Expensive electrolytic camp fire

[grey]

This triple power supply came out of a late 80's machine that was a new addition to my shop. I had a whiff of a familiar sweet aroma just as it was finishing one job. I popped open the motion control cabinet and the smell was very strong. After a few seconds, I noticed a faint glow. Hit emergency shutdown button quick and the mains shutdown at the back. The machine didn't skip a beat until shutdown.

 

[JediDude]

Ah, yes... The elusive magic blue smoke has escaped again!
Looks like you've got a handle on it, though.

 

[grey]

Thanks for the confidence, but it has been going downhill a bit. The board is soaked and burned nearly all the way through in one spot. Too far gone to have a good feeling about it. I figured someone would appreciate the destruction pictures.

The machine is undergoing a partial retrofit now due to parts availability.

 

[toxcrusadr]

The carnage!

I suppose being that old it was time. Maybe they weren't cheap caps to begin with. There is a special place in Heck for the purveyors of those caps.

 

[grey]

They are Nichicons and the cabinet has it's own mini air conditioner. The capacitors are tall with no bracing on top. Vibrations may have been factors, but it has an ancient hard drive that is still working fine. They were partially enclosed by a heat sink and that may been another factor. I couldn't see down in there at all when I checked everything beforehand. Who knows when this mess actually started. I definitely don't want a replacement part of the same.

I did look into a couple of services to do an update and that ranged up to 20K for a full retrofit before labor.
The new parts are here for sorting this out with the power supplies in the middle.