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Hello,
Guys I looking for some help with a Milltronics "Centurion 6" CNC machine. This machine has a Centurion 1I cnc control. My issue is that the hard drive disk got damaged. Since I have the two diskettes (centurion software ver 3.82 and parameter disk) I was able to install the software on drive C. Now the machine is booting up with two selectable options; Centurion I cnc and 3D graphics...when I click on the centurion 1 cnc it ask me for 2 or 3 axis. I select 3 and then get this message "Your parameter file (PFILE.DAT) has been corrupted you should load a back up parameter file from disk. After I do copy this "PFILE" on "C" I continue to get this message. Is there something that I may be missing.
Thanks in advance for any information you can share.
I would call Milltronics in the morning and they will walk you through the procedure to loading the parameters. Only takes few minutes from what I recall from doing it a few years ago. I think if you search this forum there may be a post on how to do it but I would check with Milltronics for your specific machine.
Thank you moldcore. That's really an option I will have to consider. However, I have read so many highly professional aproach to software issues on this forum that make me think I could get the right answer here also.
Jlant, The C6 and C1 controls are very different. I can only assume that the front panel has been updated possibly with a LCD display and the bezel above the screen says "Centurion 6". most C1 controls did not have a hard drive. The simdisk (an electronics drive) is sometimes confused as a "hard drive" The simdisk has 2 sections to it, 1. A: ROM and 2. B: RAM.
A: ROM is where the DOS and CNC software is stored on ROM chips and B:RAM is where the parameters and programed parts are stored seperat chips. C: is the floppy drive. D: is a virtuial drive usually used for the graphics files.
Milltronis uses MSDOS to reassign the "drives"
The two disks you have, one should be the "parameter disk and the other would be a " fast cam software disk. Fast cam is a program you load on a PC to program "off line" It is NOT to be loaded into the machine. If you tried to "run" the fast cam you would get path file errors as well.
To reload the parameters on a C1 control, boot up the control, insert the "parameter disk into the floppy drive, from the main menu select, program, files, load. arrow down to "parameters and select parameters. press Y (yes) to "over write" the exsisting files. After the parameter are loaded, remove the disk from the floppy drive. power down the machine, wait about 2 minuts and reapply power. all should be good.
There is a procedure to "reformat" the simdisk. This wipes the B: drive and loads a defaullt set of parameters to boot up to. then the "copy parameters" can be used to load your machines acctual parameters.
During boot up look for a "count down from 10 - 1 during the count down press any key on the front panel. This will bring up a menu. Select F2 (reformat SRAM) press Y (yes) for the next few questions. at the end of the format it will ask to "format another" press N (no) the control will then continue the boot to the CNC software. relaod the parameters as shown above.
NOTE: reformating will wipe all programs you have stored. save any "must have" progrms before reformatting.
If you are still getting "path.dat problems. the mother board battery is most likely bad and will have to be replaced.
sporty bob
Looks like this is where ill be checking in. My brother got tired of my complaining and has been telling me for over a year this is where i should go. When i get back in town ill give the full details of my machine problems. In the mean time i'll give you some thing to think about. I have two machines, both old. #1 Tree 2 axis with a miltronics V control that suddenly cant find x home. It bumps the home switch, backs up and looks to bump again but doesn't see the switch. Then it over travels. Quick temp fix was to home to a marker not switch to get it going. All limit switches checked out OK with ohms.
#2 Is a milltronics partner (1?), 3 axis tool changer with display problems. It was a green mono Thingy (note the technological level i have). When powered up i get a hint of a flash in the monitor, then nothing. Been messing with it for years but could use it soon. ps never have got it to change tools. This site has lots of information, was looking information on "gibbs cad cam" on another thread.
Thx, Bob
I have an 1997 ML 14 Lathe and the monitor went out so I bought a new 14 inch LCD screen but for some reason the Z axis will not work in manual and chatters and will keep moving in the Z axis towards the tailstock. Also the handwheel quit working but I was able to use the joy stick till today. I can put the machine in Auto and it will run a program. I did take another older monitor and hooked it up and been using it that way till like I said today it sjut does not want to run in manual. I plan to pull the Z axis motor and clean the encoder. Just do not understand why it seems all the problems started at one time. I asked the factory if the monitor someohw would affect the z axis and they said no way. I admit I do not know much about trouble shooting but seem to get things accomplished. The factory said the new flat screen LCD they said I have to go into the parameter i think it was to make it able to identify it but not sure how to do it. Any help will be greatly appreciated and I have had this CNC since 1998 and has been a great machine! I did replace the Z axis drive moter in 1998 when I bought the machine. Not sure why it was bad and back then did not have any forums like this for help. Also how do I start a new discussion in the Miltronics Forum here?
Thanks,
Glen
My mill was nervous and jumpy. One direction and axis only. I traced it down to needing brushes and cleaning the tubes the are in. $8 fix, $$$ overnight.
You'll have to go back to the main Milltonics forum screen. There should be an icon for "New Thread" on the left side.Originally Posted by hawkeyemfg
Also how do I start a new discussion in the Miltronics Forum here?
Thanks,
Glen
BW56, The homing problem is an easy fix. move the home switch away from the limit switch or move the limit away from the home switch. Why?...
as you noted: the home sequence is 1. move the axis untill the homw switchis made. 2. back away from the home switch untill the swtch is open.
3. move tward home untill the marker pulse is "seen".
The marker shows up once every revolution of the ball screw, with a 5 pitch ballscrew it will move .200" with every revolution. if the switches are too close it will hit the limit switch before finding the marker pulse.
As a "rule of thumb" the ball screw should have about 1/2 turn from the home switch to the marker pulse.
On the P1 display, it is most likly a problem with the display. if it is a VGA display you can slave in an external monitor to test. open the monitor enclsure and locate the VGA connector, it will be a 15 pin male/female connector, then borrow your PC monitor and connect it to the connector. plug in the external monitor to a wall plug and power on the machine. if it works OK, then replace the display. Note: some mono systems only had one of the RGB video signals connected, so if your external display comes up only in one color dont be surprised. it could also come up in gray scale of it could come up in color.
If your video connector only has 9 pins, it is an EGA type and slaving in a VGA display will not work. you would need to update to a VGA card, cable and display.
Hawkeyemfg. The machine uses 2 keybord encoder cards that are mounted in the display enclosure next to each other. one is for the front panel and the other is for the "remote panel" it is most likely that when you changed out the display that a couple of the cables got swapped around. This would explain why the sudden "problems". Open the enclosure and double check the wiring, check your electrical manual for the correct connections, bent pins etc. the 6 pin hand wheel connector is easy to "misinstall".
on the Z axis, jumping back and forth or chatter could be a tach / tach brush problem you can try cleaning the tach armature and brushes with a electrical contact cleaner, The armature and brushes are located under the brown phonolic plate that the wires go thru.
Leave the encoder alone, liquids can /will enter the encoder and cause it to fail.
Thanks for the suggestions and not sure what you mean by misinstall on the handwheel as that is on the apron and I never had that out. It is possible though when I took out the old monitor screen that something got bent and I did have one of the push button pins get bent but I do not use the mist so I unplugged that and usedit when the bent one was...It is not possible that the machine needs to see that mist button is it? I'll call Miltronics this morning and have to go to town soon so I will pick up some conctact cleaner. I did notice last night when I had the apron off that the wiring is oil and collant soaked so will speay and clean that also. Dang also last night I was trying to do some manual work and the drum switch for forward and reverse started to not want to work in forward....yeeeesh....Seems like the machine is like me...Falling appart...I just had a knee replacement and go back in 2 months for the other one. Thanks again for the suggestions but one thing bothers me about if the tach is dirty. Why does the machine run fine in auto using a program????
Thanks again,
Glen
"Why does the machine run fine in auto using a program????"
good point, I must have missed that. It would act the same in auto or manual.
I would still look at the encoder cards and check the switches and wiring in the manual panel. the mist contacts can be straightend out using a small needle nose, and for me, adding a bright light and glasses.
If I had a manual I cold be more exact.
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