Spindle Orintation Problem

[Greg 24]

Can anyone tell me what might be going on with my 2000 Mini-Mill? The problem is that it keeps losing the spindle orintation. I just had Haas come in today & evereything was working right after they left, but within 2hrs later the same problem is happening again. I had Haas replace the encoder, encoder belt, sprocket and a new updated cable for it ,plus relays. It moves enough to where it faults out the shuttle when it hits. I plan on calling Haas 1st thing in the morning, but I was wondering if anyone might have had this same problem. This little machine has ran great since I bought it 2 yrs ago. This problem just showed up about 4 days ago. After I change the parameter to adjust the spindle, it will work for maybe a day or 8 hrs, then bam!!!!! Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[GITRDUN]

I had a VF-1 that wouldnt orient properly in low gear when changing tools. If you switched to high gear before changing a tool it worked fine. We ran it like that for a year just making sure to change into high gear before a tool change. We changed the parameter that controls the speed of the spindle during orientation and it still wouldnt stop in the right spot in low gear. The spindle brake in our drive unit was going bad and it finally just completely went out. It wasnt able to stop the spindle completely when it was in low gear, had too much torque. Our machine also has the locating pin and groove on the spindle for orientation, the newer machines have the vortec drive which orients the spindle without a pin rather than a physical pin to locate orientation.
I also spoke to three different Haas techs about this problem over the last year and none of them knew for sure what the problem was. We didnt figure it out untill the Magnatek drive completely shorted out the on the brake. They then told me the orientation problem was a sign of the drives brake system going bad.

[serviceman]

belt on the encoder or the pulleys are wearing or belt tension?

[HAILINHAAS]

Is it the spindle orientation or are we having a problem with the tool changer?

Have you crashed into the tool changer?

You could have a bent carousel and its not align to the pocket correctly ... maybe ... just another ngle to look at ... serviceman is right .. check the encoder and make sure nothing is slippin ... physically check it ... Ive seen the pulley's slip

[Greg 24]

I want to thank everyone that has replied. I am having spindle orientation problems. After being on the phone with a Haas tech, his belief is also the pulley slipping. He had me mark the splined sprocket as well as the encoder pulley. We ran a short program for over an hr with the spindle running in forward then spindle orientation , then in reverse with a spindle orientation at different speeds. After running the program we could not see where it was slipping at all. The spindle orientation has not moved since Tuesday morning. The local Haas outlet wants me to call them ASAP if it happens again. I told the service tech about the drive problem that GITRDUN suggested & he said that he would expect the pully slipping before that, but that would be a possibilty. The only time the shuttle faults out is when the drive dogs are off from the spindle orientation moves on it. I will keep everyone informed of what comes froms this. Thanks again.

[R.EX]

Sorry to bring up such an old thread, but I am having this exact same problem. I was just wondering if Greg (or anybody else) might have some tips as to what might be the problem. We already replaced the spindle encoder, and tomorrow are going to check the wiring, but I have a feeling the problem is going to persist.

Any help?

[JoBwan]

Originally Posted by R.EX Sorry to bring up such an old thread, but I am having this exact same problem. I was just wondering if Greg (or anybody else) might have some tips as to what might be the problem. We already replaced the spindle encoder, and tomorrow are going to check the wiring, but I have a feeling the problem is going to persist. Any help?

Did you replace the belt?? They may look ok, but they do get flimsy and the cogs will slip on the pulley. GOOD LUCK!!!

[R.EX]

Originally Posted by JoBwan Did you replace the belt?? They may look ok, but they do get flimsy and the cogs will slip on the pulley. GOOD LUCK!!!

Yup. Brand new belt and perfect tension. I also have verified that the pulleys are not spinning on the shaft, and that everything electrical is properly grounded.

[JoBwan]

Good luck with it. Please keep us informed.

[Vaughancnc]

we have 3 VF2's and 2 of them have had a similar problem, it was a few years back now but from memory it was the locking screws on the pully, the 1st machine to do it was just delivered new about 1 week old and they didn't put 1 of the screws in and then the next machine the screw for some reason had backed out it wasnt moving much but it was enough to make a crunch when it went wrong.., the tech replaced the screws and used locktite now they are spot on.

[R.EX]

Just to let everyone know what our problem turned out to be.

Both pulleys were severely worn. The teeth were about 1/4 of their origional height on both the encoder and spindle side. Once we replaced both, no more problems!