Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Fixing a Delonghi Magnifica EAM4500 Cappuccino Machine

Difficulty Level (Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane):
Medium

Process:
Other blog post/fixes for the same model cappuccino machine:

The above fixes were all done with my personal machine. Then, about 6 months ago someone contacted me through my blog and asked whether I could help him out with a "Generic Error" he got on his machine. I tried every trick in the bag but ended up not being able to get his machine working.

Instead of throwing it out, he generously agreed to send it up to Canada so I could have a go at it. After taking off some parts off my machine and testing it, I ended up concluding that the main mother board was fried. Luckily I had one for that exact machine from one of my previous attempts at fixing my own machine. After replacing the board and a bunch of other parts taken from my machine I did end up getting it to work.

All I had to do was order the broken parts online, replace them and now I have a fully functioning machine. I'm currently trying to sell it on ebay for $600 bucks (I have about $475 into it from parts and the $200 shipping to Canada cost), so I hope it will provide thousands of cups of beautiful java to the next owner.

Pictures:
The brew unit was quite rusted

The machine after I removed the brew element

Melted inlet pipe

All the parts taken off the machine to inspect and clean

The brew unit rusted

Cleaning all the parts

Another melted part

The cleaned up bracket

Another view

Cleaning the brew piston

The brew piston being taken apart, new o-rings installed and greased with food-grade silicone grease

The brew unit with molten plastic inside

Close-up of the calcium deposit and molten plastic

Painting the mounting bracket

Truing up the boil element on my surface plate

Shortly after I started

The brew element almost cleaned up

Getting ready to put it back together

I had to mill out and re-tap a broken off bolt

Close-up of the broken bolt

After I re-tapped the hole, testing the new bolt


Another view

The completely restored machine

She's a beauty

Clean as a whistle

So proud of her

The bean reservoir

Close-up of the beans

The only part that is still broken is a small rib in the plastic cover

Tools:
Metal lathe & accessories
Screw driver
Brushes
Drill
Surface plate
Sandpaper

Materials:
New motherboard
New water inlet adapter
New high-temp silicone o-rings
High temperature spray paint
Pliers
Dental pick

Cost:
$475.00

Time:
15 hrs

Conclusion:
I'm using it at work right now and some people are already very sad about the prospect of me selling the machine.

How to Fix a Delta Belt Sander With a Burnt Out Motor

Difficulty Level (Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane):
Medium

Process:
I bought a 4x36 Delta belt sander off kijiji for $25 and once I got it all cleaned up and plugged it in, it took less than 30 seconds for the motor to go up in smoke.

At first I thought it was just some sawdust burning but the motor was completely fried. After some research in rewinding motors I decided not to pursue that avenue but instead see if I could take one of my 1/2hp motors I had lying around and adapt it to my belt sander.

After turning down the motor's flange on the lathe, I cut a hole into the case of the belt sander, drilled some holes for mounting bolts and mounted the water pump motor into the housing of the belt sander.

The next thing I had to do was to hook up the wiring, drill a cross hole to the belt gear and set it with a 1/8" roll pin.

After that I built a pedestal around the base of the belt sander because the water pump motor was larger than the base.

The last thing I had to do was to cast and turn a disc for the 6" side sander. That part turned out to be a bit tricky. I ended up having to do it two times because for the first one I drilled a hole that was too large, then I wanted to fix it by pressing a matching plug into the bored hole with my 20-ton DIY Shop Press and re-drill it at a smaller size but I cracked the flange because I didn't support the part properly (I just learned the first lesson when it comes to shop press useage)

After I finished the disc and installed it on the belt sander, all that was left was to install the sand paper on the disc and I was done.

Pictures:
Close-up of the model

Motor specs

The burned out motor

The belt sander after I took out the dead motor

All the parts that came off

The burnt wiring

Close-up of the burnt wiring

Pressing the rotor out of the motor housing

The order for the drive belt

The original drive belt

Getting ready to install the motor in the cut-out sander base

Fitting the motor into the sander base

Turning the face plate of the motor flat

Another view

Fitting the motor into the sander base

Another view

The installed motor with the wood base

Another view

Getting ready to wire up the motor

Another view

The finished belt sander sans side disc

Another view

Turning the side disc

My son helping me out

Using a 10mm end mill to drill the hole

Accidentally drilled the hole too big 

All I had was some square stock
Turning down a plug to press fit into the hole that was too big
The finished plug


Turning it down to size

Chamfering the plug

After I cracked the disc hub during press-fitting the plug into the undersized hole

Drilling a hole through the motor shaft and pulley, then installing a 1/8" roll pin

Cutting off the excess of the motor shaft

Installing the drive belt guard

The back side of the belt sander

Starting to drill the hole on the second version of the side disc

Another view

The finished side disc

The back side of the finished side disc

Test-fitting the side disc

Tapping the hub for a set screw

I had to grind a slot into the end of the tap so I could use a screwdriver to tap the hub

Tapping the hub with a screwdriver

Test fitting the side disc with a 5" PSA sanding disc

Another view

The back side of the sander

Tools:
Aluminum foundry & accessories
Propane burner
Metal lathe & accessories
Metal band saw
Cordless drill
Screw drivers
Ratchet & socket set
Table saw
Chop saw
Angle grinder
Eye & ear protection
Hammer
Air compressor
Air nailer

Materials:
1/2 hp water pump motor
3ft of 2x4 lumber
Nails & screws
Wood glue
2 lbs aluminum
One drive belt

Cost:
$20.00

Time:
5 hrs

Savings:
$120

Conclusion:
It works great. I've already used it several times

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