My 7.2 upgrade report...

[harryball]

Well, I finally ordered and got the upgrade installed on my PRT Alpha. Other than a small snag with one driver that needed to be swapped, which SB took care of very promptly, the install went well without difficulties.

It's up and running again and I ran one of my most used cut files, our bat house kit file with all the grooving and pre-drills. The fastest the file had run in the past was 18m 43s and after the upgrade it ran in 16m 34s!

All the additional speed comes from the faster ramping rates at 12 ips. I cut 10 panels that have grooves across them every 1/2" so there is a lot of turning corners and heading in the other direction going on. I expected some improvement, but to be honest... saving more than 2 minutes was unexpected.

It is now a very different sounding beast too. It sounds and runs smoother than ever before. I can't wait to get to cutting the files I was having chatter issues with and see the improvements.

Robert

[gene]

Robert
I just recieved my 7.2.1 motor upgrade and i was wondering if you got a instruction sheet and how easy was it to complete the upgrade? My real question do i need to start drinking before , durring or after i try to do this? was it simple or am i fixing to pull out what hair i have left? Any sudgestions would be appreciated. Thanks Gene

[harryball]

Gene, check out this thread and scroll down to Frank's Post... http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/312/21937.html?1192253080

It went fairly simply other than one driver that had to be swapped. I carefully cut free the cables and just swapped the motors then re-shrinkwrapped the connections.

BTW, I've done a few more things with it and have noticed a marked improvement in the cutting quality. When I get a chance to get some photos I'll post them.

Robert

[dubliner]

Gene, that was a pretty funny question about sequence, but in all fairness I think we should come over, start drinking & watch you go through the process, if theres any left over then you can have one or two :-)

[gene]

Neville,
If we do that in that order i have a VERY GOOD feeling there could be an explosion or something.
I'll guarentee many laughs though.

[gene]

Robert
Thanks for the info... I had read that post but o couldnt find it now that i needed it. That Frank . He covered it all so it should be fairly easy . 3 cheers for Frank.. Hip Hip Horay, Thanks Everybody
If i dont post any more you know all did not go as planned...

[gene]

Hi All,
I just finished doing the 7.2 motor upgrade and now it seems that the #4 e stop will not clear.. I had this problem when i got the bot a few years ago and scott told me to do a by pass on the switch . I was wondering if anyone has any sugestions??? I have a guy from Fla comming to see a bot tomorrow before he purchases one <Any help is appreciated

[paco]

Did you reviewed VN settings?

Have you tried a new shopbot.ini file?

Have you update the firmware (if needed)?

[gene]

Paco
Yes
No
No
How do you do a new ini file and the same with the Firmware?
Thanks

[paco]

For a new shopbot.ini to be generate, you need to remove the current one. Turn off SB3 first. I suggest to move it to the desktop as a backup to look at for settings you were using (table limits, preview settings, etc...). When you'll turn ON SB3 the next time, it'll prompt you to choose a default setting to generate a new shopbot.ini file.
A note about shopbot.ini file; once your tool is running like you need it to, make a backup of those settings using the US command. *.sbc file can be run as *.sbp file to recover settings. Name that backup with a name you'll wont have a hard time finding (gene_rhodes_settings_fall2007.sbc or such).

To load the firmware, set SB3 into preview mode (SP command) and turn off the control box. Run UI command for the firmware loader and click 'Load Firmware' large button. Click on the next button and you should see the firmware loading progress.

[gene]

O K
did that and the bot is connecting and finding the bot with comm port 3 . I can turn on the spindle and turn it off but the #4 e stop will not reset no matter what i do, i think its dead...

[bill.young]

Hey Gene,

You've probably checked this already, but did you make sure you picked the correct tool when you reset the ini file. I'm guessing that the "ShopBot_PRT96x48alpha7_2.sbd" option in the PRT group is the one you would want, but don't know exactly what tool you have.

Also have you contacted Tech support...even on Thanksgiving there's someone covering Tech support.

Bill

[gene]

Hi Everyone ,
Many thanks to all. The upgrade is done and i am EXTREMELY HAPPY that i did the upgrade. Its like a new machine , cuts are alot smoother and it seems to be alot tighter . Its now a mean lean cutting machine..
All the help i received is very much appreciated..
Thank you all, and to all a good night.