Hey good people. I’ve been working for this day for six months now and couldn’t have gone from a higher high to a lower low. Finally, I’m ready to cut my first big file to make my spoilboard, and my controller seems not to be powering on like it’s been doing for the past three months.
I’m new to CNCing and believe I have a Buildbotics controller (picture linked for example) paired with a 2020 X-35 Woodworker. First I knew something was wrong is when my little screen displayed ‘no signal’ (blue screen of death?) when I powered everything up (controller on first, then screen). I checked the controller to see that the air circulation fan wasn’t turning, and the red light on the Joypad USB dongle plugged into it wasn’t on. After making sure all the wires were secure and the red safety button/switch was pulled out (which it was), I went through a series of power ups and downs, but the controller stayed the same.
A few notes… Although a new setup, the controller has been in place for a few months now, with all wires long ago attached and secured. No recent wire or component moving has taken place, and the power outlet is verified to be working. Sawdust is not an issue as the cutting area is completely enclosed with an overhead vac in operation.
Is there an internal fuse I should check? My house wiring is dated, and the lights can dim a little when an appliance kicks on. Although the current fluctuates somewhat, nothing electrical has ever been affected.
Check this, also the older rocker style switch had a known problem of dust/dirt getting into the switch. search for rocker switch and it should bring up the fix for that as well.
It sounds like your controller isn’t getting power at all. Check the internal fuse, AC input, E-stop circuit, and power supply. If nothing powers on, the controller or power supply may be faulty-contact Buildbotics support for replacement.
Well, I went through some steps in the troubleshooting FAQ, and I am definitely now in the first stage of grief. First, I broke the power switch open to confirm it was clean inside, which it was. Second, I checked for an inline fuse, but apparently mine doesn’t have one, as I’ve read the older versions don’t. It’s from 2020. As a side note, during my poking around I don’t think the leds on the raspberry pie came on at all. Following the instructions to observe the green led on the power supply next to where all the wires connect, I confirmed it comes on when the big red button is smashed down, and not when it’s pulled out…which is when you’re told your sol and directed to buy a whole new unit.
Reading through the entire FAQ there seemed to be plenty of other potential reasons to account for what I’m seeing…ranging from a faulty emergency stop button to loose connections. I’m happy to dive into completing all the steps in the FAQ, testing these other areas, but if this power supply led not being on when the button is pulled out is a dead ringer, then I’ll just be wasting my time. Feeling sick, as not a single one came up on ebay like I was hoping.
Any advice, other than to start eating bologna sandwiches and save up for a new controller?
Edit: I dove in further and opened the box completely up and checked all wire connections. Disconnected then re-connected everything. All connections seemed solid. To rule out the kill switch, I disconnected all 6 wires and bound them together. Afterwards, when powering on the air circ fan still doesn’t turn on, which I interpret to mean the whole units still off. Got out the multimeter and tested each breaker on the kill switch for continuity. No continuity on either breaker when the switch is down, and good continuity on both breakers when the switch is pulled out. So that would seem to rule out having a bad kill switch.
