VF3 issue

[driver1234]

1st time poster here so i hope i can get some help.

I have a 2001 VF3 that i am running thru RS232 drip feed.
In the last month i have had 2 occasions where while running
it will take off in the X axis and crash.

This morning it was cutting down in a pocket and just took
off in the X positive direction.
We ran the program high to see if it was a program issue and it did
not make that crazy move again.

Any thoughts??

Thanks ken

[rawen2]

I'm a rookie but my guess would be the encoder cable for the X axis. I think if the driver loses the encoder signal it will keep driving until the encoder says it has reached it's destination. If the cable has in intermittent open it could cause the runaway.
Maybe someone with more experience will chime in.
Ralph

[Haas__man]

Does it only ever crash while you are drip feeding?
Why are you drip feeding? Program is big?
Is there any way you can check the program that it was actually running when it crashed?
Am thinking that somehow the program is getting corrupt during RS232 transfer?
Really it is very unlikely that the x axis cable is causing the runaway. The machine constantly does cable checks, and if you had a cable fault then you would more than likely get cable fault alarms or other x axis alarms.

Hope this helps.

[driver1234]

yes i am drip because they are huge files.
We ran the same program 2 times after it crashed and it did not crash.
I replaced the RS232 cable yesterday to rule that out.

[HuFlungDung]

Does this crash occur at rapid rate, or does it simply continue to feed along to some 'new' endpoint?

What experience I've had with DNC were not with a Haas, but with an old retrofit cnc. In my situation, the length of the cable was the problem: I had to use a short 6 foot cable and park the computer right next to the machine. On a 35 foot cable from the office, random errors would sometimes occur...not rapid moves like a runaway, but simple loss of a coordinate. In 3d milling, losing one coordinate in a complex toolpath can have some surprising results

[driver1234]

I dont think it does it in a rapid because the tool
does not break right away.

I have a 12 foot cable

[HuFlungDung]

I know some guys are remiss to spend the $1500 or so for the 16 meg memory upgrade, but having experienced this comm problem myself, I was determined to preempt it from happening again when I got a Haas, so I bit the bullet and went for it.

Probably you can also accomplish much the same thing with USB drives on a more modern Haas.

[Haas__man]

What settings are you using? Baud rate? etc

[driver1234]

What settings are you using? Baud rate? etc

Hmmm i will check this tomorrow however i think it is 38k

I dont think it is a prob with that stuff because they have been running
fine for many years with no issues.

[Catchme]

How long is your rs232c cable? Keep it as short as possible because they can pickup interference if they are too long. Make sure the Baud Rate on the machine is set to match the transmitters baude rate, preferable 115k. My guess is the cable is too long and your picking up electrical interference. That happened to me with 100 feet of RS232C cable. I moved the pc close to themachine with 8feet of cable and never had the problem again. Especially important if the cable is routed near flourescent lights.