[MetalShavings]

This morning I powered up my 770 to cut some flutes in a couple of reamers I've been working on.

Shortly after powering up I heard a sharp squeal coming from the area of the cooling fan. I thought maybe the
bearings in that little fan had just taken a crap on me.

It stop squealing as quickly as it had begun and everything appeared to work normally after that.

As I proceeded to index my part on the 4th-Axis, I noticed that the on-screen jog button (to switch from "Continuous" to "Steps")
wouldn't work. The little yellow light worked when I switched from one setting to the other but, the table wouldn't move in either setting.

I had to press the "Reset" button to get the table to move again.

I generally use the the on-screen Job-Button and Arrow-Keys to help me index my part and zero my Axis'. I can do it without using the Jog-Button but it's frustrating to find that something may be wrong somewhere in the electronics where I know the least about trouble-shooting. I've owned it over a year so I don't think it's still under warranty.

After I'd done all the milling I was going to do I re-checked the on-screen Jog-Button. It appeared to be working again; in both settings.

When I was done milling the flutes I shut down the mill and checked all the electrical wiring for any tell-tale burn marks or anything out of the ordinary. I didn't smell anything burning that would indicate a short or arching of any kind.

Can one of you guys give me a clue where to start looking for anything that might induce such an event? It will be at least another week till I'll need to use my mill again. I thought in the mean time I could do a little research on the possible causes of a malfunctioning Jog-Button.

Any help you can give me will be appreciated.

MetalShavings

[Peter Neill]

Can't help with the other stuff, but on my 1100 the cabinet cooling fan started doing that around 2 months ago when it starts up for the 1st time, and does it half the time it switches on now.
If I power off (e-stop) tap the fan a bit then switch back on, it stops. Don't actually have that many hours on the Mill yet, probably only around 100 or so, but it was sitting in storage for 9-10 months before it was installed.
I suspect the bearings are on their way out and will probably need to put a new fan in

[SCzEngrgGroup]

There is nothing in the hardware that could possibly affect the jog controls. That was just a software hiccup.

Regards,
Ray L.

[MetalShavings]

Good to hear I'm not the only one that experienced cooling fan noise and good to hear that it may just be a "hiccup."

I guess I'll find out the next time I power up if this is really going to be an issue or not. Generally there's someone on
this forum who's experienced some form of anomaly or symptoms on their mills that might be able to clue me in.

I'm just glad it doesn't sound like a major concern. Thanks guys.

MetalShavings

[LeeWay]

I know that when I am starting Mach, I sometimes get a Windows nag screen telling me the computer may be at risk. No antivirus software installed.
Jogging will not work with the keyboard after I close that screen out. I have to actually click back anywhere on the screen to get Mach back even though it looks like it is front and center.
Clicking on the jog toggle button would have resolved that though, so may not be what you saw.

[Gerry Sweetland]

+1 on what Ray said
The fan on my machine started growling and eventually stopped spinning, Tormach replaced it under warranty.
Gerry

[BAMCNC.COM]

Did you hit a limit switch? If so that is why you had to hit reset before you could jog again.

[MetalShavings]

Did you hit a limit switch? If so that is why you had to hit reset before you could jog again.

At the time it happened, this was my first thought because, when I first took delivery of the machine I did have an issue with the X-axis limit switch.
(tormach replaced it under warranty)

Whenever those initial limit-switch symptoms occurred, the reset button would flash, indicating that I had to hit the reset button because the table would no longer jog/move.


When this present on-screen jog-button symptom occurred, the reset button didn't flash. I just clicked on it because that's what I used to do before.

I'm hoping it's a non-issue now but, have you ever noticed that things start going south no sooner than your warranty expires? I hate it when that happens.

HollowPoint

[BAMCNC.COM]

Keep an eye on your red/green ref lights on the right side of your dro's, always want them green.

[christpatillo]

But hey thanx for posting!!!

[takewhatyoulike]

Several years ago I had an issue with the X & Y axis limit switches vulnerability to flood coolant. Sometimes after exposure to coolant the limit switches would become intermittent. The fix was seal the Y-axis limit switch cover and the gap in the front SS shield over the x-axis with noncorrosive type II Silicone RTV.

Don Clement

[MetalShavings]

Keep an eye on your red/green ref lights on the right side of your dro's, always want them green.

This was the crazy thing about the symptom in question. Nothing on the screen was out of the ordinary. All the correct lights were on that needed to be on and off where they needed to be off.

With the X-Axis limit switch issues I mentioned before. The DRO lights would switch back to RED when that problem occurred but, Not with the present symptom.

Before I got that initial X-Axis limit switch problem resolved, I could go the screen that shows the status of the switches and such and it would indicate that something had indeed gone amuck with the switch. With this present On-Screen Jog-Button snafu there was no such indication. The Jog-Button just wouldn't work.

MetalShavings

[MetalShavings]

I powered up my mill yesterday and got that same high pitched squeal coming from my cooling fan. It would squeal for a second then stop; then start up again; finally ending with a complete seize up.

I took the fan out and checked it. It seemed to spin smoothly with no kind of roughness detected. If anything the little fan seemed to have alot of side to side slop to it. I don't know if this is due to worn bearings or loose fitting components. At any rate I put the fan back in place and fired the mill up again. This time I got no squeals so I did all the milling I had planned.

I'll be looking at replacing that fan as soon as I can. Does anyone know where a guy might get a equal or better replacement fan other than the tormach fan?
The tormach fan is what I'll more than likely use to replace this dying fan but, if there's something better out there that isn't outrageously priced, perhaps it's worth considering.

MetalShavings

[TurboStep]

My fan died just before the warranty expired but I just ordered a new one from Ebay. Search for "120 x 120 x 25mm AC 110-120V Axial Cooler Fan". I ordered mine from Uxcell for about $15 including postage from Hong Kong (how do they do that?) and it runs nicely. Cooling fans should be regarded as consumable items. They all die, sooner or later.
Step

[MetalShavings]

My fan died just before the warranty expired but I just ordered a new one from Ebay. Search for "120 x 120 x 25mm AC 110-120V Axial Cooler Fan". I ordered mine from Uxcell for about $15 including postage from Hong Kong (how do they do that?) and it runs nicely. Cooling fans should be regarded as consumable items. They all die, sooner or later.
Step

Thank you. I checked them out. They don't seem to be to expensive; and free shipping.

When I had my fan out to take a look at it, I seem to remember it having three wires. One yellow and two black.
The fans available on ebay are of the two wire configuration.

Did you have any problems hooking up you're ebay-bought cooling fan?

Thanks again.

MetalShavings

[TurboStep]

The yellow/green wire is an earth connection that mounts using one of the mounting screws. Only the two black wires are needed for the power. If you check the circuit diagram in the manual you will see that 3 connections are shown, but the one on the right is the earth connection to the metalwork.
I had no problems.
Step

[TiagoSantos]

You can usually scratch the paint to reveal bare metal and attach a ground wire to one of the mounting holes in the fan.. Probably not a big deal, but I did it on my controller just to be safe.

[MetalShavings]

I sent off an email to tormach to see what they charge for a replacement cooling fan. I'll wait to hear from them and if their price isn't outrageously high I'll get the factory replacement.

I don't think they'll be able to beat $13.99 including shipping but, it doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks gentlemen; for the insight. If tormach's price is high I'll just order two of the chinese replacement fans and be done with it.

MetalShavings

[TurboStep]

According to the manual the cooling fan is #30626:
30626 - Fan, 115 VAC
The price listed in the Tormach store is $29.13.

Step

[MetalShavings]

$29.13; plus shipping I suppose?

Holy Cow man! I bet there's a good chance that the cooling fans on the ebay sight and the fans sold by tormach are assembled by the same little chinese kids.

Seriously though, this must be a case of paying a premium for a brand name. The fans themselves are generally the same.

Thanks for the information.

MetalShavings