[joatace]

The thread pitch is off on my machine, about .025 inch per inch of thread with a 16 tpi.
I have noticed that the rpm reported is around 12-15% off of the rpm commanded, ie. 144 reported with 150 commanded when showing 100% spindle speed.
I'm guessing the problem is either with the encoder not reporting the correct rpm or the spindle drive not setting the correct rpm.
Has anyone else seen this? Anyone know how enter a correction for rpm?
I'm looking for a contact rpm gauge to check the actual spindle rpm.

[camarogod98]

ahhh...you to have a psychopath 15 too.LOL I have not had that problem with my machine luckily. I wonder if you have some weird following error in the Z axis or something? Have you tried threading at a slower or different RPM to see if it helped? Go to the maintence page and check the following error (next to Z axis position on the DRO). You would think the control PID loop would be smart enough to increase the spindle RPM single to the drive to get to the commanded RPM. Let us know what you figure out.

Im doing some work to my machine right now.....Doing a servo and drive retrofit to the new yaskawa sigma 5 system. Repairs on those old CACR drives are way too expensive and they are always band-aid fixes. around 1400 to fix one drive. I have sourced sigma 5 drives and servos that are equivalent replacements for $2400 for everything brand new with the cables. get another 20 years out of the lathe.....lets just hope the BMDC does not die.

Let me know if you need a brand new industrial motherboard for you powerpath. I have some new ones i got from a bridgeport tech....the make the control run faster and its a nice upgrade....and WAY cheaper than EMI.

[joatace]

With parameter 71, the Spindle Command Gain, set at 6.725 I was seeing:

commanded 400 rpm, actual (reported) 375
spindle overide set at 100%

After experimenting with the spindle command gain, finally settled on 7.16

this yields:

commanded actual
400 , 400
500 , 497
600 , 596
800 , 792
1000 , 990
150 , 150
1200 , 1187

parameter 51, Max following error shutdown point= 1.0
parameter 52, Max following error= 1.0

I'm threading at 150 rpm so I think this will be OK. I'll check the threading
again next.
May be a good place to say that changing these values puts you in "007" territory.
Keep us posted on the new drives.

[joatace]

The video board in the control head on my machine has burned out. Does your source have any?

[camarogod98]

With parameter 71, the Spindle Command Gain, set at 6.725 I was seeing:

commanded 400 rpm, actual (reported) 375
spindle overide set at 100%

After experimenting with the spindle command gain, finally settled on 7.16

this yields:

commanded actual
400 , 400
500 , 497
600 , 596
800 , 792
1000 , 990
150 , 150
1200 , 1187

parameter 51, Max following error shutdown point= 1.0
parameter 52, Max following error= 1.0

I'm threading at 150 rpm so I think this will be OK. I'll check the threading
again next.
May be a good place to say that changing these values puts you in "007" territory.
Keep us posted on the new drives.

Have you had any problems with the drives on your machine? They sure are expensive to fix. all my stuff is still working. The company i bought it from had my z axis drive fixed at a cost of 1600 and they had the Z axis servo rebuilt for 2400. They also replaced my X axis encoder and the drive was rebuild several years back. All the Z axis stuff was done in 2009. Once i get my new drives/servos in and working like they should im going to sell off my old ones for a good deal. They are super expensive on ebay.

Im glad you got your spindle RPM figured out...thanks for posting that, its good info. I spend 3 hours on the net running down the stupid connectors i need to hook the new drives to the AXSBOB. PM me if you need the part numbers...they were a mother to find.

[joatace]

I have not had any problems except for the threading being slightly off. The machine was like new when I got it a year ago.
The only other problem I have had is the turret not completing the rotation when it's cold. After it warms up it functions fine.

[camarogod98]

I have not had any problems except for the threading being slightly off. The machine was like new when I got it a year ago.
The only other problem I have had is the turret not completing the rotation when it's cold. After it warms up it functions fine.

I have the same problems with my machine....Im chasing some turret gremlins right not. sometimes i get the lock pin error. Thinking i need to turn up the hydraulic pressure. I think the spring inside the regulator will relax with age and the pressure will decrease.

[joatace]

I connected an old pc crt to mine. It does the job for now. I'm looking for a 15" lcd

[joatace]

Now I'm getting the "chuck not clamped" alarm at random. I have watched the chuck clamp sensor during the run and
the light on the sensor is on before and after it sets the alarm and stops the machine. It's doing it with or without material
in the chuck. I don't think it could be the proximity sensor since the light is on. I can start the program again and it will run
without changing anything.
Have you ever seen this one?

[camarogod98]

I remember having to adjust my sensors when i first bought the machine. By the looks of it one of mine was replaced at one time. There should be two sensors....one for each direction the draw tube move (forwards and backwards) . I have seen prox switches not work even though the light is on...not all that common but it happens. The 1st thing you need to do is go into the maintenance page and see if they are turning on or off. After that i suspect you have a bad switch or maybe something wrong in your wiring. Your computer power supply might be failing also. I just replaced mine with an ATX one. It made a difference....before i changed mine the three circuit boards in the bottom of the control panel were all different brightness-es...after i changed the power supply they are all the same. Its a sign it was getting weak.

If you lived close buy i would come help you for free. Im in southwestern michigan. These psycopath lathes are good machines but can be a pain in the ass sometimes.LOL Mine holds size great.....+- .0001 all day once you get it warmed up.

Let me know what you figure out..........I always like the hear about these lathes.

[joatace]

I added the chuck clamped I/O to the viewing box and monitored it while the spindle ran. I noticed it was flashing "OFF" and back on immediately. Enough to trip the control
to shut-down. The light on the sensor always stayed on.
I replaced the Telemecanique XS1-D12PA140 chuck clamp proximity sensor with a XS1-M12PA370. Same fit and function, a bit longer case.
I ran the spindle for about 20 min.. It seems to have fixed the problem.

[WagonWheel]

I connected an old pc crt to mine. It does the job for now. I'm looking for a 15" lcd

For an example I installed this Dell 15" monitor in mine. There was a little filing in the lower right corner to allow access to the controls. This probably was not necessary since the monitor comes on when the machine starts and I have never had to adjust the brightness etc. I made some sort of crude bracket in the back to hold it in place if I remember correctly. Its been a while and it has always worked well. The monitor has 2 model numbers listed on the back; E156FP or E157FP.

Attachment 221040

[camarogod98]

I added the chuck clamped I/O to the viewing box and monitored it while the spindle ran. I noticed it was flashing "OFF" and back on immediately. Enough to trip the control
to shut-down. The light on the sensor always stayed on.
I replaced the Telemecanique XS1-D12PA140 chuck clamp proximity sensor with a XS1-M12PA370. Same fit and function, a bit longer case.
I ran the spindle for about 20 min.. It seems to have fixed the problem.

I remember i had to buy 2 new prox sensors for my tailstock when i re-installed it in the machine. I cross referenced the numbers and bought them from automation direct for a good price. I think i bought a few extra just incase. Im a parts hoarder!

[camarogod98]

For an example I installed this Dell 15" monitor in mine. There was a little filing in the lower right corner to allow access to the controls. This probably was not necessary since the monitor comes on when the machine starts and I have never had to adjust the brightness etc. I made some sort of crude bracket in the back to hold it in place if I remember correctly. Its been a while and it has always worked well. The monitor has 2 model numbers listed on the back; E156FP or E157FP.

Attachment 221040

Nice mod..I didnt mill a notch in the front plate. My monitor always turns on with machine and never needs adjusting. I think i put the buttons on the back of the monitor. I made a new mounting frame out of angle aluminum and put a piece of clear lexan in front of the lcd panel. Took lots of time but its nice.

I noticed you still have a disk drive in your machine. I put a floopy usb drive in mine....works very well and allows you to get away from the old disks that always go bad. Floppy Drive USB Emulator Converter Roland E86 E96 RA800 EM2000 | eBay

The best upgrade i made to my machine so far was the new industrial motherboard i got from a bridgeport guy. I bought 2 extra. It made the machine control run so much faster and never locks up now.

[WagonWheel]

Nice mod..I didnt mill a notch in the front plate. My monitor always turns on with machine and never needs adjusting. I think i put the buttons on the back of the monitor. I made a new mounting frame out of angle aluminum and put a piece of clear lexan in front of the lcd panel. Took lots of time but its nice.

I noticed you still have a disk drive in your machine. I put a floopy usb drive in mine....works very well and allows you to get away from the old disks that always go bad. Floppy Drive USB Emulator Converter Roland E86 E96 RA800 EM2000 | eBay

The best upgrade i made to my machine so far was the new industrial motherboard i got from a bridgeport guy. I bought 2 extra. It made the machine control run so much faster and never locks up now.

I've done the USB emulator before on my EZ Trak. Actually I made the cabinet to work with another of these Dell monitors too and added a pull out shelf for a full size keyboard. The emulator works well but there could be one problem. If I remember correctly the machine will not boot from the disk in the emulator. It is normally not a problem since the operating system on my DX machine is on the hard drive like these PowerPaths. Again if I am remembering correctly, if a boot disk is created on the USB disk and it is inserted in the emulator drive, and the BIOS is set for the normal A: then C: sequence, the machine will not recognize the USB disk and boot from it. It was almost 3 years ago that I did that so I think that was the way it was? If I get some time I can recheck or someone else can try it. Maybe it is the type of emulator I have?

[joatace]

Nice set-up. I'm looking for one of those monitors.

[OMARLAKER]

With parameter 71, the Spindle Command Gain, set at 6.725 I was seeing:

commanded 400 rpm, actual (reported) 375
spindle overide set at 100%

After experimenting with the spindle command gain, finally settled on 7.16

this yields:

commanded actual
400 , 400
500 , 497
600 , 596
800 , 792
1000 , 990
150 , 150
1200 , 1187

parameter 51, Max following error shutdown point= 1.0
parameter 52, Max following error= 1.0

I'm threading at 150 rpm so I think this will be OK. I'll check the threading
again next.
May be a good place to say that changing these values puts you in "007" territory.
Keep us posted on the new drives.

HELLO I'M OMAR

I AM WRITING TO YOU FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
I HAVE A PROBLEM ON A Bridgeport/Romi PowerPath 15 CNC LATHE
THE ESPINDEL MOTOR BURNED, WE REPAIRED IT, SEND IT TO REWIND.

AT THE MOMENT OF TURNING ON IT TURNS FOR A FEW MOMENTS AND THEN IT TURNS OFF AND SAYS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE

"SPINDLE NOT AT CORRECT SPEED"
BUT ON THE SCREEN IT IS SHOWING THAT THE SPEED WE CONFIGURED IS EXACTLY AT THE ONE IT HAS WHILE IT WORKS BUT IT STILL TURNS OFF AND SHOWS THAT ALARM.

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS THAT PARAMETER 71 WHICH YOU MODIFIED, MAYBE IT WILL HELP ME.

THANKS IN ADVANCE