Longevity ForceCut 42i

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KIDTech
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Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

I am still having trouble with my 42i and Proma. I first thought my Proma was not working due to it being faulty but it turns on, I can change the voltage settings etc I just cannot get it to read the voltage, stays 3 dashed lines while the torch is on. I've tried everything I can think from the solder in the plug, shortening the wires as much as I can, the divider being wrong with no luck.

Now comes to the other day I was having an issue with the torch not firing with F5 in Mach, jiggled my plug and it fired so I am wondering if the issue is not the CNC plug that goes into the front of the machine. My thoughts now are to solder in my wires that would go to the Proma that would read voltage where the wires to the machine CNC port are soldered on the back side of the CNC port. I tried to come up with a quick illustration for you to get an idea of what I am talking about.

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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by acourtjester »

There are 2 pair of connections on the proma for the voltage input one is raw volts and that is a direct connection to the work ground lead and the plasma output. The other is for the voltage divider (50 to 1 or other low volts) if you are going from the CNC receptacle on the 42I that is the low voltage divider output and shod go to the 2 center inputs on the proma.
Image show hypertherm but your 42I is different pins out.

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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by acourtjester »

You said it was faulty when you first received it but did not say if you had it replaced. If it's broke return it :shock:
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Ha yeah, so far customer service from Longevity has been terrible. I am still waiting, atleast 2 months now for a call that was supposed to be coming in 15 minutes after we hung up, for suggestions on why the torch wouldn't fire. Attached is the plug connections on the 42i.

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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Acourt that is exactly how I have it set up though, pins soldered in the right spot and going to the Proma in the correct spot. I also do not have time to let the table sit while the cutter is shipped to Longevity for work. I will make contact with them but do not expect much in regards to help....
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Called Longevity, was told that the nut on the back of the CNC port is probably loose and to tighten it. Not heard a response back on the THC issue.
DIY 5x10 v rail, rack and pinion
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Longevity ForceCut 42i is sitting on the shelf
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by chasxjs »

Have you verified the polarity and voltage is correct with a separate volt meter?
Charles
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by tcaudle »

YOu can test the plug on the 42i

short across the pair marked Gun Switch (Chinese for Torch Swtich I would guess) with a short jumper. that should fire your touch

Now with a DVM on low volts measure across the Divider output pair. Make sure the internal jumper in the 42i is set to 50:1 and not 16:1 With the torch fired you should get from 2 to 3.2 volts DC . (that is equal to 100 to 165VDC at the torch)

I have no idea what "Large Arc" Means It could mean undivided (raw volts) OR perhaps it is ARC OK . All you can do is measure it with the torch fired and if there is not a high voltage present it is probably ARC OK. I have no idea if the Promo uses ARC OK back from the plasma. I has to feed through to MACH to release motion . Input in MACH is named THC ON.

Shocking that a plasma from China does not work with a THC from Poland :o
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Thanks for the replies. I had already purchased the cutter and Proma before finding this site or having a decent understanding of what I should be doing. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say and I am stuck with them both for now. Will be upgrading to your stuff when money allows so hopefully in the next few months. I just hate that I learned a lesson for a little over a grand....
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by chasxjs »

tcaudle wrote: Shocking that a plasma from China does not work with a THC from Poland :o
LOL

The Proma does not require an arc ok signal from the cutter. However, it can supply one to Mach3 if the cutter is not set-up to do so. If available use the cutters arc o/k signal to mach3.

You may find the Proma responds better to a raw arc voltage signal from the cutter (connected to the correct Proma terminals of course) than it does to a divided arc voltage signal.
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by acourtjester »

maybe I did not state what I meant I was talking about returning the proma (if you got it from eagle plasma). There are other that have used Longevity plasma and proma THC and they worked fine. At one time I had 2 proma THC one on a longevity 80I and a hypertherm 65 I had to use raw volts with both. When they worked it did its job but the proma units were not reliable enough and I sold the 80I. I still have one proma on the shelf that worked with the PM65. I now have a CandCNC MP3100 DTHC-IV hooked up with the PM65 and all is good with the world. :)
Don't beat yourself up none of us have made all the right decisions every time its called learning.
You could try hooking a AA battery to the low volts input to the Proma and look at the volts display (with power for the proma hooked up) if you don't see anything but the dashes its broke.
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by suttoncnc »

Late this afternoon I will be in my shop and I will verify the signal and pin numbers on my 42i. I use mine with Tom's controls and it works perfectly. The only thing that I had to do unique to my 42i is that I had to add a capacitor to the torch fire signal to dampen out electrical noise that would cause my torch to intermittently cut off in mid cut. That issue is long behind me now and the 42i has been flawless.

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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Thanks, I appreciate that.
DIY 5x10 v rail, rack and pinion
Gecko g540
Pm65 - aka game changer
Longevity ForceCut 42i is sitting on the shelf
Proma THC
ACAD, SheetCam, Mach3
Millermatic 211
NEW HORSE IN THE STABLE:
4'x8' LDR downdraft w/a scribe
Milltronics Partner 2 CNC mill
KIDTech
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Well I'm thinking it's definitely the plug our port on the machine. I was able to get another set of eyes on it and if I juggled the plug the Proma would start to read....
DIY 5x10 v rail, rack and pinion
Gecko g540
Pm65 - aka game changer
Longevity ForceCut 42i is sitting on the shelf
Proma THC
ACAD, SheetCam, Mach3
Millermatic 211
NEW HORSE IN THE STABLE:
4'x8' LDR downdraft w/a scribe
Milltronics Partner 2 CNC mill
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by acourtjester »

Here is something to check most pins are crimped on the wire and pushed into the connector. You will need whats called a pin extractor to remove the pins. I think you said you soldered the pins this can be hard without removing the pins from the connector. another thing is the male pin and female socket may not be the same size and there fore a loose connection. Both ends of the connector should have a number on it (some are on the lip) if you can fine the number google it to see if they are compatible. Have you tried to use a test leads with alligator clips to by-pass the connector. Sounds like you found the problem you just need to fix it.
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

My thoughts would be that I could pull the wires out of the CNC port on the machine side, solder them to wires I can run to the Proma and basically not need the CNC plug. I won't be unplugging the cutter from the table until I can upgrade the THC and cutter. The plug I got cane from Longevity so I'd think they'd be compatible but after nothing would surprise me at this point with them.
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NEW HORSE IN THE STABLE:
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

Thanks everyone for the help and ideas with this, finally got it up an running by installing different pins to the CNC plug.
DIY 5x10 v rail, rack and pinion
Gecko g540
Pm65 - aka game changer
Longevity ForceCut 42i is sitting on the shelf
Proma THC
ACAD, SheetCam, Mach3
Millermatic 211
NEW HORSE IN THE STABLE:
4'x8' LDR downdraft w/a scribe
Milltronics Partner 2 CNC mill
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by motofool33 »

Hey Kid how are things running now?

any pics of your setup?
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

No not yet, I am having trouble getting the tst mode to work as it runs through numbers extremely fast and when I press an up or down arrow it does nothing as well. I'm thinking this is a port/pin issue though. If I put them to to active they work with the correct lights showing up in the configuration screen. I will post some pics this week so you can see what I am talking about. I have the Proma going to 1,2,3 on the G540 and am not sure how to set it up in Mach.... The table itself is still running great without the THC, just burning through consumables like crazy. I will have time to work on it this weekend and will get you some pics. Designing and building a hybrid water/downdraft system currently as well with the water pan.
DIY 5x10 v rail, rack and pinion
Gecko g540
Pm65 - aka game changer
Longevity ForceCut 42i is sitting on the shelf
Proma THC
ACAD, SheetCam, Mach3
Millermatic 211
NEW HORSE IN THE STABLE:
4'x8' LDR downdraft w/a scribe
Milltronics Partner 2 CNC mill
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by acourtjester »

you should not be going through tips like crazy do you have a dry air supply????
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by KIDTech »

It's the electrodes that I am going through.
DIY 5x10 v rail, rack and pinion
Gecko g540
Pm65 - aka game changer
Longevity ForceCut 42i is sitting on the shelf
Proma THC
ACAD, SheetCam, Mach3
Millermatic 211
NEW HORSE IN THE STABLE:
4'x8' LDR downdraft w/a scribe
Milltronics Partner 2 CNC mill
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acourtjester
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Re: Longevity ForceCut 42i

Post by acourtjester »

better find another supplier something is not right
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