Romcontrol

25/10/2023

Business Flexibility Is Always Vital To Meet Today’s Client Requirements
An energy producer recently approached us with a large number of complex control cabinets for urgent refurbishment. Each the size of a large bar fridge, these water-cooled cabinets were filled with smart electronics to control Megawatts of outgoing electrical power.

As the equipment was mission critical, and the overseas manufacturer only wanted to sell new with 4 months delivery, our client was desperate.

With hundreds requiring refurbishment, the time to process each was unfeasible even with our state-of-the-art automated diagnostic tools. The cabinets had no tech. documentation or schematics, so our engineers needed a different approach.

Diagnostics with a bespoke computer tablet connected to the cabinet could give us the fault data but due to the high voltages, this was uneconomical. So, our team designed a handheld computerised testing device tailored for these cabinets. We now were able to automatically test each cabinet system, so full diagnostics was 3 mins, not 3 days. The answer provided fault location, a component or PCB issue and if was repeatable or intermittent.

Our refurbishment time was 1 week and we provide a full 2 years warranty with all refurbishments.

With this innovation, Rom Control proved itself as a game changer for urgent repairs. It's all about speed, years of experience, and reliability. Contact us on 1300 766 287 or www.rom-control.com.au/contact-us to discuss your need.

12/10/2023

Circuit Board Conformal Coatings - Removal Can Be A Disaster If Not Done Correctly.

A Danfoss FCD 3.3Kw (5Hp) VSD arrived recently from a client for repair. We were told that the client’s maintenance crew attempted a repair on the circuit board but did further damage trying to remove the conformal coating. On dismantling, we found the circuit board was badly scratched and a few electronic components broken. Unfortunately their heavy handed trades person almost destroyed the PCB by firstly attempting to remove the coating mechanically.

So what is Conformal Coating you might ask? It is a protective layer of film applied over circuit boards and is usually a two-pack resin, an acrylic resin, silicone or Parylene. The coating helps prevents corrosion, mechanical damage, etc. and must be removed to diagnose and replace faulty electronic components. An appropriate chemical that is inert to the circuit board and components, or light heating, is the best way we have found to remove the coating. Scrapping and sanding is strongly discouraged.

After many years, Rom-Control has had to developed specific techniques with non hazard chemicals to remove the coating. So do your research before reaching for a sharp knife or sandpaper.

After much re-construction, we did clean and re-build our client’s VSD thankfully as this particular drive was discontinued many years ago. Now their machine is up and running at full speed.

If you wish to discuss further, contact us at [email protected] or send us a message at https://www.rom-control.com.au/contact-us/ to discuss.

04/10/2023

Five Signs Your Industrial Logic Circuit Board Has Gone Bad

I recently had coffee with a client who mentioned he had a problem with a new welding robot. Recently it needed two or three attempts to initialize before it was ready but that morning, it took five attempts. The HMI kept reporting a different ‘random’ computer error.
Familiar with this type of fault, I suggested it’s an electronic issue which we need to look at. As expected, we discovered aging faults on many circuit boards. After we refurbished the electronics, the robot initialized immediately. My client was amazed and wanted to know how I knew.
From our experience, we know the five basic signs that your industrial logic circuit board (PLC, power supply, VSD, etc.) is going bad.
1. Random Error Codes or warning beeps.
2. Power indicators are slow to glow, flickering, or don’t come.
3. Random data errors on HMIs, counters, printouts, etc.
4. Random booting issues, the electronics appear to possess little gremlins.
5. A smoldering electronic smell.
So what should you do if you suspect a logic board is failing? Sometimes a replacement electronic board might be an option but more often than not, you may have to modify the board or machine to make it fit, or there may be other configuration issues. It is usually far simpler and safer to have the original boards refurbished.
If you wish to discuss further, contact us at [email protected] or send us a message at https://lnkd.in/fG5U_3T to discuss.

01/08/2023

Rom-Control attended the Australian Wind Energy 2023 Conference last week which turned out to be an amazing event. Thank you to the organizers who did a fantastic job putting it all together and the huge number of delegates and speakers attending.

Rom-Control's booth was kept very busy with many delegates introducing themselves and asking about our electronic repair service for converters, inverters, IGBTs, controllers, etc. If you wish to know more, contact us at [email protected] or message us at rom-control.com.au/contact-us/

Look forward to seeing you all next year.

28/06/2023

First the advert, then the fun stuff, read on.....

At Rom-Control, we repair or refurbish industrial electronics. Irrespective of age, make or functionality, we can repair any variable speed drive, power supply, PLC, etc at a fraction of the cost of a new. All our work is guaranteed for 24 months and we are ISO9001 Certified.

Now, the reason for this post: We constantly look for new ways to use our existing assets more efficiently and therefore provide the most economical offering to our clients.

Whilst doing this, sometimes we come across unexpected fun things to happen. One of these happened to me today whilst I was using ChatGPT. If you want to have some fun, do this;

1. Open ChatGPT
2. type in "act like ......" where ..... is your favorite character. For example, type in "act like daffy duck".
3 Ask Daffy Duck questions or ask for a story you would expect Daffy Duck to be in eg raid the hen house.

Read what you get back, AI is really amazing.

But on a serious note, if we can assist you with repairs or refurbishment to any industrial electronics, you can contact us at [email protected] or www.rom-control.com.au/contact-us

07/06/2023

Our new promotional video was released recently. Please have a look and let us know your opinion at [email protected]

06/03/2022

CHANCE FAVOURS THE PREPARED MIND – (LOUIS PASTEUR 1822-1895)
Category : Blog
As Rom-Control has extensive experience in the repair and refurbishment of industrial electronic control systems, a common question we often hear is “Is it worth repairing”. If you find yourself asking this question, and the answer is not obvious, then maybe a “Feasibility Study” will provide you the clarity you need.

For example, our client with a massive investment in 20-year-old production machinery noticed that reliability was declining significantly especially over the past three years. Mechanically the machines were maintained very well but now the automated electronic controls such as PLC’s and variable speed drives were causing significant downtime issues.

As the client needed these machines to run for at least the next ten years, they asked us to carry out a Feasibility Study to determine the most cost-effective options. The options to be considered included refurbishment of the old control systems, replace with “new or re-engineering” circuit boards, or remove the control systems and update with the latest PLC’s and controls.

Our investigation required onsite inspection, maintenance records review, circuit board health checks, component availability, etc. as well as the system reviewed for its overall function in the machine. During our investigation, we realized there was a machine issue that was difficult to navigate around. We were searching for an answer when by chance, one of our engineers noticed an advert that not only solved the issue but provided real benefits beyond what was being asked.

Our final report revealed two other cost-effective options that the client had never considered and a recommendation that aligned with the business and their customer expectations. The client was delighted with the result and commented that “we have saved him not only significant money, but now he would sleep better”.

This proves that Louis Pasteur was right, sometimes you have to study a subject intensely so that when, by chance, you notice a widget, you recognize the benefits immediately.

28/11/2021

It’s Not Easy Being Green – Resurrecting Discarded Equipment

On a recent visit to a client’s processing plant, we noticed a heap of protection relays that were tagged either “unserviceable” or “failed” after their annual testing.

Over the years our ‘green minded’ client John has had to replace various protection relays at great expense after testing but couldn’t bring himself to throw out the failed relays. On our visit today, John mentioned that although it was wasteful, he was about to throw the old ones in the bin as he needed the shelf space. He then asked us if we wanted them, we said Yes!

A week later when the units arrived, we put them through our state-of-the-art protection relays simulation and testing process. Each unit that we examined did show a different set of faults, but our engineers were able to diagnose each one and found all were repairable.

We did successfully fix all the relays and have them pass our dedicated CT-VT injection test. We then attached the complete test results to each relay so the new owners have a future record.

I was talking to John recently on a different subject and he was astonished that we were able to fix the relays. I advised if he needed any in the future, he just needed to pay for the incidental repair cost rather than buy a new. He asked for an indicative price which turned out to be a small fraction of the replacement cost, plus we give a full 2-year warranty. A week later a purchase order turned up for all the protection relays he had given us.

Many of our clients try to run “green factories” which means re-using and reducing waste. Protection relays are not meant to be a disposable item and even the most in-expensive protection relays can be repaired economically.

Talk to us if you wish to know more or message us at https://www.rom-control.com.au/contact-us/

19/10/2021

Recently we invited a film crew to our premises to make a promotional video on how Rom-Control repairs and refurbishes industrial electronic control systems. The concept for the video was to illustrate how we fault-find issues on complex circuit boards that have been in service for many years.

From our ‘technically difficult to find the fault’ pile of circuit boards, we found an integrated Power Control Unit (PPU) that would be perfect as the subject matter for the filming. We then proceeded as normal through our repair process with the film crew in tow. Eventually, we had the Unit on our workshop bench cleaned, dismantled, and fully diagnosed. It was found that one electrolytic capacitor had failed which we did replace, but failed again during our testing. With the faulty part identified and replaced, our Electrical Engineer Hiren was ready to turn on the PCU.

Before Hiren could flip the switch, the film director suggested wouldn’t it be funny if something ‘blew up’ harmlessly while the cameras were on. Hiren’s eyes lit up and now knowing this circuit board intimately, he said, ‘I can do that!’ He then proceeded to remove the new electrolytic capacitor and turned it the other way round to make it reverse polarity. This would ensure that the capacitor would blow up with a loud popping noise but not be unsafe, nor will it damage anything on the circuit board. The film crew was delighted and zoomed in to make sure they caught all the action.

Hiren then flipped the switch to turn on the PPU. No noise, no smoke, nothing. Amazed, Hiren attached the test equipment that showed the PPU was working properly. This does not make sense!

After a lengthy examination of the board circuitry, Hiren realized what had happened. Each circuit board is screen-printed to show what and where the components are to be installed and indicate their proper orientation. For this new capacitor, the board’s screen printing showed the placement backward. After further rigorous testing, Hiren confirmed this to be true and was then able to confirm why the original repairs were not successful. This was an amazing fate of luck and potentially saved us many more hours of frustrating investigation.

Not wanting to disappoint the film crew, Hiren found another simple board to simulate the capacitor blowing up (a lot of noise and smoke, no risk to health or damage). Everyone was happy that day including the client when we returned the PPU in excellent working condition.

04/10/2021

Recently a client sent us a complete conveyor system including the frame, belt, and power supply which they had extracted from their production facility the day before. The fault was reported as an error with the Variable Speed Drive (VSD) controller which would suddenly stop the conveyor motor frequently during each production run. The error on the VSD seemed erratic and each time inconsistent with the previous errors so our client could not diagnose the issue. For a company to deliver to us the entire machine and not just the faulty VSD for us to repair is strange so we knew that sending the entire conveyor belt system meant this one was going to be a couple of late nights thinking about this.

Like all machinery these days, the conveyor section plugs into the central production control system (CPCS) so it knows when to speed up and slow down in harmony with all the machines around it. Our first task was to set up a simple controller to simulate the CPCS and then wait to see if the VSD fails. Thank heavens for the simple little Arduino microprocessors and an ethernet shield.

After powering up the conveyor, it took just over an hour for the VSD to stop the motor. The error code reported an overtemperature issue. As the motor doesn’t have a temperature sensor, and the VSD was quite cool, we investigated and found an issue with the VSD thermistor. We also noticed a huge black stain on the power controller board around the high-power IGBTs (driving transistors). After we addressed the thermistor and IGBT issues, we ran the VSD through various tests which revealed an almost invisible hairline fault near the CPU. With over 14 years of experience with this type of drive, we knew we had found the reason for the erratic error codes. We then cleaned the black soot, replaced the two faulty IGBTs, re-checked the circuitry and then fully tested each function and feature. The VSD was found to be operating like brand new – YIPEE, SUCCESS.

Then unexpectedly the real fault-finding began, and it turned into a real head-scratching issue…

We re-installed the VSD into the conveyor and gave the whole system a complete re-test. After about three hours, we noticed the conveyor had stopped again. The drive reporting an over-current issue. Our immediate thought was IMPOSSIBLE!!!! The VSD was removed and taken through our entire testing regime a second time and it passed with flying colours. We re-installed the VSD on the conveyor and a few hours later the same fault. Why we asked?

After a lot more head-scratching and testing, we decided to trust our testing process and deem the VSD as faultless, so then we went about finding another cause. What we noticed was the motor was now erratically drawing an excessive amount of current. Strangely it wasn’t before we did the repair to the VSD? After removing the conveyor belt and spinning each roller by hand, we finally found the drive roller on the conveyor was sometimes ‘tight’. The bearings on each side looked ok so again we ask, why? Further investigation found that this roller had double bearings installed on each side and the inner bearing on one side fell apart. This could only have happened during our VSD final testing as the motor amps were ok when we originally tested before the VSD was repaired. It now appears that the broken pieces were intermittingly jamming inside the roller.

We were more than delighted when the roller was repaired, and everything worked properly. Our client was more than ecstatic as he thought he needed to buy a new VSD and to import the updated model (the current model was superseded many years ago) meant huge cost and modification to the existing system. Our client has now asked us to service three other VSDs that are considered critical for his business.

01/09/2021

And They Said It Couldn’t Be Fixed!
A recent discussion with a client revealed that they had a control board that was deemed unfixable. Just by saying this, our client threw the gauntlet down and the challenge was on!
The control board runs a large processing machine that was currently sitting idle. The machine is the size of a family-sized car and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. As the board was a few years old, the replacement needed to be imported from overseas and would cost an astronomical amount. To add salt to the wound, overseas had no stock on hand and quoted a delay of at least three months.
When we received the board, the tag on it said “Damaged beyond repair” and there was a big black area on the circuit board that looked like someone had used it for an ashtray. We asked our client to describe what happened just before the fault and it was mentioned that an operator noticed a flash of light coming out of the control cabinet, followed by a lot of smoke. We all know this is never a good sign.
Being a multi-layered circuit board and having all the labels and markings blown off in the damaged area, it was impossible to identify which components had fried, or which components had departed at high speed. Many of the PCB tracks were also blown away with little sign of where they were prior.
After tracing out the circuit and a lot of theorizing, we understood what probably happened and what parts are most likely missing. Using our state-of-the-art simulation and testing equipment, we realized what was most probably missing from the circuitry, and the specification they needed to meet the operating conditions. We then set about finding the appropriate replacement parts.
Much to the surprise and happiness of our client, we did manage to repair the circuit board back to brand new status. It did take us quite a bit of time and head-scratching, but after our QA testing, we proved the circuit was working as good as new. As our invoice was less than half the quoted new replacement and we provide a full 2-year warranty, our client was extremely happy. When they plugged the board back into their machine and completed the setup and configuration phase, the machine started to run just as well as it did over the past 20 years.
We love a challenge, try and send us something ‘unfixable’.

Repair and refurbish any electronic, process control or test equipment, including PLC's and VSD's, irrespective of age, function or manufacturer.