Denford Software & Machines

I can not now datum my machine . I have taken the lid off the machine and can see that the z axis is working fine but the y is making an awful noise and not moving at all . I can move the y axis pulley and leadscrew ok with the power off . I accidentally left the machine and drives on for more than 24hrs and I think I have either fried a stepper board ,or , a stepper motor . The machine is a NEE starmill .

If replacements can not be found , I have no choice but to retro fit the machine . Can anyone tell me if the board pictured is a VFD or other type of motor drive . Also can anyone tell me how to get to the Y axis and spindle motors to either replace or recondition .

Many thanks .

that's the spindle drive board

have a look at the three drive ic's at the right end of the smartstep/3 board. If one or more look like they have a burnt hole in the centre, it's curtains for that ic. You could swap the y and z sockets over to see if it's the drive that's gone.

looking at the details for your version of the starmill, it looks like you have parker cd or sd drives, which on the x and y axis be interchangeable. Try swapping them over to see if it is the drive that's failed, and if so pull the spring clips off the chips and see if any have failed, then replace.