Wiring my control box for power

[bbrozo]

Help!! I just recently assembled my new PRS Standard 48x48 with PC router and will be connecting the motors, etc. to my control box in the morning. That should go fine. But, I noticed that there is one power cord with a female plug going in to the control box which, I assume, is for the router.

There is another opening in the bottom of the control box right next to the router power cord where, it appears, there should be a power cord for connecting the control box to power.

What's up with this? Did Shopbot forget to put in the other cord for power?

There is no mention of wiring my own power cord into the control box in the Assembly Manual.

I'm confused, it's late and I should go to bed.

Bill

[dana_swift]

Hello Bill-

Shopbot did not forget, Bots are usually wired into the building electrical panel by an electrician. So that part is completed by your friendly local electrician.

My bot is a Buddy which is on casters, I did not want it hard wired to the building electrics, and instead put a power cord on it like you are thinking. In my case I put a 30A 220v circuit in using a 4 wire plug. Then I had the full compliment of conductors: two for power, neutral, and safety ground.

Its a matter of Shopbot not knowing what each installations needs are- You decide that! When you think about it, its one of the cool features of owning a Shopbot over some "generic CNC router". SB expects us to set it up to meet our needs, and they still offer full support when we don't use it THEIR way!

Many companies could learn from SB-

Bill - welcome to the community!

D

[bbrozo]

Dana -

Thanks for the info. and the warm welcome.

I still think I am going to email/call Shopbot though since even if an electrician is expected to wire it for power, there is no schematic anywhere inside the control box. The PRS Alpha control box section in the Assembly manual (even though I have a PRS standard) says there should be a schematic on the inside of the control box door.

Thanks again...

Bill

[dana_swift]

There should be a schematic of the wiring for the control box, and there is a section in the users manual dealing with all the inputs and outputs on the control board that are available for you to use for your own purposes. (Controlling hold down, dust collection, work lights, laser center indicators, etc). I have never seen a schematic for the control board itself.

My schematic was in a manila envelope (as I recollect) with some CD's and other such things. It may be in the back of the user manual these days. Things change, and a call to support will locate where to look for it.

And the folks at SB are human, who knows.. they may have left the schematic out, but I suspect you were supposed to get one. It shows the three pole switch that the power gets connected to, for instance.

You will get good help here on the forum, we have all been where you are. Looking at this silver box, nervously worrying that we don't mess anything up before we ever get it running.

You will be powered up and breaking bits, er I mean cutting wood, in no time! Cut air first, no bit in the router, go through the steps until you are comfortable with the machine. If there is a botter in your area you can jump start the process and start cutting as soon as you have your table ready to provide material hold-down.

What do you plan to make with your bot? Trust me on this one, it will change your thinking so much, you will make far more on it that you ever dreamed of at this point.

And the warm welcome, I got one, and am just passing it along-

D

[bbrozo]

I emailed Shopbot support Saturday morning about the wiring diagram. They replied within a half hour and said there should have been a wiring diagram on the inside of the control box door. They said they would send me one.

You're right they are just human and, face it, the Shopbot is a complicated piece of machinery and I can understand how something like this can get overlooked.

I've got a few other things I am finishing up right now anyway such as getting a table set up and attaching the dust collection to the bot. But, I am getting anxious to try it out.

I will definitely take it slow once I do fire it up until I feel more comfortable with it.

I have been doing woodworking for about ten years. I enjoy making furniture for the most part (bookcases, tables and such). I plan to retire next March or, more accurately, do more of what I want to do with my time. I've been a software developer for almost thirty years and it's time to do what I love. And, I hope the Shopbot does expand my horizons some. I would like to experiment with inlays and wood carvings. I hope that I might be able to sell a few things along the way.

Bill

Bill

[JohnG]

I emailed Shopbot support Saturday morning about the wiring diagram. They replied within a half hour and said there should have been a wiring diagram on the inside of the control box door. They said they would send me one.



My control box didn't have a wiring diagram either. The manual sent with my machine dind't match up at all either. The actual "electric" hookup inside the box is rather self explanatory, but all the other connections didn't match up with what I was looking at in the book. I looked like a monkey doing a math problem until I finally called SB. They emailed me the correct diagram almost immediately....which was fantastic. (What would have been MORE fantastic, if they had included the correct diagram from the start, before I wasted soooo much time).

I felt really stupid, until I had my son-in-law take a look. He is a lead engineer for a company that builds robotic "production" equipment & cnc machines. He didn't have a clue either.

There can't be that many configurations, whether its a standard or alpha, spindel or router, 3 phase or single, ect..., that SB couldn't include a personalized schematic with each machine.

SB has been wonderful so far.....I recommend them to anyone that askes (actually think I've have them another buyer), but this is one area that needs attention.

[bbrozo]

Yeah, Frank at support emailed me the wiring diagrams this morning. It does look straightforward but I won't know for sure until I get home and match it up with the control box layout. It still seems to me that they could wire up the PRS standard w/PC router for power but I guess there might be some liability issues with that.

There certainly are some gaps in the Assembly manual but, I agree, their support folks have been top-notch as well as this forum.

Bill