BOSS8 Bridgeport quit in the middle of a part. I can enable drives, but drives drop out when I hit EXEC button. I get "+Z OVERFLOW" and "E STOP" error message when I enter the FIST monitor. Right after enabling the drives (but without hitting EXEC) I can JOG X and JOG Y, but not Z. Replaced FMDC, EAF and EMC cards, no help. Any ideas?

An overflow occurs when an axis is expected to move (control is expecting pulses from the encoder) and none are seen. It thinks the motor is thus not moving. If axis is moving then the encoder circuit is at fault. If it is NOT moving, it could be a jammed axis, motor, wiring, drive, or loss of the command signal.
The BOSS 8 and 9 as well as the V2XTs and Explorers have a tendency of getting the quill jammed in the up position.

George

After reading George's analysis I observed that I could rotate the Z axis motor by hand even though the drives were enabled. (In addition to moving the axes, the motors hold the axes in position if cutting forces try to move the axis.) I found no power to the motor, and traced it back to the fuse that sends ~100 volts dc to the NC400. Thanks for your help.

Jonny, I noticed you have been observing FIST output. Is your machine a series I or II? If you have a II, I would be very intrested in a copy of your typical FIST output for comparison purposes (I have never seen another R2E3 series II).

Thanks,

Paul

Hi Guys,
I have a series 2 R2E3 and noticed you guys are able to check the FIST monitor. I was wondering if there is a special program / procedure for that.

Jonny,
Glad you found the trouble was just a blown Fuse!

Cutmore

There was a write up about the FIST event monitor in the back of the maintenance manual.
You connect to K3 of the FMDC with a short cable. Baud is fixed at 9600 baud. You use terminal mode in PROCOMM, or any dumb terminal.
You can view an event log or the status of the boards as they communicate.

George

Thanks for the info George,
Do you know if there is still a freeware of Procomm available?
I searched before but I could not find it. Or is there another free com program that would work, maybe Hyperterm?

Thanks,
Cutmore

Google shareware for PROCOMM or KERMIT. These were similar DOS based comm programs from the late 80s early 90s.
Back in the 1982 I used a TRS80 MODEL 100 to access the FIST event monitor. The MODEL 101 also works.

George

Thanks for the tip to google Procomm. I had tried that once and came to a dead end. This time I found a couple copies that I will try.

regards,
Cutmore

Hey you guys, just some added input. I use the "Terminal" program on a win 3.11 computer for the FIST monitor connection, which is networked to my main computer, and works well.

Also the 9600 baud rate is wrong, even though the manual says "9600" (just one of many errors). I found 1200 baud to finally work after much frustration. I believe I found this info somewhere else in one of the manuals, now I remember, it was in the R2E4 Boss9 manual (equivalent section to R2E3 manual). The page looks identical at first but has been revised to the 1200 baud, and includes a clarification to the double-talk (Boss 8 manual) concerning the FIST pin connections. (Boss8 and 9 FIST connections and parameters are the same)

If you would like the "Terminal settings" just let me know.


Paul

"WOW someone else does own a R2E3 SeriesII!"

MrBoss8,
Thanks for the info,
If you wouldn't mind I would appreciate the terminal settings.

I actually had 2 R2E3's that I received for free, but I sold the 2nd one.

I like the mill, I just wish it had more memory.

Late,
Cutmore

Cutmore, my max loadable pgm size to date has been 11.970K.

As far as Win 3.11 Params go, here they are.

In "Accessories, Terminal" Under Settings:
Phone Number.....NA

Terminal Emulation.....ANSI

Terminal Preferences.....NA?

Function Keys.....NA

Text Transfers.....standard flow control

Binary Transfers.....XModem/CRC

Communications.....Baud 1200, Data Bits 8, Parity none, Flow Control Xon/Xoff, Stop Bits 1, Connector Com 1 (or other confirmed port)

Modem Commands.....NA

If this does not work you may need to tweak "Terminal Preferences."


Paul