the light bulbs so I got some new ones that were meant for an arcade console. I also added an emergency stop switch.

The control is only partially built at this point I don't have enough relays to run a cycle but I do have the toggle, knock out, and  system pressure solenoids functioning. Once it is done and fully programmed I'll make a new post. Here is a video.

Controller Design

I have thought a lot about my controller problems in the last few days and I am now dead set on replacing the control. I just don't see any point in trying to get it working with replacement parts being impossible to find. So, I just need to choose from one of the choices I laid out in the last post. I dropped an email to Rick Fitzpatrik from the MYOS project to see if he had any direction for me. He encouraged me to use the Arduino micro controller. I began writing a simple program for the Arduino and ordered a "relay board" that can control the solenoids but completely isolate the arduino board. I also read on wikipedia on how to wire a solenoid.

It is going to be a while for the parts to get here so I probably wont have much to say for a few weeks.

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.

Progress!

I found a few problems last time I worked on the press so I will start with how I resolved them.
I took the fittings to "Source tube and hose" which was right around the corner from my shop. Of course, he said "I have never seen this size/pitch before!". But, he was able to weld the parts together and that was good enough for me. I installed it and it works fine. I'll cross my fingers and hope these hoses hold up because I have no way to replace them. It would be nice if I had another 300 as a parts machine but I don't have room for one.
I went to radio shack and picked up some fuses. They didn't have 6.4 or .4 amp ones but I got some 7 & .5 amp ones and hope they work out.
I also got some Ba9s lamps while I was there.
I installed the 7 amp fuse and fired it up. It worked, kinda. The  clamp retracted and the injection unit advanced and retracted. I was not able to get the clamp to close. I will be looking in the manual for possible causes.
After the fuse was changed, I found that two of my lamps were burned out. The ones from radio shack did not work. They fit in the socket but the actual bulb is too large for the switch assembly. I measured the bulb and looked online and think that this one will fit:
Sunray ALBA-A-916-99
I ordered some on amazon for  $3.99 each. I'll let you know if they fit.
I noticed a wire coming out of the machine that was not hooked into the control and traced it to a little sensor or valve.  I'm not sure what it is so I will also look into that.

Computer parts!

While working on the machine today I found a 4 pin molex connector and a sprue wedged in between some sheet metal. Because the sprue is there it is safe to say it was made on this machine. There is no telling how long it had been there. From the sprue it looks like they were using a parting line mold and the mold only made 2 parts a cycle. Not very efficient but maybe it was a prototype or something. These connecters are used to connect power to hard drives and cdroms in computers. Based on this info I would like to think that my machine was making some of the first computer parts.
A little update on where I'm at with my machine: I read in the manual that if the lamps in the buttons light up when pressed then there is no electrical problem and that I should check the hydraulic system. Unfortunately, most of the hydraulic system is inaccessible including the solenoid I need to check out. All of this is under the injection unit. I removed two set screws that seemed to hold it in place and tried to pull it free from the stationary platen with no success. I'm going to check the manual for clues on how to remove it.

Powered up!

I spent some time working on the press, adding $500 in  hydraulic fluid. I powered it up and started the pump, which was promising, but when I tried to cycle the clamp and advance the barrel I had no luck. I then noticed a leak so I shut it down. When I tried to tighten the fitting, it stripped out. I looked at the original drawings and found that the fitting that was supposed to be there had been replaced with a mishmash of parts. I'm worried that I'm not going to be able to get the correct fitting because it is metric or some obsolete thread.
I read in the manual that the "lamps" on the buttons should light up(I'm sure they didn't).  Having these out and the clamp and barrel not work could mean the main fuse is out. 
Hopefully I can chase down these two things and have a working machine.
I noticed some modifications to the moving platen to account for wear. This concerned me and then I saw in the manual a quote for a new platen which only makes me more nervous. It is obvious that the platen is excessively worn. Hopefully, I can make these modifications last or rebore and sleeve the platen.

Arburg Allrounder 300 Manual

My machine came with a partial manual. The pages aren't really numbered so it's hard to tell how much I am missing. I do know I'm missing sections I-III but don't know what that entails. If anyone needs the the parts manual let me know because I have a full parts breakout and drawings. I also have electrical and hydraulic schematics.