tcombs
11-16-2012, 04:29 PM
First the specs: I use a 6 year old PRT4896 with an ATC installed 2 years ago. The spindle is the HSD ES915. ShopBot software version 3.6.44.
I've been getting an intermittent problem with my automatic tool changer. It will sometimes give an error during the tool change that the drawbar did not function properly. It stops just above the tool it was about to pick up. I hear the hiss of the pneumatics and the appropriate sound from the spindle, but the sensor doesn't seem to activate. This does not always happen, but it happens enough that I have my students doing manual tool changes until I can get this fixed.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the green button that is supposed to glow does not glow. The button still works for manually changing the bit. This was the case when I first got the spindle and I opened up the connection at the spindle and found a loose wire in the multipin plug. I had the glow for about a year and then it went away. I figured it still worked so I wasn't too worried about it.
Is there a way to determine where this fault with the sensor is happening? My instinct is that it is in the wiring in the spindle itself, much like the green button and not a software issue. I've opened up the front plastic box that the cables go into and was not able to find any loose connections in my cursory examination.
Any thoughts on how to approach this would be welcome. If I have to send the spindle away for maintenance it probably will not be until the summer.
Thanks,
Tim Combs
Technical Director
The Theatre School
Chicago, IL
I've been getting an intermittent problem with my automatic tool changer. It will sometimes give an error during the tool change that the drawbar did not function properly. It stops just above the tool it was about to pick up. I hear the hiss of the pneumatics and the appropriate sound from the spindle, but the sensor doesn't seem to activate. This does not always happen, but it happens enough that I have my students doing manual tool changes until I can get this fixed.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the green button that is supposed to glow does not glow. The button still works for manually changing the bit. This was the case when I first got the spindle and I opened up the connection at the spindle and found a loose wire in the multipin plug. I had the glow for about a year and then it went away. I figured it still worked so I wasn't too worried about it.
Is there a way to determine where this fault with the sensor is happening? My instinct is that it is in the wiring in the spindle itself, much like the green button and not a software issue. I've opened up the front plastic box that the cables go into and was not able to find any loose connections in my cursory examination.
Any thoughts on how to approach this would be welcome. If I have to send the spindle away for maintenance it probably will not be until the summer.
Thanks,
Tim Combs
Technical Director
The Theatre School
Chicago, IL