Need Help!- I dare you to help me fix my 1991 Hurco BMC 20 with Ultimax II

[kwmkoester]

My Hurco is alarming out with a "servo amp fault on Z axis" alarm. All the servo packs show a [-.]. I took a pic of the LED's on my axis cards, the STATA LED disappears. I would love it if someone could give an idea of where to start on this one. I attached pics, take a look and let me know if you can help poor, pitiful me.

[bloke]

Sounds like you are missing the 200v three phase to the servo amps (or part of it). Go manual, power on and start. Don't try to jog it at this stage. Grab yourself a meter, set it on AC volts and measure between R,S&T. Also measure between R,S,T and ground just to be sure. Chances are, it'll be a duff contactor for the servos. Or a bad phase on your input three phase.
Just chase the three phase back from the amp and you'll find the contactor at the end of it. (small black module about 2"x3").

[fasto]

If you had Fanuc drives I'd be in a great position to help - I don't know anything about the other drives, I'm afraid.
Do the checks that Bloke has suggested, if that doesn't help then I'd try exchanging the X and Z servo amps to see if the trouble follows the servo amp. Could also be a cable issue with a bad connection, these machines are pushing 20+ years old and cable connections can get unreliable from corrosion or vibration.

Of note: In my experience Ultimax II doesn't seem to do the best job at recognizing which axis is having the fault. I got the same "servo amp fault on Z axis" on my machine, while my trouble was actually on the Y axis. This could also be Fanuc's issue. The Fanuc triple servo drive might not send info about which axis is faulted, even though it lights the fault light for the appropriate axis.

[kwmkoester]

I really appreciate all of your input on this, but, I do have some more info. I have all 3 phases at every location I check. I guess I should also tell you guys that the last thing that I did before having this issue was to install a repaired spindle amp. Since it seems that my issue is relating to the Z axis/Spindle Card, maybe this has some bearing. When the problem originated, i had just noticed that the spindle would not orient(I would get a Spindle Fault-Zero Speed Signal Error), so, I was starting the process of troubleshooting this issue. When I get the Servo Amp Fault on Z Axis alarm, it's usually within 20 seconds of resetting and energizing the servos, when I flip the Z axis switch, on the power/interface PCB, to the off position, the alarm doesn't occur. One more thing to add, yesterday I powered the machine up and was able to run momentarily(1 hour) without any issue(except the Spindle Fault alarm when I would try to orient) and was able to complete a full machine warm-up cycle, then the issue started, while I was running, I noticed that the top left LED(see pic in original post) was consistently very weak and almost fading in and out. I hope this isn't too much useless info, but, it is what I am noticing while watching a machine that I am very unfamiliar with. I always appreciate the help you guys give. Thanks.

[fasto]

You could try the following but it's VERY DANGEROUS you could badly crash the machine.

Swap the X and Z connectors on the dual-axis cards, ie, plug X into Z and Z into X.
Power up the machine. DO NOT CALIBRATE IT (INITIALIZE, ZERO, HOME, I FORGOT WHAT ULTIMAX CALLS IT) OR IT WILL CRASH. Power up your servos BUT DO NOT CALIBRATE THE MACHINE. See if you get a fault on X now. If so, the Z/Spin dual-axis board is OK and the fault lies further down the system. If you get a fault on Z still, the Z/Spin dual axis board is the likely culprit.
You can jog the machine, remembering the X and Z axes are swapped, but be very careful! You're far better off if you don't even try to jog it. The limit switches might not work which is why it could crash.

Reconnect the wiring properly.
Assuming you now get an error on X, I would work my way through the machine, exchanging X and Z at the CRP board, then at the servo drives, then the servo drive outputs, and so on, repeating the test after each exchange, and replacing the wiring properly after each test. When doing these tests remember that the limit switches might not work (because they're connected to the wrong axis), so DON"T CALIBRATE THE MACHINE! You might get a motion error, too, if the control expects X and Z to move in different directions (the control expects one axis reversed on the BMC-20, I think it's the Y axis, that's why I said exchange X and Z).

I'm sorry about the shouting. I really don't want you to wreck your machine troubleshooting it. I would, and did, do all of this and more on my machine. Please be very careful if you try this, and fully understand what's going on before you do anything. If you're near Worcester, MA I'd be happy to help.

[bloke]

The LED you have that is dim is probably just flashing really fast. Are you sure the jumpers are set correctly on the dual axis card?

[kwmkoester]

Originally Posted by fasto You could try the following but it's VERY DANGEROUS you could badly crash the machine. Swap the X and Z connectors on the dual-axis cards, ie, plug X into Z and Z into X. Power up the machine. DO NOT CALIBRATE IT (INITIALIZE, ZERO, HOME, I FORGOT WHAT ULTIMAX CALLS IT) OR IT WILL CRASH. Power up your servos BUT DO NOT CALIBRATE THE MACHINE. See if you get a fault on X now. If so, the Z/Spin dual-axis board is OK and the fault lies further down the system. If you get a fault on Z still, the Z/Spin dual axis board is the likely culprit. You can jog the machine, remembering the X and Z axes are swapped, but be very careful! You're far better off if you don't even try to jog it. The limit switches might not work which is why it could crash. Reconnect the wiring properly. Assuming you now get an error on X, I would work my way through the machine, exchanging X and Z at the CRP board, then at the servo drives, then the servo drive outputs, and so on, repeating the test after each exchange, and replacing the wiring properly after each test. When doing these tests remember that the limit switches might not work (because they're connected to the wrong axis), so DON"T CALIBRATE THE MACHINE! You might get a motion error, too, if the control expects X and Z to move in different directions (the control expects one axis reversed on the BMC-20, I think it's the Y axis, that's why I said exchange X and Z). I'm sorry about the shouting. I really don't want you to wreck your machine troubleshooting it. I would, and did, do all of this and more on my machine. Please be very careful if you try this, and fully understand what's going on before you do anything. If you're near Worcester, MA I'd be happy to help.

Loud and clear! I'll swap the connectors between the spindle and the Y axis and then calibrate- consider it done.

[kwmkoester]

just jokin.

[kwmkoester]

Originally Posted by bloke The LED you have that is dim is probably just flashing really fast. Are you sure the jumpers are set correctly on the dual axis card?

I'm not sure of anything at this point, where can I verify the jumper settings? I really do appreciate the help you guys(Fasto, Bloke) offer.

[kwmkoester]

Originally Posted by bloke The LED you have that is dim is probably just flashing really fast. Are you sure the jumpers are set correctly on the dual axis card?

Let me ask you this, the dim LED just looks inconsistent, why would this be the only LED blinking quickly when multiple axes are moving? Just wondering.

[fasto]

This pdf (link below) has the jumper setting for some dual-axis cards. The cards in my machine aren't on it, I seem to have an older version.
It might cover yours, I don't know.

You look up the machine model, and the Ultimax version, and the brand of servo drive, and it shows the EPROM version and jumper settings you should have.

http://www.jwcsplace.com/Promach/Hurcodual.pdf

If the link is dead, let me know and I'll figure out how to get you the pdf.
--
Aaron

[kwmkoester]

Originally Posted by fasto This pdf (link below) has the jumper setting for some dual-axis cards. The cards in my machine aren't on it, I seem to have an older version. It might cover yours, I don't know. You look up the machine model, and the Ultimax version, and the brand of servo drive, and it shows the EPROM version and jumper settings you should have. http://www.jwcsplace.com/Promach/Hurcodual.pdf If the link is dead, let me know and I'll figure out how to get you the pdf. -- Aaron

Got it, thanks.