Any help welcome . . . .

[allen@hunting]

Hey ya'll -

First of all thanks for letting me in!! LOL! I am a maintenance technician for an energy services company here in Houston. We have about 32 cnc lathes, and 2 cnc mills. Some new, some old. I have a problem:

Okuma MC60VAE Mill has this error: 3208 Alarm C ATC system condition 901.

Can move the ATC manually and change tools manually but not in MDI mode. THE ATC will not come up from any position to change the tools. I have only 1 error code book and no other manuals. Anyone have any genius ideas??

[underthetire]

Well, no good ones. I would get the prints out and check (check data) all the prox switches for the atc (arm up/down/clamp etc.) i'll bet one switch is stuck on when it should be off. Pot up/down was a famous one for that. Its been a while for me on Okuma mills.

[OkumaWiz]

When you try to do the tool change, go to the diagnostics screen and read what it says. It will tell you more specifically what it is looking for. The alarm you mention means that the machine sat for 3 minutes without being able to complete the tool change.

Sometimes it is something simple like spindle orientation or having the feedrate at zero so it can't feed to the tool change position, but your diagnostics screen will tell you.

If you look in the Maintenance manual, it should show you the sequence of events for the tool changer. Make sure to look at the style for your particular tool changer.

Best regards,

[broby]

Also, check that the Machine is not in "Manual Tool Change" Condition.
this is a classic for catching people out. The Operator can press a button to put the machine into a "Manual" tool change and forget to release this mode before doing an Automatic Tool change. The machine will just sit there waiting and waiting and waiting... well at least for 3 minutes anyway!
Always check the diagnostic screens for more information.
Cheers
Brian.

[allen@hunting]

I appreciate all the insight gentlemen. I will let ya'll know what happens! Right now flying blind with no manuals. I appreciate ya'll!

Best regards,
Allen

[Al_The_Man]

Most machines have M codes to change tools using individual commands, this way you can step it through the different positions and see where it hangs up.
But if you don't have the manuals, I guess you cannot tell whether you have them.
Al.

[Algirdas]

1. check the diagnostics messages
2. door lock
3. Tool in spindle and next toll description
4. rapid speed override?