Milltronics, Partner IV 4

[Brian FRF]

Anyone had the controller just go wonky on these? I

Ive had it lock up, lots of wierd characters.
Ive had a couple times , machine just starts going in a random direction.
Even had it tell me Z axis over travel when the spindle is ~2" down. Then when I hit reset, the x, y axis jump. Real nice to drill bits when theyre in the part!

Glad this is a back-up machine now. But any guesses? Bad connection somewhere, something on its way out? Id like it to be more that a 6500# paperweight used very occasionally.

[Brian FRF]

Used this the other day. Go a z-axis error, 2" down from home, 1/2 way through a drill pattern. Also got question marks in my positions, programs even get all messed up. But turn off the machine, turn it back on, program is fine.

No one's seen this kind of strange happenings before?

Originally Posted by Brian FRF Anyone had the controller just go wonky on these? I Ive had it lock up, lots of wierd characters. Ive had a couple times , machine just starts going in a random direction. Even had it tell me Z axis over travel when the spindle is ~2" down. Then when I hit reset, the x, y axis jump. Real nice to drill bits when theyre in the part! Glad this is a back-up machine now. But any guesses? Bad connection somewhere, something on its way out? Id like it to be more that a 6500# paperweight used very occasionally.

[chipsinpan]

I had some issues somewhat similar after I was working in the shop electric panel .
I had pulled the switch to my partner and the next week I had the machine screen go blank , and a few times it locked up .
My disconnect switch is the older 3 pole knife type , and I noticed on close inspection that they did not all pull in the full distance . A bit of contact cleaner , and worked the switch a few times , and it seems to have fixed the problem ( I have to mention that these are really old switches that allow you to work the lever with the box door open , so I can see whats going on )
Also make sure you have the machine properly grounded . You should have a seperate ground wire going all the way back to the box . Don't rely on the conduit as a ground . While your at it check the connections at the ground rods that should be out side the building .
Maybe this helps or gives you a clue . Just try to remember if you did any other electrical work in the shop when this problem started .

[Ben Colby]

Try running a memory test. Hold down the #1 key while someone turns the machine on and
it will test the memory banks. I've had bad memory chips cause similar problems to what
you are describing, particularly the taking off in any direction and the chinese looking characters. The memory test will check all 9 banks off memory.

Beware: this test will wipe out your parameters, so have them backed up in some manor.

[Brian FRF]

Following advice, checked out the contacts at the main switch, all look good, but still poked at them to try and make them better. Really didnt do much, no real visual change, but I dont want to rule it out. Ive been running the mill the last 2 weeks now, with the back door open, thinking maybe too much heat buildup. So far, I have *knocking on wood* no more issues with controller insanity. Maybe the contact work took care of it, but Im really more thinking the circuits were getting a little warmer than they wanted to be.

So for those searching, in the future, pop that back door open, and try that.

[outctrl]

Just saw this post. Is there a battery perhaps that is bad ? Yea, where am I coming from with that. Anyway, I have had experiences like this with Anilam controls. Both controls are PC based. Just saying

[Captain Midnigh]

Originally Posted by outctrl Just saw this post. Is there a battery perhaps that is bad ? Yea, where am I coming from with that. Anyway, I have had experiences like this with Anilam controls. Both controls are PC based. Just saying

The Milltronics 4 controller is not PC based, but it does have a D size battery on it's board. It's located on the top right, inside of the door. It's a 1-1/2"x3" aluminum box. Replacements are available at McMasters. If the battery was dead, you would lose your parameters when you turn off the main power.

[Brian FRF]

Update on this:
Opened the back door, been running it like that without locking up issues since. Seems its just not getting enough air movement.