Taig/MicroProto problem

[Sweeney]

About a year and a half ago my mill began having issues. The Z axis often would not respond. Playing with the printer cable would sometimes resolve this. At about that time I bought a Mikini mill for a large (for me) job. Using the same Mach3 software and the same printer cable the Mikini has worked flawlessly while the Taig sat idle.
I now have need for the Taig and now all 3 axis are unresponsive. They will intermittently 'hold' position when powered but will not move on command. The fuses in the MicroProto controller are good and the large capacitors have correct voltage.

I just emailed MicroProto about this but thought I'd present it to you guys.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
John Sweeney

[awerby]

Which model of Taig is this? Is it a step/direction or phase drive? There might be a mechanical problem with your mill. It could have lubrication issues that were exacerbated by the long period of inactivity, as the oil hardened up with whatever gunk was in the slides. Do all the axes move freely by hand when the power's not on? Did you make a separate XML profile for the Mikini, or modify the one you were using for the Taig? Have you updated Mach3 recently? Is the computer the same one that's working on your other machine? Have you tried a fresh download of the Taig XML file? They can get corrupted. Have you bought it a new printer cable? It might have an intermittent flaw. (But make sure the one you get has continuity through all 25 pins).

There might be a problem with your drive that only can be fixed by sending it back to Taig (or troubleshooting it over the phone, which they do pretty well). But trying some simple stuff, like replacing cables, cleaning and relubing, readjusting the gibs, and reloading the software is a good place to start.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[Sweeney]

The mill is in perfect working order as is the printer cable. I've been using the same cable and computer on the Mikini with no issues.
Mach 3 is current and I created a new profile for the Taig in an attempt to solve this problem.

[fretsman]

Just one question for you, why wait to get help from Microproto? I'm guessing because you had the mikini running succesfully at the moment and just put the Taig on the back burner?

Ok, I have 2 questions for you, how do you like the Mikini?

I for one will be very interested to hear how this turns out. Good luck to you John-

Dave

[Sweeney]

I bought the Taig to learn cnc milling. At about the time the Taig began acting up I got the Mikini because I had a fairly big job coming up and needed the size and power. I made over 300 bronze trail markers for a new trail system at The Grand Canyon. It was mostly engraving.
So, the Taig has been sitting.
I now want to use the Taig's 10,000 rpm spindle to drill 1.5mm holes 30mm deep into granite blocks to allow the insertion of a twin probed thermal conductivity meter. The holes will be 6mm on center and the plan is to drill a 10 x 10 hole pattern. The problem with drilling a single pair for the probe is that, with a coarse grained granite you could actually measure the thermal conductivity of a single mineral and not the bulk rock. I may donate the Taig to my department where it could be used on the 200 or so granite samples that are expected.
So far I really like the Mikini. I haven't done any 3 axis work yet but the 2.5 axis work has been great. The only failures so far have been mine.

[awerby]

this doesn't sound like the sort of thing it's recommended for. Were you using it on granite before it died? To drill granite, you need special diamond tooling and flood cooling. It's good to have the coolant fed through the drill bit, to flush out the grit. This grit will get into the slides and onto the screws, and will quickly degrade both. I suppose you could try to protect it from the abrasive grit, but that would take some doing. A peck drill cycle with frequent withdrawals from the hole would help.

Really, though, you need a completely different sort of machine to do this job; one that's specialized for stonework. Expect to spend a whole lot more money on it than you paid for the Taig.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com


I now want to use the Taig's 10,000 rpm spindle to drill 1.5mm holes 30mm deep into granite blocks to allow the insertion of a twin probed thermal conductivity meter. The holes will be 6mm on center and the plan is to drill a 10 x 10 hole pattern. The problem with drilling a single pair for the probe is that, with a coarse grained granite you could actually measure the thermal conductivity of a single mineral and not the bulk rock. I may donate the Taig to my department where it could be used on the 200 or so granite samples that are expected.
So far I really like the Mikini. I haven't done any 3 axis work yet but the 2.5 axis work has been great. The only failures so far have been mine.[/QUOTE]

[Sweeney]

As I stated, I NOW want to use it to drill into granite. I am making a vessel to hold synthetic diamond grinding fluid that the granite will be submerged in.
I already have the 1.5mm diamond drills and we're having more (in a different size) made. The shop that is making them also made the diamond grinding discs for the Mars rovers.
I'm the technician for a university Geosciences Dept and use diamond cutting tools frequently from a 24" slab saw to custom made 2mm core drills used to extract monazite crystals from rock thin sections.
The mill will be fully protected from the rock flour... if I can get it working...
I got the xml file from Micro Proto and loaded it but the mill will still not cooperate. I may need to send the control box in for a diagnostic.

[awerby]

diamond tooling, so that's all to the good. And the diamond drills you're having made specially are probably of better quality than the ones we mere mortals typically get. Immersion in drilling fluid sounds like a good way to contain the grit, but I'm not sure how you're holding the rock so that it can be changed easily - a picture of that setup would be much appreciated. It does seem like sending the control box in for evaluation is the logical next step. Fortunately, Taig/Microproto is a good company to deal with when it comes to tech support issues like this - even if the machine's out of warranty, they won't charge you an arm and leg for servicing it. Please do let us know how it goes with the granite drilling as well as bringing the mill back to life.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[Andre' B]

Have you removed the X,Y,Z motors from the mill?
Do they run when off the mill?
How difficult is it to stop them with your fingers?
How difficult is it to turn the X,Y,Z screws by hand?
Did you do this when the mill was working so you have some kind of baseline?

The idea is to isolate individual systems and see what works and what does not.

[Sweeney]

diamond tooling, so that's all to the good. And the diamond drills you're having made specially are probably of better quality than the ones we mere mortals typically get. Immersion in drilling fluid sounds like a good way to contain the grit, but I'm not sure how you're holding the rock so that it can be changed easily - a picture of that setup would be much appreciated. It does seem like sending the control box in for evaluation is the logical next step. Fortunately, Taig/Microproto is a good company to deal with when it comes to tech support issues like this - even if the machine's out of warranty, they won't charge you an arm and leg for servicing it. Please do let us know how it goes with the granite drilling as well as bringing the mill back to life.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

Well, setup doesn't exist yet but the plan is to make a flat bottomed vessel into which the rock (cut into a nice cube) will sit and using hold down clamps, clamp it to the table sandwiching the vessel between the rock and table. Coolant can then be circulated through the vessel by pump to a larger tank with weirs for settling if needed. The secondary tank may not be needed as the total waste material from drilling will only be a few cm^3 for each sample and the coolant can easily be changed.

[Sweeney]

Have you removed the X,Y,Z motors from the mill?
Do they run when off the mill?
How difficult is it to stop them with your fingers?
How difficult is it to turn the X,Y,Z screws by hand?
Did you do this when the mill was working so you have some kind of baseline?

The idea is to isolate individual systems and see what works and what does not.

Mechanically everything is fine. Everything moves freely by hand and when powered the motors 'hold' position... they just don't do anything else.

I'm sending the controller off the MicroProto as soon as I have a chance to package it.