Hello, sorry to beat a dead horse. My PDB stopped working and I replaced all the seals and cleaned everything up. Used machine that I just purchased. Making sure I’ve got 100psi at the regulator it will not release and hisses at around the solenoid which I replaced as well. I didn’t replace the pnone cable switch. I can’t climb around like I used to and can’t bang on things with a hammer at least above your waste lol. I’m new to all of this and I’m frustrated there’s not a service guy I can just call and give my machine the once over. I’ve got air, I’ve replaced the seals, replaced the solenoid. Something hissing. Any thoughts. Can I operate it manually until I get it fixed too? Help (Riverside, CA)
Until you find the source of the air leak, everything else you might try is a only going to mask the issue. You said you replaced the solenoid that was hissing, it is still hissing? If so then the hoses probably aren’t fully inserted into the push to connect fittings. It requires a bit of force to seat them fully. They’ll slide in easy enough but push harder and they will pop in a bit further and seal.
If that’s not the issue then check all the other air line connections. Understanding that you aren’t able to climb around the machine, check if you have a neighbor who can help.
Finding air leaks really doesn’t require any technical know-how, just stick your finger around the various connections and listen for a change in the sound. Alternatively, a spray bottle full of water and a drop or two of dish soap is an old tire shop method to find leaks, spray a bit wherever you think the leak may be and look for bubbles.
Hi Ian, I’ll find where it’s coming from and post what I find soon.
TY
I had the brass adjustment screws come loose on my ATC solenoids that caused it to fail to operate with extra hissing and air leakage. They’re still a bit off I think, but at the time there was no information on how to properly re-adjust them-- if there still isn’t perhaps Tormach could put together a tech sheet.
Hi Geoff,
The cylinder and valve are not difficult to triage. You should never have air coming through the cylinder or across ports on the valve.
You mentioned that you have replaced a few things, but this will require more investigation.
Head over and put in a support request, and we would be happy to help get this resolved for you.
Roy, the needle valves are speed adjustments, so it’s subjective to provide “proper” adjustment as some users like the drawbar or tray in speed to be slightly faster or slower.
Closing them all the way and turning then out one full turn at a time on both until satisfied is best practice.
Thanks. IME if they get too loose, there will be no travel, just lots of air leakage. If the lock nuts aren’t tight, chatter and vibration can loosen them up to that point.
I’ve found and fixed the air leak. It was the fittings on the solenoid not tight enough and no teflon tape. That’s been corrected but has not fixed the problem.
Just to clarify, so you no longer have any air leaks, and you have 100psi coming from the regulator. Is the PDB actuating at all? If not, you have a blockage or mechanical issue somewhere.
If the PDB is actuating but the tool isn’t releasing, that’s likely a PDB adjustment issue. The TTS system can be quite difficult to fine tune such that the tool comes out easily but does not pull out during a heavier cut. If the drawbar is adjusted too tight (to prevent pullout) it can be difficult if not impossible to remove the tool. The adjustment procedure is fairly straightforward. Here’s the Tormach video for the PDB drawbar install on the 440 is on youtube here. There are some minor differences in the machines of course, but the procedure is the same.
The leaks are gone, the psi is 110 and there is no motion or sound at all. Pushing the buttons to release does nothing. My next step is to disconnect the current phone cord switch and connect the new one I purchased to see if that is the fault. I don’t like the fact there is no feel to the switch, new or old. Even when it’s working it doesn’t instill confidence that you’re actually pressing a switch if that makes any sense.
Is there a button on the solenoid you can press to fire it? IIRC my beta PDB had one, but that was a long while ago. If so that would bypass the electronics for debugging.