Need Help!- tool change stuck!!!!!!!!

[jay_dizzle]

okuma, 852 millac. tool changer is stuck! initial tool is still in the spindle, next tool is still in the magazine holder. controller is a fanuc 31i, seems like spindle did not release the pull stud. alarm "EX2004 -ATC control unit alarm"
please help trying to make a deadline!!!!

[jay_dizzle]

ok so i removed both tools from the ATC arm and i cycled the machine forward and completed the tool change. then tried a couple of back and forth tool changes with both an empty spindle and magazine pocket, it worked great. so i re-assembled the ATC arm and loaded the magazine pocket and the spindle with the proper tools, tried a tool change and it completed 85% and then stopped? same alarm as above? WTF is going on here? now if i try to cycle forward it just sits there and clicks every time i hit cycle start. and if i try to reverse it it says it requires going forward. please please please help! losing money by the minute!

[Stevie Bramwell]

If your machine is going through the motions without tools then the mechanics of the toolchanger sound o.k. Does it have a clutch?

It could be that the draw bar isn't unclamping properly, a problem with the tool i.e. pullstud or even an issue with the magazine pocket.

Have you tried using different tools? This could quickly rule out your tooling.

Try a toolchange with just the tool in the spindle and not in the pocket and then try the opposite, nothing in spindle and a tool in the pocket.

This should point towards which is causing the issue, Spindle or Pocket.

Have you had a look at the collet on the end of the drawbar? I'm assuming that it has 4 fingers, perhaps one has broken.

Can you manually unclamp the spindle? Check how much travel you get on the drawbar, it's possible that some of the Belleville washers have broken and not allowing full travel.

If you manually unclamp the spindle can you put a tool into the spindle and/or release it o.k.

I hope this helps.

Stevie

[jay_dizzle]

i would love to try the things you recommended but the problem is that the tool is stuck part way into the magazine pocket and i cannot cycle the tool change cycle forward or backward, also i don't have enough room to manually remove the tool from the arm to try to force it back. any other suggestions???

[jay_dizzle]

just found out what caused the initial problem! the pull stud on the touch probe tool (assembled by the good folks at Okuma) was not tightened properly and allowed the tool to be too low for the arm to properly engage it during the tool change.... that said, during the most recent attempt everything looks to be lined up properly however the arm stops traveling JUST before the tool is secured into the magazine????

[Stevie Bramwell]

Unfortunately I've never worked on an okuma before so I don't know how they are set up.

Is the tool physically jammed in the pocket or just half way in but free?

What drives the tool arm? a motor or hydraulics?

Stevie

[jay_dizzle]

seems hydraulic, tool is about 80% ingaged in pocket, and locked into the arm by a finger that i believed to be hydraulic also.

[Stevie Bramwell]

If it's hydraulics have you tried to operate the valve to see if you can move it?

If it's 80% engaged and there is a tool in the spindle as well then it sounds like the spindle isn't unclamped properly and the tool has pushed up against the gripper/collet.

If the machine is looking to finish it's cycle, this would most likely be the reason for not allowing you to go back, but if you can force it i.e. operating the valve you should be able to move it.

Stevie

[jay_dizzle]

no tool in the spindle, spindle side of the arm is empty, only a tool on the magazine side. spindle pull stud gripper i believe to be in working order as i can manually add or remove a tool with no problem at all. have never had a problem with the tool changer until today and the only thing that jammed was the rotation of the arm because of a out of place tool (thanks okuma)

[Stevie Bramwell]

Describe the pocket, how does the pocket hold the tool? are the pockets replaceable?

If you can get the toolchanger clear, try a different pocket.

Stevie

[jay_dizzle]

pockets are plastic, they seem to have a spring loaded mechanism that holds onto the pull stud to keep the tool secured, pockets are not powered by anything you can remove or change tools by hand at any time i believe it to just be some sort of light duty spring loaded latching system.

[Stevie Bramwell]

Sounds similar to some Daewoo machines that we have, sometimes they can crack. Does the pocket look centralised to the tool?

Stevie