[jeff1124]

hello, we recently purchased a mill with a dynapath 2000m control. this is my first time with a dynapath controller. the machine does not have a toolchanger, but I want to be able to still change tools out in a program. guess im looking for a post that would have the machine go to the home position, stop, manually change tool, then take off. we have tried using an M06, that does not work, that is for an automatic toolchanger. dynapath says to put an M05 to stop spindle, then M00 to stop program, but how do you send it to the home position without using M02/M30. that just ends the program. should also say that we are drip feeding, if that matters?

thanks

[jagardner4]

Whoever applied the control to the mill should have set the M06 to do a manual tool change. Sometimes that's as simple as stopping the spindle (the M06 includes an M05 code), then moving to the Home position. You would then put an M00 on the following line to stop the program. It shouldn't matter that you're drip feeding - the buffer should continue to fill while the part program is stopped.

You say the M06 doesn't work. What is it doing (or not doing)? Is this a retrofit or an OEM applied control or one of DynaPath's Machine-Control Packages?

[jeff1124]

what happens is the machine will go to the home position, then gets this error, spindle has failed to orient, which I think is looking for an automatic toolchange. we bought the machine used but I think its a dynapath package

[jagardner4]

It sounds like the control thinks it's got a spindle capable of orienting (which, admittedly, is part of an automatic tool change.) You probably get the same error message if you execute an M19 (spindle orient.)

Frankly, I would have to know the PLC program that's in the control to specifically tell you how to set the control to correctly execute a manual tool change and ignore any requests for a spindle orient. The expedient way to figure out which PLC is being used is to have the serial number folder, which is in DynaPath's possession (not mine). It's a bit of a research project, and there's no guarantee that having the information in the folder will be enough. There were lots of controls sold to people who re-wrote PLCs and modified parameters to the point where you'd almost want to start over.

It sounds like you've already talked to Dynapath, and it also sounds like they pointed you in the right direction. The easiest thing to do is, when you want to do a tool change, move the machine to a convenient position for the tool change, stop the spindle with an M05, then stop program execution with an M00. Basically, three or four lines of part programming. Since you are creating your program offline, perhaps you can create a set of program lines that represent a tool change (the move, the M05, the M00) and copy them in whenever you want a tool change. The good news is that this method is more flexible in where you move the machine for a tool change.

Wish I could be more help, but I no longer have access to all the information needed.