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Problem with Gerber Dimension 200 router

N

nssignguy

New Member
Hi,

I hope somebody can provide some help with this problem. I have an old Dimension 200 router and the Z Axis isn't working properly. It doesn't seem to have the power to lift the head and router anymore. Originally I thought it was the motor gone but I got a new one from the supplier and that doesn't work at all. That is another story. Anyway. I cleaned the ways on the Z axis and looked for any obstructions and it appears to be fine. When you hand crank the head up there is a bit more resistance than going down but that makes sense since gravity is helping. Otherwise it seems to move normally. This happened a while ago but seemed to have fixed itself for a while but has returned and will not go away. I have rebooted the machine of course many times with no difference. The weird thing is when I hold the Z axis motor with my fingers it doesn't seem to have any holding power and I can easily stop it from turning. I did the same thing with the Y axis motor and it has much more power and is much harder to hold still. To be sure I switched the Z and Y axis motors and did the test again and it was the exact same so therefore I don't think it is a motor problem. I think it might be a firmware issue but not sure. Other than the problem with the Z axis the machine works and acts normally. I hope I explained this clear enough.

I hope you guys can shed some light on this for me because I am not sure what to do next.
 
D

Druid

New Member
Hi

nssignguy​

Sounds like it could be a problem with the Stepper Drivers (in the big black box) the Z axis may have a reduced voltage supply due to a defect?

You did right in swapping motors to see if the fault changed over, but it didn't (Z still defective)
I don't suppose that you have an oscilloscope? To look at the steps and compare X,Y&Z?
You suspect the firmware, but have you made any changes to the firmware? Also a change to the firmware settings would not cause the problem to come and go.

Regards
 
N

netsol

Active Member
i am not sure if the dimension used the same steppers, etc as the sabre (joseph gerber used the same circuits over and over, until there was a new generation of machine
 
D

Druid

New Member
Thanks for the offer GB2 but I've all ready got a paper users manual and the same in electronic form.
Having worked for Siemens in industrial automation I would feel safer trying to get my friends machine functioning with a proper service manual.
I would definately be interested in a copy of the wiring schematic. will try and PM you.
 
N

nssignguy

New Member
Thanks for the help everyone. I am hoping to get a tech in soon to look at it but that is proving to be difficult. I suspect it might be a wiring problem but have no way of testing it. Hopefully the tech can do it.

Can you send the wiring diagram if you can?
 
T

tedshock

New Member
Late in seeing this but for what it may be worth....

A few years ago another shop that does a lot of routing for us has an older Dimension 200x. They had a similar problem, except it was affecting all 3 axis. After they powered it on and the ARC station did it's multiple beeps, it sat idle. No response from the X, Y, or Z buttons/movements. Just dead. They tried a different ARC box (ours, since we have a D200 as well) with no change. Finally, they tried swapping out the big power box with ours (the huge tower that has the actual switch on the front). Hooked it up, everything fired up properly. It ended up being something failing inside the power box. They contacted The Plotter Doctor (who rebuilds them) and had it rebuilt (I think it cost around $2000). That was in 2019 or so, and they haven't had an issue since.

They debated whether or not to get it fixed, since they have several much larger, much more powerful routers. But as the owner said, "it's a tank -- slow, outdated, but reliable". Can't argue with that.

Not sure if that is what's causing this problem, but passing on info that may be helpful. Good luck!
 
V

Vassago

New Member
nssignguy said:
Hi,

I hope somebody can provide some help with this problem. I have an old Dimension 200 router and the Z Axis isn't working properly. It doesn't seem to have the power to lift the head and router anymore. Originally I thought it was the motor gone but I got a new one from the supplier and that doesn't work at all. That is another story. Anyway. I cleaned the ways on the Z axis and looked for any obstructions and it appears to be fine. When you hand crank the head up there is a bit more resistance than going down but that makes sense since gravity is helping. Otherwise it seems to move normally. This happened a while ago but seemed to have fixed itself for a while but has returned and will not go away. I have rebooted the machine of course many times with no difference. The weird thing is when I hold the Z axis motor with my fingers it doesn't seem to have any holding power and I can easily stop it from turning. I did the same thing with the Y axis motor and it has much more power and is much harder to hold still. To be sure I switched the Z and Y axis motors and did the test again and it was the exact same so therefore I don't think it is a motor problem. I think it might be a firmware issue but not sure. Other than the problem with the Z axis the machine works and acts normally. I hope I explained this clear enough.

I hope you guys can shed some light on this for me because I am not sure what to do next.
Click to expand...
Going by the age of the machine - prob all the electrolytic caps will have gone by now.. Either replace them (pretty cheap, but you need to get the boards out.. Or get a new Psu / Stepper drivers.

The psu should be relatively simple - it should have specs on it - find either one that does it all, or a few single supply ones.

The stepper drivers are even easier - just find one that copes with the voltage / current requirements and connect the step /direction lines into it.

Sounds much harder than it actually is.

Tbh - you could actually replace all the electronics for not very much.. Even go servo.. The mechanics are usually OK, so that would speed it up as well as making it easier to use.
 
P

packratsigns

Premium Subscriber
I came across this info.
Some kind of resource might help with a D200

From : https://forum.linuxcnc.org

For anyone searching for this Information about a Gerber D-200 or Gerbers Arc Stations. The pin-out of the D-37 port is:

Pin# Voltage Description
1 24v X-Phase-a
2 24v X-Phase-b
3 24v X-Phase-c
4 24v X-Phase-d
5 0v Common (Pins 1-4)
6 0v
7 24v Y-Phase-a
8 24v Y-Phase-b
9 24v Y-Phase-c
10 24v Y-Phase-d
11 0v Common (Pins 7-11)
12 0v
14 24v ?
15 ? ?
16 ? ?
17 ? ?
18 5v 5v in (pin 18-19)
19 5v ?
20 24v Spindle Relay
21 ? ?
22 24v Spindle Trigger
23 ? ?
24 0v Common (Pins 20,22)
25 0v ?
26 24v Z-Phase-a
27 24v Z-Phase-b
28 24v Z-Phase-c
29 24v Z-Phase-d
30 0v Common (Pins 26-29)
31 ? ?
32 24v ?
33 ? ?
34 ? ?
35 ? ?
36 0v ?
37 0v ?

I can run the machine with full functionality using only pins 1-5,7-11,20,26-30. At this point I do not know what the pins with the question marks were intended for. They don't appear to be used for this application of the Gerber Arc Station.
The home switches on this machine (only X and Y) are 5v magnetic reed switches and run off of a separate plug that goes directly to the Arc Station.
 
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