WM280 Lathe runs in reverse only

Les,

The thought of not using the filter components had crossed my mind too, but I couldnt think why they would build one into the machine....its obvious now you pointed it out...! Its a similar if not same board used in Dusty's lathe, that was a dc machine....as the vfd has in built filters, an external one is not needed....however, I fed my vfd via the filter when swapped out for vfd, making wiring up simpler and no need for chocolate block.....

Hi John,
It is a result of looking at Dusty's problem that made me think that only the power supply was being used. I looked on the web (Which was not that simple as Warco's website is down at the moment.) to find a picture of the WM280 to confirm that it had a tachometer before posting the comment.

Les.

Hi Les,

Just a quick thank you for publishing your notes on the WM250 and now explaining the filter too! ChrisB's problem caused me to look closely at my lathe for the first time, and the switching arrangements aren't immediately clear from the block diagram. I almost understand it now, and it will make it much easier to fault find if I ever have a problem.

Cheers,

Dave

Don't say that. I've just invested in two metres of spiral wrap to tidy up my Prusa!

:-0

Neil

I would suggest that even in simple circuits, eliminating any movement in wiring will reduce the chances of premature failure within the harness. In the case of a lathe vibration may well be the most likely enemy and constraining cabling neatly in a properly thought out harness and laying it out correctly is far better than the way the Warco lathes seem to come these days. My WM250V was the same as has been depicted here unlike the GH1330 which was very neatly wired. So once out of warranty, all the wiring came out of the 250 and rewired properly in a properly laced wiring loom. I know the spira band stuff is easy but I have several rolls of the old fashioned lacing cord and enjoy making up wiring looms that way

Spirowrap is great stuff but you lose the will to live after ther first few inches - and a pain in the backside if you find you need an extra wire in the loom - how do I know this :-D

Good old lacing cord is much easier and cable ties done properly are fine - what would we do without them!

But the standard of wiring I've seen in these pics and the earlier posts is, frankly, abysmal.

Better idea to rewire after warranty is over as you mentioned Graeme, will leave it as is for now. For sure I wont use spiral wrap if I had to rewire it (sorry Neil) I'd rather use woven self-wrapping sleeves, so much easier to put on and remove if required.

On another note, along with the lathe I got a WM18 mill which I have not switched on yet, tomorrow I'm moving it and give checking it out....wish me luck!!

Edited By ChrisB on 07/05/2017 21:41:55

To wrap up this thread, I had sent an email to Warco to explain my situation. Yesterday they replied and basically told me to do the same things discussed over here, check wiring etc.

I was assured their machinery is tested by an engineer prior to dispatch, so the fault could have happened during transit. Anyway I'm happy with the out come and the way Warco responded.

Although the machine might be a bit rough around the edges and maybe not as refined as other premium brands, it will do for what I need it for and for what I was willing to pay - enough to say that locally a similar sized Weiss Chinese lathe cost almost double the price of a Warco.

Edited By ChrisB on 09/05/2017 17:56:07