Setting up my HSD ATC Spindle

[Dave's_Not_Here]

Is anyone in or near the Portland Oregon area that is familiar with installing and HSD ATC Spindle? I have a new one and have gotten to the point where I have time to install it but could really use some assistance...

Thanks!
Dave

[Dave's_Not_Here]

Hi there.
I live in Portland. And I have some free time tomorrow. Just in case you still need someones assistance.
See you.

You live in Portland Oregon? Your profile says New York?

Where in Portland?

What is your experience in setting up an ATC Spindle?

Thanks!

[chris_techno]

Rosco Precision Machinery, LLC
4114 “B” Place NW Unit 105, Auburn WA 98001
Contact: Hans Barnes
Email: hansbarnes@net-venture.com
Phone: 206.818.6813
Fax: 253.761.7756
Rosco Precision Machinery Home Page

Closest Techno service/dealer

[Dave's_Not_Here]

Chris,

Thank you, I have contacted Hans.

I had contacted another dealer/rep in Salem or Eugene, and they called but said they were busy and would get back to me... never heard from them again.

Regards,
Dave

[chris_techno]

Great! I realize it is a 2-3 hour drive from you in Portland but he's one of our authorized dealers so he can assist you.

[Dave's_Not_Here]

Chris,

PM Sent.

Dave

[chris_techno]

Replied, for some reason my outgoing messages never show in "sent items" so if you didn't receive the response the gist of it was;

email me at chris@technorouters.com

bc we'll be getting other technicians and/or engineers in on this retro fit and it will make it easier to communicate and keep us all on the same page

Thanks!

[Dave's_Not_Here]

E-Mail sent w/photos

[Dave's_Not_Here]

I purchased my LC 4896 Plus Servo Router from the original owner in Texas, who used it for 30 hours and moved up to Techno's 60x120 Router.

I have had to replace two servos, one encoder, one ballscrew and I added all the necessary servo, cables and amp for a 4th axis.

I ordered an HSD ES915 ATC Spindle (the same spindle offered by Techno) directly from HSD, and saved a lot of money. In today's economy, you have to look at all your options.

So, for the past year and a half, I have been trying to pay for some assistance in getting the HSD ATC Spindle set up... I have tried to locate someone in Oregon or Washington but each one has started out with "we can help you" only to back out after talking with Techno.

Here is my latest response from the last dealer I contacted:

David,

Here is the problem. The parts are not Techno parts (meaning I didn't buy them from Techno). Techno will not assist in installing parts that they did not supply. Since I am a Techno rep, I am only authorized to (and know how to) install Techno supplied parts.(Huh? This spindle is exactly what Techno would have sold me, so by their own admission, they only know how to install Techno Supplied parts. I am not asking for FREE service, I am willing to PAY them!)

The only way Techno will be able to help you at this point is for you to pay a registration fee with Techno (Now this is a new wrinkle...), this is a fee that anyone that wants Techno Technical Support from a machine they purchased privately would need to pay to be able to get technical support...(Really? What about all the telephone support in the past two years... without that FEE?) , return the parts you have purchased, and purchase the 5 HP HSD router from Techno and then pay us labor to install it (They have a word for this in New York... it certainly is not FREE ENTERPRISE!).

I don’t see this happening.

So, your best bet at this time is to hire a local electrician who works with AC motors and motor controllers. Tracing back the signal wires from the controller should not be that hard, the hardest part that I am not familiar with is programing the motor controller and that is where the electrician will be an expert in.

I am sorry we cannot do more for you.

WOW, what a line of BS! Send the spindle back to HSD and pay thousands more to get it from Techno?! REALLY?!

Now Techno is preventing their dealers from servicing ANY equipment that is purchased from a previous owner, unless a Registration Fee is paid?

How come not one Techno person over the past three years, has ever mentioned this?

How come Chris never mentioned this in PM's to me about having their service tech and engineers put together some form of assistance, if I would send him photographs? Photographs were sent and I asked for the price... not a word back.

Well, Techno certainly doesn't want my business in the future and and I will certainly make everyone I deal with aware of the new Techno Isel business practices.

And Chris, don't worry about getting back to me with the prices I asked for a couple of weeks ago... I haven't paid my "Registration Fee" and Techno and their Techno Reps can't work on the router anyway.

Guess we will see how long this thread stays up or how long I am allowed to participate for telling the simple truth....

Long Live FREE ENTERPRISE!

[chris_techno]

Who did you contact here that said that to you?

He was correct in that it is our policy for machines out of warranty to charge a fee for heavy amounts of support (let's say for very custom applications) but I've seen your post about the vacuum table and I know that you're more than capable of any work that needs to be done to this machine. Minimal assistance would be required as long as you received the correct components.

As long as you had the correct controller (the LC/LC+/LCX/RG you can see the versions HERE)the only parts required for the tool changer setup is an air compressor, logic controller box, some cables, solenoid valves and a pressure regulator. A different inverter may be required to drive the larger spindle but I'd need specs on the image you sent me. All of these are not complex to install for a tech savvy person (short of the compressor installation and inverter install that may require a licensed electrician if running 220v 3-phase).

Who were you forwarded to about this I would like to speak with them and straighten this out, this was not a typical circumstance as we'd been speaking for over a month now about all of this. It's not that they were incorrect just unaware of my diagnosis and assumptions on time required to assist and this fee is completely unnecessary.

You can let me know here or via email at chris@technorouters.com I responded this morning asking for more information.

I'm here to help you with this ATC install and we will get you the components you need to complete this project.

[Dave's_Not_Here]

Who did you contact here that said that to you?

He was correct in that it is our policy for machines out of warranty to charge a fee for heavy amounts of support (let's say for very custom applications) but I've seen your post about the vacuum table and I know that you're more than capable of any work that needs to be done to this machine. Minimal assistance would be required as long as you received the correct components.

As long as you had the correct controller (the LC/LC+/LCX/RG you can see the versions HERE)the only parts required for the tool changer setup is an air compressor, logic controller box, some cables, solenoid valves and a pressure regulator. A different inverter may be required to drive the larger spindle but I'd need specs on the image you sent me. All of these are not complex to install for a tech savvy person (short of the compressor installation and inverter install that may require a licensed electrician if running 220v 3-phase).

Who were you forwarded to about this I would like to speak with them and straighten this out, this was not a typical circumstance as we'd been speaking for over a month now about all of this. It's not that they were incorrect just unaware of my diagnosis and assumptions on time required to assist and this fee is completely unnecessary.

You can let me know here or via email at chris@technorouters.com I responded this morning asking for more information.

I'm here to help you with this ATC install and we will get you the components you need to complete this project.

Chris,

I received your e-mail this morning but chose to calm down before responding... following my wife's advise for a change.

No one at Techno told me about the information in my last post. As you see in the Red Text from that post, I was quoting one of your licensed sales representatives, who told me that they are the ones that got the information directly from Techno Isel.

In my previous post, they said they were told by Techno that they couldn't work on my machine unless I paid a fee to Techno and sent all my new parts back to HSD and repurchased them from Techno.

Your sales representative seems pretty sincere and his e-mail response, which was what I posted previously in Red, and which is a complete reversal from the phone conversation we had a few days earlier. It just seems really strange to me that the last two sales reps, one that you sent me to and one that I found on my own, both changed their tunes after first agreeing to help and then talking to Techno Isel.

I really don't know how to proceed at the moment. It has really shook my confidence in Techno Isel. I have had outstanding experiences with Charlie, Bob, Mike, John and Tim over the past 2 1/2 years. I have struggled with company issues more that personnel issues; like never getting my servo returned when I had to buy a new one instead getting the old one refurbished. (... no one could find it apparently). Or having to buy a new ballscrew when an admitted design flaw, which has since been corrected, snapped a journal off the end when the router was barely a year old with maybe 75 hours run time.

I would like to see this turned into a positive but not sure what that will take or what it will look like. I hate to leave future readers wondering exactly what the outcome was. However, I can't take my machine down indefinitely while I wrestle through the conversion. That's why I offered to pay your two sales reps to help get it done expeditiously.

The economy is bad and, like many, my business is off for the past two+ years. That's why I find less costly alternatives to upgrading my machine (which most times saves me 50% - 75% or more because I make them or have them made or find a better price). Case in point: The Vacuum Table you mentioned, would have cost me $12K-$15K depending on the parts I bought. My cost was $3K and included all new parts (10HP Fuji Regen Blower, 10HP VFD, Muffler and Filter kit from Fuji, Custom Aluminum 10 Zone Vacuum Manifold and end cap setup, Extruded Tool Holder Rail and modified Gantry Uprights for the HSD Spindle conversion, and a 70 AMP circuit) all running like a champ. It wasn't a desire to not support Techno, it was a necessity to save money or go out of business.

If that disqualifies me from support unless I return or remove my less costly alternative parts, then I need to adjust and move forward. I would hope it is resolved in a more positive fashion and everyone comes away with a better understanding and positive experiences. I would like to be a champion of Techno Isel; not someone that feels threatened and coerced... which is exactly what you read in the e-mail I was sent.

I will get back to you with the information you want and we can see where it goes from there.

DNH

[Dave's_Not_Here]

I figured we might as well keep everything here for posterity and for those that find themselves in a similar situation down the road... one way to turn this into something positive and productive.

As long as you had the correct controller (the LC/LC+/LCX/RG) LC+ is what I have... the only parts required for the tool changer setup is an air compressor (I have an air compressor with the following specs: 5hp, 30 Gallon, Oil Free, 8.6 scfm @40PSI, 6.4 scfm @90PSI, 130PSI Max), logic controller box (I assume this is my LC+ Controller currently on the router???), some cables (have the HSD cables pre-installed on the spindle and a bag with extra pins and connectors... assume they are for connecting to the mother board in the control box...??), solenoid valves (...I assume this is part of the pneumatic air supply ? I don' t have any solenoid valves.) and a pressure regulator (I have one, along with a filter, but if I need something specific, give me the specs.). A different inverter may be required to drive the larger spindle but I'd need specs on the image you sent me (... I will need to get another VFD. I double checked the one I have and it is 3PH in and 3PH Out and I need Single in and Three out. I can get a 5hp VFD, New, that doesn't need to be de-rated and will produce a true 5hp, for $649 delivered. I am using a 10hp version for my 10hp Fugi Regen Blower, from the same company, with great success. What do you recommend from Techno and how much will it cost? ). All of these are not complex to install for a tech savvy person (short of the compressor installation and inverter install that may require a licensed electrician if running 220v 3-phase) (Got the VFD install covered but not the wiring to the control board. Will need some advice on air supply filtration requirements. I also need to confirm whether the additional, unused, mounting holes on my Z-Axis Slide will allow me to mount the ES915... initial measurements match up but I could be overlooking something. Also, I have the Key for the spindle locating slot... but need to get the proper cap screws to mount the spindle.

If you need more/better photographs of any of the components, let me know.

At some point, I will need to get the necessary instructions on doing both a manual tool change and making the router memorize the tool location on the tool rack...

Another set of instructions I will need is how to Home and Zero out my 4th axis. I installed the Techno 4th Axis AMP and New techno Servo and cabled it to the control box. The 4th axis runs fine, but I have no clue how to set home and zero out the location for a given project. I can't find any instructions for each of the above on the Techno website.


I'm here to help you with this ATC install and we will get you the components you need to complete this project.

.