Need Help Graphtec stopped working due to static shock, HELP!!

[depps74]

Today while working I weeded some vinyl off the plotter (graphtec 8600, 4 months old). When I went to hit the cut material button I got a static shock and the machine held a continuous beeping. I turned it off and after that the buttons did not work. The LCD worked fine, but it did not respond to the buttons I pushed for Roll 1 and Roll 2 etc.... This plotter is brand new and I am shocked (no pun intended) that it wigged out so easily.

Question: IS this fixable?
Is this something that will create bugs and problems down the road?

Did I just loose my machine to a static shock?

HELP!!!

 

[dypinc]

Do you have carpeted floors and low humidity?

 

[depps74]

no carpeted floors. not sure about humidity. its kinda dry i think?

 

[depps74]

Do you have carpeted floors and low humidity?

no carpet, kinda dry i guess, why?

 

[dypinc]

Low humidity equals high static. That is a good way to kill equipment, and sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. If you're lucky it is just a fuse on a board if not you probably zapped a control board.

 

[ThatGriffGuy]

Let's say the static shock can kill a plotter. How the hell do you properly prevent this issue? I have run a plotter on carper for years and never had this issue but I certainly want to prevent it from happening!

 

[dypinc]

A lot of things can cause static, but the most helpful way to reduce it is to keep at least 40% humidity in the environment where your electronic equipment is located.

 

[depps74]

A lot of things can cause static, but the most helpful way to reduce it is to keep at least 40% humidity in the environment where your electronic equipment is located.

Thanks this is really helpful. I did learn the hardway I guess.
My solutions then are: Humidifier running near the machines?
-grounding device near or on the machine?
or
I was thinking perhaps a rubber contour fitted plate to go over the buttons, like they make to protect keyboards from getting dirty? Any ideas where one might get one of these?

also
My HP latex printer has a grounding device built into it, wondering if there's a way to just rig one up?

 

[Terry01]

Did you give the machine a static shock or did the machine give you one,,,Seriously need to get it checked out
or it could potentially kill someone.

 

[Jburns]

Use one of these. Aquarium grounding probe. Pic is from Amazon. I live in Colorado and it can be dry. I have one of these next to every machine. and touch it with my hand, vinyl and anything else First that touches the machine. 8 out of 10 times I touch it there is a spark- discharging myself.

 

[ThatGriffGuy]

depps74, The post Terry01 posted is a very good point. It's not a bad idea to make sure its not an electrical problem with your space. If the circuit your plotter was plugged into has a loose ground wire somewhere that could cause the problem as well as many more!

 

[equippaint]

Its coincidence. Static doesn't kill electronics this easily. If it did, TVs would be a consumable item.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Wait...there are two threads like this? 4 months old should be under warranty. Call who u bought it frm

 

[depps74]

Thank you everyone. UPDATE: Sign warehouse is fixing it. Apparently this is becoming a problem with the new graphtecs, 2 sales persons from different companies I talked to said that they have had customers with the exact same problem on a graphtec. I am getting a anti static mat, a grouning bracelet and a grounding wire to hopefully never have this happen again!

 

[Baz]

This brings me back....

I blew the mainboard twice in one month on my first plotter (back in 1998). It was a Roland camm-1 24".
I was running it at my house. Gas heat during winter gets the house pretty dry.

I paid for the first board and it was guaranteed for 30 days. Second time i blew it it was covered under waranty.

What i ended up doing was running a ground wire from the plotter to my homes main ground wire.
I wore one of those electronics wrist bands that technicians wear when working on computers.
I would just clip it on the ground wire every time i touched the plotter. No issues after i was doing that.

 

[pjfmeister]

I keep a box of dryer sheets next to my plotters...when cutting lots of vinyl I keep a sheet in my pocket to anti-static the vinyl and plotter periodically.

I have received the worst shocks from the laminator if I don't wipe it down every so often with a dryer sheet

 

[mmblarg]

Not sure on the fix for the currently zapped plotter, but we live in a very dry area and have just made a habit of touching a non-electronic metal before touching the equipments' control panels (like touching the metal roll bar that feeds vinyl to either the graphtec or printers.) We don't touch humidifiers because they can cause an array of issues from health concerns to equipment and ink failure if they are placed too close to your work areas...

 

[amulle]

I did this exact same thing to our 8600. It required a new mainboard and to be completely re-calibrated.

 

[papabud]

i also live in a constant state of static shocks.
i also just walk around touching metal to discharge myself all the time now out of habit.
nothing i can do about the environment. or the material. so its easy to just live with it

 

[Grizzly]

Yep done that before on my Graphtec FC7000. Main board went out. Turns out the power plug ground wasn't properly grounded.