HELP Tool changer problems

[ddprecision]

HAAS Mini Mill 2004 10 Tool Turret 6,000 rpm spindle.
I was running maching on Friday no problems, powered down as normal, which means - took all axles away from stops, and pressed e-stop, then powered down at control.
Came in Saturday - Powered back up - Press reset a couple of times. Press power up restart, what usually happens z find limits switch along with x & y and tool changer will go and pick up tool #1, (picking up tool #1 did not happen). What happen was -

Alarm 115 turret rotation fault "Tool carousel motor not in position. during a tool changer operation the tool turret failed to start moving or failed to stop at the right position. Parameters 60 & 61 can adjust the time-out times. This alarm can be caused by anything that jams the rotation of the turret. A loss of power to the tool changer can also cause this. Check relays k9-k12 & fuse F1 on IOPCB." Next Alarm

Alarm 125 Tool Shuttle Fault - "Tool shuttle iniliatizated at power on. cycle start or spindle motion command. This means that the tool shuttle was not fully retracted to the Out position."

I did the tool changer restore button. Followed the commands to no avail. Did this several times along with power down/up. Still alarming.

Simple put, I'm at a loss for what to do. And of course I have a Monday dead line. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Don Cook
D & D Precision

[HuFlungDung]

Is the tool changer totally inactivated? You did not say whether you checked the fuses and relays.

I haven't had to dabble too much with my Haas yet to be real knowledgeable, but also check the various limit switches in and about the tool changer.

[ddprecision]

The tool changer will attempt to retrive next tool. But will stop before doing so. Here is a real dumb question, I've looked inside the electrical cabinet. I do not see any relays. What I'm I looking for? How do I check them?
2nd - I see replacement fuses but I don't see the any other fuses.

[trubleshtr]

Hi, What drives your carousel? a chain? if so...I have seen chains go slack or the wear guides the ride on come loose/worn and then the tool carousel looses position.Also look for anything jaming the carousel. ie loose bolts, tools not fully seated ect....
Just a thought.

Take a picture of the inside of the elec. cab. and post it. I am sure We/someone can point out the fuses and relays.

[HuFlungDung]

I don't know if your toolchanger is exactly the same as mine. If you look down on it from above, in behind the main housing, look down between the Vgroove wheels. You should see an arm. It should be horizontal when the carousel has fully returned. This is the only way that it can trip the limit switch to tell the machine that it has reached home. Clean out any chips or any grunge with the power off.

That thing moves mighty quick, so you don't want your fingers anywhere in that area when attempting to operate it.

With great care, you might slide a thin stick of wood (like a 1/4" dowel, something that will break easily if necessary) and push the roller back and forth on the limit switch. Spray some WD 40 on it, in case it is just getting fouled with gummy residue.

Then start up the machine again. If still the same errors, carefully position yourself out of harm's way, and from above, slide the wooden dowel down and attempt to work the limit switch again. Be prepared for the carousel to jump into action. It may break off the wooden dowel, but at least you won't get yourself in a pinch.

It might be good to have someone nearby to assist you, just in case of emergency.

If you can get it operational, it might be a good idea to hit EStop the moment the carousel moves ahead, and the door opens. Then, look around some more, to see if there are chips building up in grungy piles where they ought not to be inside the various slots, etc in back of the changer crank arm mechanism.

[ddprecision]

Thank you for the additional tips. I'm going to try them with my wife standing by.

[Geof]

I have come into this a bit late so you might have found the fix for your tool changer malfunction. I have a Super MiniMill purchased in 2004 which needed the tool changer motors replaced because they were defective. The story I received was that the field magnets in the motors came loose and jammed the armature. I have no idea if this same defect was in the motors used on the standard MiniMill.

[daybreak]

just wanted to share a problem i had and solved with help from cnczone forums. it may be of help to someone out there.

machine:

Haas VF-3 VF3 Vertical Machine Centre


after coming back from annual shut down our vf-3 vmc begin experiencing tool change problems. the carousel would rotate, pocket drop down, but then alarm before the atc arm would move. the only way i could clear the alarm and get the carousel to move (it wouldnt move using arrow keys in the recover page) was to restart the machine.

it did this a few times, then after a while the carousel wouldnt even move during 'power up/restart'. after trying different ways of trying to get the carousel to drive it became apparent the motor was not driving.

final alarm situation:

at any command of tool change (program, mdi, atc buttons) return alarm

942 Carousel Position.

Problem:
motor not driving. carousel dc motor brush tight in slide, starting arcing (thats why intermittant at first) then stopped working completely.

Resolution:
checked power at the connector of the motor, power being supplied. Removed front round cover (what a pain in the bum that was). Motor turned easy by hand. checked the front brush on the bottom of the motor. It was tight and had starting arcing then it obviously stopped working altogether. Fortunately for me it was the front one and therefore didnt have to remove the motor to get at the other one.

pulled the brush out, filed a little bit off it and put back in. works like a charm


hope this helps someone oneday.

Thanks for the help from Marshall at ALFEX CNC in Brisbane. Great help even during the flood crisis there at the moment

Geordie

[dougtyler]

I had the same problem with mine. 2005 MINI MILL

It seems that the coolant had leaked in a little around the caps that hold the brushes in, causing the brushes to stick. This is on the shuttle motor.

I've got the high pressure coolant pump on mine and it is a bit too much pressure coming out of the P-COOL unit. The high pressure was causing coolant to go everywhere inside the machine.

I added some loc line to the nozzle so I could split it into two nozzles. This decreased the pressure enough so that it didn't look like a washing machine while it was running at full blast.

[rawen2]

Doug,

That's a doggone nice brake lathe you've got there. LOL.

Ralph