The orient is actually achieved mechanically. A air cylinder pushes a piece of metal in a groove that gets deeper untill the end of the groove is found which is deeper still. At this point a microswitch tells the control that orient has been achieved. The Volkman spindle drive moves the spindle slowly to achieve orient. Just like a series one standard, there is a backgear but instaed of a lever there are two sets of air cylinders that push against the bull gear and springs. One set gets it to neutral, another set gets it to low gear. There is a cam with notches in it for each of the three gear positions. The control hunts (keeps firing) the specific air cylinders to try and gets the gears aligned. Each attempt includes a small air cylinder. paw, and switch that sees if the position has been achieved.
There are no servo motors associated with the tool changer. Lift the lid, it is hinged, and look in. There is a air over oil cylinder and a complex cam for tool arm motion. The air provides the force. The oil allows better regulation and consistancy of tool arm speed. The tool carosel has a air motor to turn it. A set of micro switches (later prox switches) tells the control were the tool carosel is at.
And yes, it is possible to write a ladder diagram to do all of this, but is it worth it? The drives are obsolete (NC400) and did fail often. The actual control works very similar to all the other BOSS machines. It is fairly reliable but needs a PC for loading programs and editing them. Because of the spindle drive, it can tap. If you still want to replace the control, consider getting rid of the tool changer.
Take it from someone who kept these machines running. There is a lot to go wrong or get out of timeing.
George W.  |