Community repairs?

A Former User

I'm seeing a few threads with boards that fail due to various shorts and users left to buy a new board or try SMD repairs.

I'm also sitting on some fancy rework gear and wondering if it would be beneficial for the community and environment to try and have these boards fixed by the community, including myself. Of course more sales is better for Duet3d but given how robust the boards actually are I doubt it'll affect revenue much, nor be a burden for the community.

There are of course a few challenges in this, chiefly its hard to diagnose a hardware fault before having the board in hand, so repairs may not be feasible. I'd be happy to support the community and replace a few chips for free*, (or a cup of coffee if you insist), but my location is a bit cost prohibitive when it comes to shipping stuff (Western coast of Norway is nice for everything but international shipping:)
*)i.e. owner pays parts+shipping.

Are there others like minded? Would it make sense to have a way of connecting those who are able and willing to those in need on a relatively local scale?

Those of you with dead boards in drawers, would you rather have them (attempted) repaired and put to use at a maker space or similar instead of sitting in a drawer? (Or returned if they find a new purpose there of course)

Thoughts?

Edit: Due to new customs rules all shipments will be subject to import fees and VAT making this very cost prohibitive for international users unless sender is registered for VOEC (VAT On E-Commerce) which is unlikely I guess. See below for other EU and US options.

Options:

~~@bearer Norway~~
~~@Danal, North Texas (USA)~~ (Sadly no longer with us)
@arhi Belgrade, Serbia (https://forum.duet3d.com/post/133746)
~~@CaLviNx Cyprus~~
@THP Virginia, USA (https://forum.duet3d.com/post/187668)
@BoA Poland (https://forum.duet3d.com/post/187728)
@pungoboy New York City, USA (https://forum.duet3d.com/post/200965)
@MikeDC United Kingdom (https://forum.duet3d.com/post/204512)

dc42

@bearer said in Community repairs?:

I'm also sitting on some fancy rework gear and wondering if it would be beneficial for the community and environment to try and have these boards fixed by the community, including myself.

Yes, definitely! The most common repairs are replacing blown drivers (although those usually happen within the first few days so they are covered by the warranty), and blown fan mosfets. After that comes failed WiFi modules (and users wanting to replace the original module by the external antenna version), and occasionally failed processors - although when the processor has failed, unless it's on a v1.0 Duet WiFi then it's normally due to overvoltage on the +3.3V rail, so other components have probably failed too.

BTW we've shipped tens of thousands of Duets, so they are more reliable than you might think from seeing forum posts about failed ones.

A Former User

@dc42 said in Community repairs?:

so they are more reliable than you might think

No no, i fully get that the volume though oems far exceed what the forum activity l, good and bad would suggest, and that it's impressive the level of robustness engineered into these board. Not to mention those without problems are less likely to frequent the forum. While I find the forum based warranty approval a bit unorthodox it works well and is more than fair and completely transparent.

Still accidents happen and it's relatively easy to fix with the proper tools. (I'll admit replacing the tmc5161, was, interesting, but ultimately a success:)

Danal

Hmmm... I have a reflow/rework hot air station and two programmable profile reflow ovens, and I am in North Texas (USA) from a shipping logistics point of view.

I would also be willing to take on some repairs as "best effort" favors, and like Bearer said, as long as this is not harmful to Duet the company.

So... with the thought running through my head "...no good deed goes unpunished..." anyone who believes they have a repariable board and is willing to risk A) Postage both ways and B) The board being made worse, my direct contact is:

danal (dot) estes (at) gmail (dot) com

JadonM

I just wanted to chime in quickly say a huge thank you for all the dedication you guys put in to the community! I've done a small amount of soldering, and while I don't have the time or experience, I greatly respect those who have volunteered to help the community in this way!

Thanks for all the effort all of you (especially David) put into the duet series. It's what makes it such an innovative and user friendly platform!

dc42

@Danal said in Community repairs?:

Hmmm... I have a reflow/rework hot air station and two programmable profile reflow ovens, and I am in North Texas (USA) from a shipping logistics point of view.

I would also be willing to take on some repairs as "best effort" favors, and like Bearer said, as long as this is not harmful to Duet the company.

I abhor waste, so I would much rather a repairable boards gets repaired and re-used than go into landfill, even if that means one less Duet sold.

A Former User

@Danal said in Community repairs?:

"...no good deed goes unpunished..."

Join the club, although I have it on good authority that I'm going to hell anyways, which is okay, that's where I'll find all my friends anyways .... as such I've stopped caring about punishment for good deeds long time ago;)

Anyways, I think I would prefer to be tagged in the thread concerning the repair following the transparent route of Duet3D. Anyone wondering if its worth shipping a board to me can check out https://www.posten.no/en/sending/letters/international and view the pricing. (Spoiler alert; because its over 2cm thick its minimum €7 for EU so probably most attractive to fellow Norwegians). After confirming the repair attempt in the thread feel free to send a PM/chat for the adresse to send board, new part, when repaired and tested owner can use the above link to create and pay for the return postage without dealing with sending me money (unless additional parts on hand is used)

If this gets any traction I'll try to keep the first post updated with an index linking to the replies like Danal.

Danal

@bearer excellent point on transparency. I'm fine with contact via the forum, and actually prefer it.

My direct contact email was primarily to work out shipping addresses, etc.

hlawrence

Is there an official place to get replacement components? Or a reputable third party one? I need a new terminal connector for the heated bed, and have someone local who will fix it once I have a replacement part. We found https://www.newark.com/multicomp/mc000050/wire-to-board-terminal-block-2/dp/64T3408?MER=sy-me-pd-mi-alte, but it won't be in stock until June 22nd.

T3P3Tony

@hlawrence we source components mainly from Digikey and similar and some connectors directly from China.

where are you based, the link you put up shows 4 in stock?

hlawrence

@T3P3Tony I could've sworn it was out of stock before. Disregard, I've ordered a replacement part, thanks!

arhi

@bearer said in Community repairs?:

Are there others like minded? Would it make sense to have a way of connecting those who are able and willing to those in need on a relatively local scale?

Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Contact: trough forum

Rework station, reflow oven, analyzers, scopes you name it ... I'm good up to 3GHz analog signal and 40GHz spectrum analyzer... outside of "region" and "friends & family shipping" it's easier to get a new board than to ship to/from me but "friends & family shipping" cover a big region here so if you can get it to me I'll be happy to try to fix it

A Former User

Location: Cyprus
Contact: here

I can do rework, 99% of the gear, re-flow, stereoscope, hot air etc etc.

I do mac-book repairs mainly

My only fly in the ointment for me is that I will be at work (Saudi Arabia) for most of this year until October when im taking an extended work break, so I can have more time for personal family life and personal projects.

I happy to attempt repairs for those in the south of Europe.

Monster Delta

hi i have a duet wifi with a knackered atmel chip if anyone could replace it, i have the replacement part and im located in the uk so europe would be best. drop me a message. thankyou

dc42

@bearer said in Community repairs?:

Edit: Due to new customs rules all shipments will be subject to import fees and VAT making this very cost prohibitive for international users unless sender is registered for VOEC (VAT On E-Commerce) which is unlikely I guess. See below for other EU and US options.

I don't know the rules for Norway specifically, but in the past I have sent goods from here in the UK to outside the EU for repair with the outgoing customs declaration saying "Faulty goods sent for repair, no commercial value" and the returned customs declaration "Faulty good returned after repair" along with the value of the repair invoice (and a copy of the invoice if the value is high enough to need it). Then VAT is only payable on the repair. Unfortunately the courier company or Post office also charges me a fee of £10 to £22 to collect the VAT.

A Former User

@dc42 said in Community repairs?:

@bearer said in Community repairs?:

Edit: Due to new customs rules all shipments will be subject to import fees and VAT making this very cost prohibitive for international users unless sender is registered for VOEC (VAT On E-Commerce) which is unlikely I guess. See below for other EU and US options.

I don't know the rules for Norway specifically, but in the past I have sent goods from here in the UK to outside the EU for repair with the outgoing customs declaration saying "Faulty goods sent for repair, no commercial value" and the returned customs declaration "Faulty good returned after repair" along with the value of the repair invoice (and a copy of the invoice if the value is high enough to need it). Then VAT is only payable on the repair. Unfortunately the courier company or Post office also charges me a fee of £10 to £22 to collect the VAT.

I did look into that and as an individual I'd have to pay the VAT + fees on import, and apply to have the VAT refunded on export. Refund being subject to minimum amount and a fee so in practical terms you pay the import and thats it. (With the free import limit removed, anything that isn't a document will have be processed for import regardless of value. So a 5p screw would still be charged £16.50 in fees + 25% VAT)

Slightly different rules for businesses depending on their tax credit status, if its a common occurrence a business can provide alternative security and not have anything payable unless they fail to export the items within a given time. (24 months i believe).

edit: eBay does pose an interesting loophole; as of 01.04.2020 anything purchased with delivery to Norway will have 25% VAT added on checkout and a VOEC number will be put on the shipment resulting in no fees upon arrival; so if the item value on ebay is sufficiently low the 25% VAT will not make up a significant value (in theory, not tested)

Luckypriest

I'm in the US but would someone be willing to look at my issue?

https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/17716/possibly-fried-duet-with-an-in-spec-power-supply/30

Also any idea on price for the shipping ETC? We can discuss repair amount once you have the board. This is a sad, sad day.

Luckypriest

@Luckypriest Or at least give me recommendations / links for the parts and a friend of mine and I might try to wing it for fun.

droftarts

First post edited to add Taylor (@THP) to list.

Ian

BoA

Outstanding idea. I am located in Poland and have a reflow oven, hot air station (IMO more suitable to re-work jobs) and experiance in using it. I would be more than happy to fix some boards.