Mazak MYSTERY. HOW do you clear this ANNOYING Mazak alarm??!!! NOBODY KNOWS!!

[Mill&Lathe]

There is an ANNOYING alarm that comes up on Mazak mills that NOBODY I have EVER known, knows how to clear without a minimum of 20 minutes of experimental button pushing in pure desperation to get the machine back up and running again.

The alarm occurs when an operator presses the "Reset" button while the machine is in the process of performing a tool change.

For myself and many others, hitting the "Reset" button is an immediate and instinctive reaction to the realization that there may be a problem somewhere or that the program or other data may have been inputted incorrectly to which it is necessary that the machines operation be terminated quickly from running.

Now I know that the ultimate solution is to NOT push the "Reset" button during a tool change, but sometimes instinctive reactions take control and I then get stuck with 20 minutes of time wasting and lots of cussing to clear this alarm which I (and others) clear only through random button pushing to which finally hitting the magical combination of buttons to clear it.

I would SO GREATLY APPRECIATE it if ANYONE here can PLEASE tell me the specific and correct way to clear this alarm on the Mazak CNC mills. It is not just limited to one model or version of Mazak CNC mill as it has occurred exactly the same on several different model Mazak mills. It is SO gosh-darn frustrating!! Please help!!

Thanks in advance.

[NICK1945]

many machine tools act like that it is because it looses the turret position when you press reset. and you have to re-establiss a known turret position.

[Al_The_Man]

The T2 T3 lathes had a outboard PLC for the tool changer, I don't think the mills had it.
what model is the controller?
Many have a set of M codes that act on single actions allowing you to get it back in sync.
Al.

[Caprirs]

As Al The Man said, Mazaks use Mitsubishi controls which put a lot of the tool change functions outside the control. I have Dynamechtronics mills with Mitsubishi M3 controls and get an alarm if Reset is pressed during the tool change. Something in the PLC never gets the "finish" signal from the external tool change device (or the ATC macro) so the PLC alarms out. On my mills, it's about a 20-30 second delay before the alarm appears. Once the alarm appears, I have to power off the control to clear it.

If I realize my mistake fast enough, I can jump into MDI and command another tool change before the alarm appears.

[Mill&Lathe]

Originally Posted by NICK1945 many machine tools act like that it is because it looses the turret position when you press reset. and you have to re-establiss a known turret position.

Yes, I do believe this is the reason for the alarm. BUT the million dollar question that I am seeking is HOW does one quickly establish a known turret position on the Mazak? HOW exactly does the operator do this to get up and running again to clear the alarm? What specific steps are required to do this other than just pushing random buttons for 20 minutes in complete desperation?!?

Does Mazak even know the answer to this? I am starting to wonder being that NOBODY thus far seems to know the answer to this one!! Nobody!!

[Al_The_Man]

Originally Posted by Mill&Lathe Does Mazak even know the answer to this? I am starting to wonder being that NOBODY thus far seems to know the answer to this one!! Nobody!!

It might be helpful if you stated the machine model as requested?
Also have you checked for the maintenance M codes for individual T.C. operation?
Al.

[Mill&Lathe]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Man It might be helpful if you stated the machine model as requested? Also have you checked for the maintenance M codes for individual T.C. operation? Al.

Oops, forgot about that, sorry. Its a Mazak VariAxis-500. THANKS!!!

Will also check for maintenance M codes also but I think the others have already done this and there is nothing that helps. Thanks.

[Al_The_Man]

I am not sure if I have the maintenance manuals for those, I won't be able to check until tomorrow.
Al.

[Mill&Lathe]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Man I am not sure if I have the maintenance manuals for those, I won't be able to check until tomorrow. Al.

THANKS Al_The_Man!!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!

[psychomill]

The quick way to clear the alarm is to simply satisfy the ATC condition for where you got it stuck at. The Variaxis is a simple tool changer. Get famililar with the ATC Maintenance page. I can clear any ATC alarm in seconds (unless something mechanically very bad happened).

The best way to get familiar is to go through a tool change cycle using the Maintenance page from start to finish (you'll also need to use the Tool Clamp/Unclamp button midway). It's a simple matter of 'order of operation'. No matter where/how it's stuck, look at where it's stuck relative to the order of operation and move forward from there.

There are certain M-codes for maintenance but not all of the actions have them. Since you're in the Maint page anyway, might as well just use the buttons.

[Mill&Lathe]

Originally Posted by psychomill The quick way to clear the alarm is to simply satisfy the ATC condition for where you got it stuck at. The Variaxis is a simple tool changer. Get famililar with the ATC Maintenance page. I can clear any ATC alarm in seconds (unless something mechanically very bad happened). The best way to get familiar is to go through a tool change cycle using the Maintenance page from start to finish (you'll also need to use the Tool Clamp/Unclamp button midway). It's a simple matter of 'order of operation'. No matter where/how it's stuck, look at where it's stuck relative to the order of operation and move forward from there. There are certain M-codes for maintenance but not all of the actions have them. Since you're in the Maint page anyway, might as well just use the buttons.

This is what I have seen operators attempt to do many times to clear this type of alarm but in actuality, it never goes as easy as you are explaining for some reason!

For some reason it seems that the machine becomes stubborn under such an alarm condition and it doesn't want to cooperate to operator commands which is why the solution always ends up being 20 minutes of button pressing in random combinations until a certain combination eventually wakes it up or forces it to cooperate.

I have never seen even veteran operators clear this type of Mazak alarm as easy as you suggest. I am so very curious as to what you specifically do to get it resolved in seconds as you say. I get the gist of what you are saying, but again, that doesnt seem to work for anyone.

For example, say that you had T24 pulled up which was used for edge-finding your part and then finished setup and was ready to run a program. So you now press the cycle start button to begin the program which calls up T1. So T1 comes out and just before the tool door cover shuts and while while the cycle start button is still flashing green and tools still cycling, you hit reset. What specifically do you press now and in what order? This will be nearly earth-shattering to discover a way to clear this in seconds as you say you can do. Thanks.

[psychomill]

For example, say that you had T24 pulled up which was used for edge-finding your part and then finished setup and was ready to run a program. So you now press the cycle start button to begin the program which calls up T1. So T1 comes out and just before the tool door cover shuts and while while the cycle start button is still flashing green and tools still cycling, you hit reset. What specifically do you press now and in what order? This will be nearly earth-shattering to discover a way to clear this in seconds as you say you can do. Thanks.

So given this condition, the only thing you need to know is the other side of the door status. The ATC maintenance page is simply a 'step by step' process of what happens automatically in a program or MDI. You simply need to visualize in your mind at what point of the auto cycle did the operator stop the machine at. This is your start point on your maintenance page.

The simplest fix if the tool is in the chain already but indexing is to simply go to your magazine control panel and jog the tool chain 1 pocket to complete an "index" increment then simply restart your program. If the chain is stopped in between pockets, the machine will not start.

Now if the tool is still in the ATC shifter or the change arm, you need to start from that point of the the ATC cycle to do one of 2 things.... Complete the cycle or bring the tool back to the Next Tool position. Sometimes it's quicker to bring the tool back to Next Tool position and restart the program from there. Especially on dual chain machines.

To describe all of the instances would take too much print here. Do what I suggest though... spend a half a day and step through the entire ATC cycle only by using the Maint page. This will familiarize yourself with each step and buttons. It's worth it to do this then to sit there and cuss at it each time later. Take the time to learn it.... it's cheaper on the long run...

Also, learn that on the MDI function, you may need to update the tool numbers for the one in the spindle or Next Tool. If this doesn't match with how you "fixed" it in Maintenance, the machine won't restart correctly either....