Cincinatt Arrow 750 - Spindle alignment - Motionlink software

Hi All,
I recently had the spindle drive repaired on my Cincinnati Arrow 750, Acramatic A2100 Control, Kollmorgen drives.

The spindle seems to align correctly during the initial homing of the machine, but when I go make a tool change it comes up with Alarm 39-92

Remedy: Correct device status:-
Input CR_OR_COMP ON
Either Output CR_SPDL_ORN ON or Output CR_SPDL_ORN2 ON
(NOT both together) CR_SPDL_ORN2 is for orientation to optional 2nd drum on a Sabre machine only.
Check spindle drive setup. Adjust any drift in the system

I have looked around for spindle alignment forum posts and most say I would need motionlink software, an old computer, and a link to the spindle drive in order to adjust some settings in there. Or to fiddle with the belts...

I have found the software I need for my drives; Motionlink Plus BDS5 VFS5 software . exe but I have been unable to find much information on how to use it and the most recent forum post I can find on the stuff is 2017.

Any handy tricks and tips?

How to adjust orientation depends on what spindle drive and software version you have. There were different Kollmorgen drives used that are completely different so need more than just "Kollmorgen". Motionlink is needed to set orientation for some, but not all.

But your alarm doesn't indicate an issue with the alignment itself. I don't remember seeing that alarm in 25+ years of working with these machines so it is not a common issue, and from my experience, most of the time when rare alarms like this happen it was caused by an error made when someone inexperienced was working on it. Connectors not seated properly, wires crossed, etc. will cause alarms that otherwise would never occur. Although you left off the primary text of the alarm (which would be helpful to know), it seems to indicate you have conflicting I/O on orientation for ATC1 vs ATC2 (which was an option).

It can't be oriented for both simultaneously so assuming you only have a single ATC, you need to ensure only the correct inputs and outputs are on for ATC1.

Other info such as what it does/doesn't do may also help. For example, in a normal situation that the orientation is off, the spindle will usually orient to an incorrect angle, but since the CNC gets a signal from the drive indicating orientation is complete, the ATC moves to the spindle and crashes. Your description seems to imply it never makes it to the crash and faults before it even tries to orient.

Hey Maver1ck, thanks for the reply.

The spindle drive is the VFS5, and the axis drives are the BDS4's. The software I found was for the VFS5 and was released in 1990.
The primary text is Tool Change Spindle Orientation Failure. I think the machine is aligning correctly during the initial alignment, the spindle does look to be in the correct place for tool changes. The spindle will run just fine and the bed will home and move around just fine.
It's when I try to action a tool change, the spindle rotates back a forth a couple times, clearly lost. Then the alarm pops up before the carousel swings over.

So I think you may be correct with making sure I have the right inputs and outputs.

Do you have the electrical schematics for the machine? This would be the best way to determine which signals you have/need.

If you have a fault light on the VFS5, you should connect Motionlink and see what errors (if any) it is reporting. The 2 you can expect to see are Drive Powered up and Err14 Power Bus. The Err14 can indicate an issue as it indicates the DC Bus voltage was too high or too low....but it is also common on many drives because when you e-stop the machine, the DC Bus drops out causing the drive to report an undervoltage condition. Any other faults will likely be the most relevant for you.

I don't know the history of your machine, was it working before you sent the drive out for repair? Assuming it was:
- Even though the I/O connectors are keyed, I have seen people manage to plug them in backwards which will cross I/O signals to the control.
- There are many parameters in the spindle drive that must be correct (and you will need motionlink to check/change these). Not knowing what the shop did when they had the drive or how familiar they are with this type of drive, it is possible some parameters were changed.
- There is also a Dallas RTC (chip with internal battery) in the drive that can go dead, especially after long periods of the machine being off. I have never seen this cause what you are describing, but again...if the shop working on it changed this and loaded software/parameters not for your machine, could be a possibility.

By taking the spindle motor out you have changed the electrical/spindle relationship of the orient position. Email me on our website and I will send you the info to offset the position.

Mike CNC Machine Services INC | Cincinnati Milacron MachinesCNC Machine Services

Mike Kilroy sorted me out with a PDF that gave detailed instruction on how to reset the spindle alignment with the motionlink software. It was fairly straightforward, even though I was ****ting my pants through the whole process.

Does anyone know where to find the early Motion Link version for mid 1990's VFS5 drives? A DOS application, apparently.

Thanks

LarSpeed: https://www.kollmorgen.com/developer...-bds5-and-vfs5

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gwood

LarSpeed: https://www.kollmorgen.com/developer...-bds5-and-vfs5

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Top! Thank you!