hypnotic_monkey Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 got a mac 500 but it is having problems with the iris, gobo wheel and the pan is making nasty scraping noises - need a quick fix as its going out on thurs to a festival so no time to get it properly serviced/fixed. What can we use - wd40 or similar? just to stop things sticking and move slightly better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLiEn Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 It needs a proper service. Are you hiring /supplying the kit to the festival? if so this is a pretty poor attitude. When was the last time it was serviced? if its not your kit then the person/company who supplied it have a duty to replace it for you, so take it up with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unfathomable Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 if it is going out of Thursday why is there not time to get it fixed? if you can't there will probably be someone near who can. Can't remember who did ours but that took about a week. For a bit more I am sure they could turn a fixture round in a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceecrb1 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Thursday?! nothing to worry about! enough time to send it to me in spain, fix it and get it back! I can generally get about 3 robots fixed in one workshop day, providing I have the replacement parts... ie, its not too time consuming. Scratchy noises? what else can you tell us??? Have you opened it up just to look? can you see what is scratching what? It could be as simple as effects wheels sliding off the stepper motor pin..or a dying stepper motor with its coils expanding. This can be tested easily.. does it turn freely with just your fingertips?A bent chasis from a knock, normally they lean towards one arm but its enough to put eveything out of alignment. WD40 no. we use the lubricant used on furnace door hinges. but that wont actually fix anything, just hide the scratchy noise, rather than stop 2 bits of metal scratching together.. which there should be none. Honestly robot repair is a lot easier than it used to be, especially macs. and from the sounds of it you have more than one. Just open it up side by side a known good one, you can dismantle all you like, just keep track of which screws go where, use mugs or cups to keep them in their seccions... and just go compairing details agains the good one.. Does something look bent, missing, out of place etc..Theres no voodoo or witchcraft I use in my workshop, it is VERY rare that I actually need to use much of anything I learned studying electrical engineering at heriot watt... its all just common sense.. and to be honest, if you do it with your brain in gear, quite hard to make worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Whatever you do DO NOT USE WD40 inside the head of the fixture. You need high temperature silicone grease for any moving parts and motors that feel like they could do with a bit of lubrication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnotic_monkey Posted September 20, 2010 Author Share Posted September 20, 2010 Cool cheers, yeh iv asked someone to take a look tomorrow - he is trained to component level but is audio & projector based so has never pulled a mac apart - shouldnt be too tricky for him tho. Am planning to get all our units sent to a martin service tech after the summer rush. It is not hiring as such - its doing a favour to someone, they are just covering our food & smoke fluid costs. we can do the festival without it it would just be nice to have it working for it. Have any of you got the service manual for a 500? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 You need high temperature silicone grease for any moving parts No you don't. Grease is too thick, and motors will sometimes have sealed or self-lubricating bearings so won't require any oil or grease. Only use grease on the things that slide, such as the guide rails for the lenses. Oil, specifically silicone oil, should be used on things like gobo ball races. You can pay a small fortune for genuine Martin oil, or you can use 3-in-1 silicone oil. The 3-in1 oil is a little thinner than the Martin oil, but they are both rated to the same temperature. I've used 3-in-1 silicone oil on my movers, and after a month of hard work everything still worked perfectly and they did not need re-oiling. As for the service manuals, Martin themselves will be able to send you what you need. There's a 'literature request' section to their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Only use grease on the things that slide, such as the guide rails for the lenses. Oil, specifically silicone oil, should be used on things like gobo ball races. Sorry gyro, I don't know what I was thinking when I said that - I think I was thinking about patching repairs up (like dichroics). My mistake, oil is what you usually need and sometimes on iris', people will use a high temp graphite based grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnotic_monkey Posted September 21, 2010 Author Share Posted September 21, 2010 You need high temperature silicone grease for any moving parts No you don't. Grease is too thick, and motors will sometimes have sealed or self-lubricating bearings so won't require any oil or grease. Only use grease on the things that slide, such as the guide rails for the lenses. Oil, specifically silicone oil, should be used on things like gobo ball races. You can pay a small fortune for genuine Martin oil, or you can use 3-in-1 silicone oil. The 3-in1 oil is a little thinner than the Martin oil, but they are both rated to the same temperature. I've used 3-in-1 silicone oil on my movers, and after a month of hard work everything still worked perfectly and they did not need re-oiling. As for the service manuals, Martin themselves will be able to send you what you need. There's a 'literature request' section to their website. Cheers for ya help - have sent message to martin just hope they get back to me. Which of these would be the better option or neither:http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...O&U=strat15 http://www.screwfix.com/prods/52410/Van-Ca...Lubricant-400ml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 The spray from Screwfix is exactly the stuff I was talking about. I found it quite by accident in a local DIY store, so it should not be too hard for you to find if you are in a hurry to fix your lights. I think the 3-in-1 oil from Maplin is just a mineral oil with a few additives. sometimes on iris', people will use a high temp graphite based grease. Well they shouldn't! Graphite powder is what you need. Or if you are really stuck, scribbling over the iris leaves with a pencil can help. Contrary to popular belief pencils don't contain lead. They are mostly made up from graphite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnotic_monkey Posted September 21, 2010 Author Share Posted September 21, 2010 nice 1, will pop down to screw fix this afternoon :) if it can make it through the weekend its going for a proper service when it comes back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnotic_monkey Posted September 21, 2010 Author Share Posted September 21, 2010 That stuff worked a treat thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnotic_monkey Posted September 23, 2010 Author Share Posted September 23, 2010 One of them is doing something strange. it works fine - except when I turn the shutter to strobe. If it is moving then when it strobes the movements go very very slowly. anyone had this or know how to fix it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 One of them is doing something strange. it works fine - except when I turn the shutter to strobe. If it is moving then when it strobes the movements go very very slowly. anyone had this or know how to fix it? By the sounds of things all of your MAC's are due for a good proper service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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