Machine down, Tech Support guessing!

[Ian]

Dave, Sorry to hear about your troubles, This indeed happend to me a couple of weeks ago(z axis error). Melco sent both the motor and the board. The tech explained to me that if the motor goes out it more than likely will fry the board. The tech came and retraced our original diagnostics, then replaced the board. This fixed the issue. We spent the rest of the time running test designs and going over the finer points of maintenance that I wouldnt get in basic training. After sewing about 30k stitches and not getting any issues, he told me that if my machine was several years old, he would have automatically switched out the motor, but since the machine was 6 months old this made no sense to do this, as the parts that are sent out are often reconditiond and the parts in a new machine are new. I was very happy with the way Melco handled this in spite of the travel charge. Of course my "happines" was held up by the fact that my machine was under warranty.

Ian
btownpixelprint.com

[levelbest]

Brian:

Thanks for posting - very informative and most appreciated. It's so true, troubleshooting is a process of elimination and a logical workflow and isn't always an exact science.

Thanks for your hard work in the field.

[Steve]

Personally I'm a Redskins fan and had season tickets when I lived in Maryland.
John, I'll be at the Orlando show in February if you plan on going. It will be a 2-1/2 hour drive from me. I plan on visiting a bunch of friends in Orlando and Sanford while I'm up that way.

[Steve I]

Is there a map somewhere of the main PCB? I have one that is out, I would hate to spend 1,300 on a new board if one can be fixed. I have 8 machines and all 8 boards were replaced less than 2 years ago under warranty. Melco used to have an employee that repaired the boards but he no longer works there. That tells me that the boards can be repaired. I know times are tough but offering to repair a board rather than replacement would go a long way in peoples decision when it's time to purchase a new machine(s). I could be mistaken, but when I replaced all 8 boards the first time they wanted them back and reconditiond boards were available at that time.

I got an x motor tracking error when the problem first started. After talking to tech support I am pretty sure it's the motor and the board. Tech support suggested the bad motor "took out" the main board. I'm no computer wizard, but it seems like they could design in safeguards for that not to happen. Now I am faced with replacing a $400 motor and a $1300 board. If the y or z motor decides to give it up in the near future I could be potentially looking at two more boards.

If there is a map out there of the main PCB I would appreciate any information on how to obtain one.

Thanks,

Steve I.
Trinity Embroidery

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Steve,
The map you speak of is referred to as a "Schematic Diagram" of the main circuit board.

All companies highly guard their "schematics" and only let specific employees gain access to them because should they fall into the wrong hands, one could then have the circuits reverse engineered, patents could be busted, competitors could manufacture more boards and ultimately the company would lose money. Before getting into embroidery, I used to manage and run a large circuit board manufacturing plant for 10 years.

Melco is able to charge what they charge due to supply and demand and so they will. We as customers of Melco, and all other machine companies, must realize that circuit board failure is a potential reality and simply prepare in advance, financially, for such an occasion.

Should a board fail within the first two years in a new machine, Melco usually covers that under warranty but after that, one must take their own provisions such as putting $50-$100 bucks aside each month per head.

Ed

[themainethread]

I have been out of things for a while and had not seen a lot of these replies, so I will clarify some things.

Brian I never meant to slander you, I am sure you do very good service, and I do appreciate you coming up with only a few days notice. I was and am frustrated with Melco. The entire situation has been a fiasco and made me very sorry to have ever purchased a used amaya.

Now I find out that the warranty does transfer because it was bought before 2008, but the warranty doesn't cover the board or z motor. They seem like important pieces to me.

As far as my stating that Melco techs are trained to replace the cheapest items first, this is part of an email I got from Chris Fenton, Melco Technical Support Manager,

"MelcoTech always tries to suggest what parts might be needed for a service call and we try to suggest the least expensive part that might correct the problem (when multiple parts could be the cause)."

After 3 hours on the phone with tech support (colorado not Brian) no one ever mentioned that it could be the board, all they said was the z motor. They transferred me to parts to order a z motor and parts asked if I wanted a board also. Since tech support never mentioned a board, and the parts guy told me that it is not returnable because some people swap the board and send back the old one, I told them no. In hindsight I should have paid the $1350.00.

My problem was and still is this: If I pay the money, order a new board, have Brian come back out and the problem is something else, I am going to be $2700 into a used machine that still doesn't work. In my post repair dealings with Melco they suggested that it could be a servo motor, stepper motor, or just a surge problem.

In fairness after a lot of back and forth Chris Fenton from Melco has offered to take back the board and waive restocking fees. But my fear is that we hook up the new board and whatever caused the problem in the first place happens again, and it ruins the new board. I wish there was some way for Melco to figure out why the machine broke.

Anyway, Brian I am sorry if any of my frustrations spilled over onto you. When I asked you to make sure that it was the motor before you replaced it I didn't realize you couldn't test that first.

And I am really happy that you are still willing to fix my machine because as soon as I can get the money together I will call you.

Dave

**I edited some of my original posts after consideration**

[GF]

Dave,

Although it's a pain to lay out the annual or monthly fee for tech support that covers parts, I find is is worth it. The boards and motors are all covered in the agreement should anything go wrong. I consider it a cost of owning a commercial machine. I think it's a little steep, and Melco should reconsider the price because they may get more subscribers in the long rung, but it is peace of mind when the inevitable happens. Just a suggestion.

GF