Castolin Castotig 2002 ( mw2000?)

[Dutch Welder]

Today after work I found some resistors, and after soldering them into the board the machine now is confirmed as working.
Also swapped out some dodgy looking condensors, they were not bad persé, measured OK but looked a bit worse for wear.
So as a future reference the Lastek suffers from the same problem that plagues the Magicwave (resistors failign after time) and can be fixed the same way.

Symptoms were the same as described by HughF and ..
Only one working power led on the main PCB, instead of 1 next to each driver (this PCB has the Drive leds next to each drive, not grouped together in one corner) , HF but no actual arc and 0.0 volt showing when on MMA.

 

[Dutch Welder]

And another one resqued,
This time a Castolin 2002 AC/DC.
It had the same symptoms as the Lastek, but after soldering in the new resistors it also had a clickign sound coming from the transformer.
The Castolin has a different design from the SAF and the Lastek, in that it has 2 rectifier board fitted, not 1 board with both of them on.

1 of them had a red led burning, the other hadn't.
Unplugging them stopped the clicking sound.
Swapped them over, and the red light stayed on the same side, so the boards itself were ok.
Beneath the 2 boards 2 large black components were fitted (probably the rectifiers??), swapping them over yielded no result, the same red led kept burning, the other stayed unlit.
After looking a bit further I did see that 1 rectifier got power from 2 mosfets,and the other rectifier was powered by 2 others.
After swapping the leads over the red led lit up on the other board, so the mosfets were the culprit.I swapped in some from my work in progress SAF Prestotig and the welder worked again.

I sold the Lastek to a guy through our Dutch Ebay,and he told me he could always use quality welders, so after fixing the Castolin I sold him that as well.

 

[michel]

To add to this.

I have recently acquired a Lastek Investig 2020 ACDC, sold as spares/broken.
The problem was HF frequency but no actual arc. (And for the price I was willing to gamble, as If I can not fix it I have cheaply acquired loads of spares for my 2 SAF's and my Castolin)
As you can probably guess by the front panel layout this is yet another Maggicwave 2000 Fuzzy in another jacket.

The Fronius was resold under at least 3 other brands.
SAF Prestotig 200 AC/DC
Castolin Eutectic 2002
Lastek Investig 2020 AC/DC(the S is correct, it's not called Invertig, why I do not know)

Same board layout as the Castolin Eutectic 2002, slightly different fron the SAF Prestotig 200AC/DC and the Fronius Magicwave Fuzzy, but also with the aforementioned resistors.
Have desoldered and measured them, and the 560 one is good, one of the 270's shows 700+ ohm's and the second 270 one is designated as broken by my component tester.

If i fix it someone is going to , and I am having some

Hi , i have the same Lastek 2020 it works verry well , i use it with the remote controle tr from Hugh , it works great , before ive got al lastek with the Hf module how dont works ,
i remove the plastic housing from te Hf module and find a air bulb on the side , going in that hole whit a plastic pin makes its work again , so i remove the gray isolation pasta until i see the contakt , after soldering the contakts ont the back of the print it works again , maybe ive got luccky , just tray

 

[Doug Boyd]

I've just picked a Castolin 2002 ACDC up - not working , no volts. Having read these threads I took a punt hoping it was the same resistor issue. Measured the 270ohm & 560ohm resistor - all open. I've ordered replacement resistors and fingers crossed that's the issue.

Will update shortly.
IMG_20200131_231141_3.jpg

 

[Macfun]

Hi guys !
I'm newbie here (from Belgium), just bought cheap and dead Castotig 2002 ACDC, so I'll follow this very carefully !
Opened tonight, my Castotig was partly dismantled by the previous owner ... without wiring identification on the rectifiers side ... Not good ...
Got the manual, so first step might be trying to re-wire it and restart the troubleshooting procedure.

Thanks for accepting me and my basic english !

 

[Macfun]

Fresh news ...

Here's the beast.
I got it without torch nor manual or welding cables.


And the top board with good-looking resistors (I wished they were burned, but no ...).


PCB020 board on power socket side, disconnected by a previous owner without connectors marks.
He also removed the 7 Mosfets behind without any marks ...
One of them has different reference (FRO169) than others (APT5010JVR) ...

Could you help me reconnecting everything ?




For those interested, I found the Castolin 2002 ACDC manual (PDF) in english and french.
Also available, the manual (eng-ger-fr) for the Fronius Transtig 2000 and MagicWave 2000 Fuzzy.

 

[Macfun]

Fresh update of today.
One of the 7 Mosfets is broken (the only one FRO169 reference, it stays ON all the time).
Does anyone have a spare APT5010JVR for sale ?

 

[Dutch Welder]

Strange, as the APT5010JVR is rated at 500v @ 44 amps.
The voltage seems very high, maybe you can use a cheaper lower voltage one with the same amp rating.

 

[eddie49]

the APT5010JVR is rated at 500v @ 44 amps.The voltage seems very high

After rectifying 230v AC mains, the DC Bus voltage in the inverter will be 325v, so 500 is an adequate safety margin.

 

[Macfun]

Strange, as the APT5010JVR is rated at 500v @ 44 amps.
The voltage seems very high, maybe you can use a cheaper lower voltage one with the same amp rating.

It's not the APT5010JVR which failed, it's the STMicroElectronics C828N FRO169, being always ON.
And I did not find any data sheet for this one, to compare with APT unit.
Furthermore, I don't know where it was located on the back panel ... nor if it has a different function (7 Mosfets seems unusual but I'm not an electrician at all).


Looking on the other side of the Castotig 2002 ACDC, there is another back panel with 4 Mosfet from STMicroelectronics : C819E FRO178.
No data sheet available, either ...
These are linked with copper bars.
Just for information.

 

[Macfun]

By the way, Anyone here having a Castotig 2002 ACDC, or a Fronius Magic Wave 2000 ?

I would ask to have a picture of the PCB020 harness to reconnect it correctly ...
Here is the actual status, as I discovered it after panel removal.




The very best would be removal this PCB and check the Mosfets references and locations behind, to know if they're all APT or if there is a FRO169 and where ...
But I might ask too much ?

 

[Doug Boyd]

I've just picked a Castolin 2002 ACDC up - not working , no volts. Having read these threads I took a punt hoping it was the same resistor issue. Measured the 270ohm & 560ohm resistor - all open. I've ordered replacement resistors and fingers crossed that's the issue.

Will update shortly.
IMG_20200131_231141_3.jpg

Turns out 3 resistors at the exorbitant price of $1.80 has got this welder back on the road. Thanks for the info above.

Now that I have it running, do most still run the original torch or have retro fitted another. Do standard cups fit the Castotig torch?

Doug

 

[Macfun]

Turns out 3 resistors at the exorbitant price of $1.80 has got this welder back on the road. Thanks for the info above.

Now that I have it running, do most still run the original torch or have retro fitted another. Do standard cups fit the Castotig torch?

Doug

Hi Doug.
Nice to hear that it's back alive !

Coïncidence, yesterday I started a new thread about similar target !!!
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/castolin-castotig-2002-acdc-torch-harness-pinout.98122/
Do you want to join the search and share your opinion ?

Regarding cups, I've no idea, I don't even have a torch ... yet !

Regards

 

[Doug Boyd]

Hi Doug.
Nice to hear that it's back alive !

Coïncidence, yesterday I started a new thread about similar target !!!
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/castolin-castotig-2002-acdc-torch-harness-pinout.98122/
Do you want to join the search and share your opinion ?

Regarding cups, I've no idea, I don't even have a torch ... yet !

Regards

I was fortunate this welder came complete with torch, brandnew earth clamp & wire, and foot pedal.

I can imagine it might be hard to find a torch, especially with the Euro connector - maybe it's a hint you might need to modify to allow a standard torch.

Doug

 

[HughF]

I will have mine apart this week and will take photos for you guys so we can identify the various mosfets and igbts

 

[Macfun]

HughF !
If you know what is inside the FRO169 and FRO178 (2 diodes, one, transistor, ... ?), and what are their schematics, it could ease a lot to search a suitable/valuable replacement unit.

HughF, did you already have to replace the above by a compatible and reliable market-available component ?

 

[eddie49]

Searching for "FRO169" produces a link to a datasheet at Farnell for STE45NK80ZD, which is an 800v 45A N-channel MOSFET from ST Microelectronics:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/64918.pdf

[ There's nothing on that datasheet to explain the "hit" for that FRO169 search....]

Similarly, a search for "FRO178" links to STTH20002TV1, which is a 200v 120A dual-diode module:
https://uk.farnell.com/stmicroelectronics/stth20002tv1/diode-fast-200v-2x120a-isotop/dp/1689330

This Slovenian website confirms that the FRO178 has 2 diodes and is from a Transtig 2000 :
http://www.elektronik.si/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=184365&sid=75756ad5e67d03a1b9f371793ac08e55
They suggest an IXYS Westcode alternative part:
http://www.westcode.com/md600-12.pdf

 

[Macfun]

Searching for "FRO169" produces a link to a datasheet at Farnell for STE45NK80ZD, which is an 800v 45A N-channel MOSFET from ST Microelectronics:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/64918.pdf

[ There's nothing on that datasheet to explain the "hit" for that FRO169 search....]

Similarly, a search for "FRO178" links to STTH20002TV1, which is a 200v 120A dual-diode module:
https://uk.farnell.com/stmicroelectronics/stth20002tv1/diode-fast-200v-2x120a-isotop/dp/1689330

This Slovenian website confirms that the FRO178 has 2 diodes and is from a Transtig 2000 :
http://www.elektronik.si/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=184365&sid=75756ad5e67d03a1b9f371793ac08e55
They suggest an IXYS Westcode alternative part:
http://www.westcode.com/md600-12.pdf

How different could be a google search ...
I never got a Farnell link on my side.

Nevertheless, It's another possibility for the moment.
Please note that the "FRO178" ST component from Farnell includes an equivalence from Ixys, which reference has nothing to do with the link from the 2009 thread of the slovenian website (the md600 component shape has nothing similar, either ...).

https://uk.farnell.com/ixys-semicon...e-fast-2x123a/dp/9359419?MER=sy-me-pd-mi-alte

Let's wait for our Master HughF's feedback and pictures.

 

[Macfun]

Hi all.

As an example, such picture is what I really would get (this one, taken from a russian site, is not clear enough to read the component marking) :


- do the machine perfectly works ?
- do you know if the components are original ones (no known repair, but if working and "FROxxx" markings, I believe they are) ?
- what are the reference and manufacturer logo on each component (FROxxx wears ST logo) ?
- location/distribution and quantity (the 3 on the left could have a different reference than the 4 on the right)

 

[Doug Boyd]

Not wanting to hijack this, but can anyone confirm the gas inlet fitting and thread pitch on the rear of the 2002.

Doug