[SyntecLee]

My Name is Lee I work for a Sign Company in New Zealand, We recently purchased an ATC CNC from China which has a Syntec 6MA control system, for the most part I have been extremely happy with our purchase, Although we have had a few minor teething issues most of which were reasonably easy to fix. I have been following the threads on the Chinese CNC's and the other syntec users. I thought perhaps I would share my experience for CNC Chinese purchasers and perhaps document my experience as well as help out others who are using the same control system. Perhaps also share video's for those who would like help with a function or like more of an explanation into what I have done.


A little background:


The Machine we purchased was a 3000mm x 15000mm ATC CNC with a 9KW HSD air cooled spindle, Yaskawa Servo's, Delta Inverter, THK rails, Helical rack, 8 Tool ATC rotary changer, Eisele speed reducer with the Syntec 6MA control system, Automatic Oiling System and 2x Becker 3.140 oiless vacuum pumps. There were many options we tried to choose the better of what was available wherever possible based on my research




First things first a list of small and basic problems and fixes


1 ~ Due to the size of the package that was delivers and the height of the machine the cover over the spindle was removed for transport. On refitting the cover I realised that the holes were slightly misaligned so that the cover rubbed when moving up and down, slotting a couple of the holes and using spring washers to secure it in position fixed this


2 ~ The left hand limit switch on the gantry was positioned a little low, about 2mm, enough so that intermitantly when going to do a tool change it would accidentally trip one of the limit switches and bring up an error on the controller


3 ~ when the unit traveled across to the ATC using the MDI input it did not come down to the correct height, meaning that the tool changer would move out to capture the tool and miss it on the bottom by about 10mm, this alignment is controlled by a parameter value the 2nd Z reference. By changing parameter 2803 from -129085 to -119085 this corrected the misalignment


4 ~ Because I had order the machine with 2 vacuum pumps instead of 1 it should have been wired for 2 pumps but was set up for on 1 as it was tested in the factory with their shop pump and not our new German pumps, which came still crated from Germany. On closer inspection the power handling for it was decided to be inefficient for the purpose so we change the wiring in the cabinet, swapping the single contactor for a relay and mounting 2 contactors in a separate box in the small room attached to the Router room that was set up to carry the dust extraction, vacuum pumps and compressor. This setup means the Chinese cabinet now works as a switch instead of directly switching the 3 phase high voltage supply.


5 ~ There were a couple of air leaks attached to the vacuum system where hoses were positioned on slight angles, less a design flaw more of a bit of careless assembly.


6 ~ The tool holders supplied were quite burred, really they looked good but they needed to be cleaned and lubed properly before we could use them.


7 ~ The automatic oiler had a leak at the container end and was dripping when used, a little thread tape fixed this.


8 ~ The automatic oiler had a distribution block with 4 taps to control the flow when pressurising the oil system, there was no documentation as to which tap controlled which area, we figured this out by process of elimination.


9 ~ The feed speed of the machine was restricted to 5000mm / min. No matter what speed was programmed in the G Code the machine would not cut faster than 5m/min. Again another parameter 405 controlled the maximum feed rate which restricted any program value. Changed this to 15000 which fixed this. Mainly was because I have a 55mm fly cutter for surfacing the spoil board and at 5m/min was taking ages.


10 ~ The rapid travel was also restricted Parameters 461 - 463 control the x, y and z rapid speeds respectively. I left the Z axis alone as speed on Z isn't really an issue


11 ~ Setup the network after a bit of fiddling and basically no documentation


12 ~ Managed to decipher the auto tool height setup with another parameter adjustment. Parameter 3411 controls the height of the auto tool touch to the table. Later I will explain the process possibly with a video if people are interested.




Now set up I can happily cut out ACM, Acrylic and I even skimmed some heavy plastic from an engineers shop that they wanted thinner, using my fly cutter cutting it down to 4.8mm from 6mm so all in all seems to be working.


Any questions I might be able to help with on the Syntec 6MA perhaps I we can share or if anyone has any tips or tricks I'm always keen to learn


Cheers
Lee

[gfacer2]

So the obvious question is which cnc brand did you choose? But good to hear about syntec controller being good. Thank. GF

[SyntecLee]

The brand is XYZ Machinery, I actually saw a post about another company called XYZ Tech but they seem to be two different companies, I would not say the machine is pristine by any stretch of the imagination, but the components we bought seem to be good so all in all a good machine. All be it a few small issues.

Cheers
Lee

[Clearyjames01]

Hi Lee,
I have seen your video on you tube and they have been pretty helpful to a complete rookie of 2 weeks. I got a ATC3015 with syntec controller. I have marched on and after a few hurdles got it cutting. But have a few problems well three at the moment. Yesterday it was cutting fine. But the hood for the tool was catching i took the covers off and back on. Went to run a new program and got the two errors bellow.

1.
Motion 17 Z axis first positive software limit exceeded

When i run a program this warning comes up but the machine will not have moved. When press run cycyle and before it moves any axis the warning comes up.
If i move the z axis (in jog) the error goes away but if i try run the program its back and the z would have gone no where. but i can home all the axis fine so it goes to the Z limit and no problem. But i run a program and it halts everything


2
Coordinate 40 the1NcporgramL7: Block end point exceed software limit


This i have no idea what is going on.


One minute its working then i load a new file and nothing.
I try other files ( that were working fine) and nothing
I have turned off and on, home the axis and all is good, run file then the two errors come on.


I Have deleted the new file and almost all files from the computer, turned off/on and tried a file that did work fine yesterday, still the two errors pop up.


I was only about to start some real work on it after 2/3 weeks of just getting it to cut and now i'm standing looking at the machine about to lose my mind.

On another point i have only been b=manually changing the tools as the when i tell it in V carve to use T2 or T3 when i export it to machine it always says T1. But that's a whole other thing. if i could just get it cutting with T1 for now i'd be more than happy.

any help gratefully appreciated,

James
where abouts in NZ are you?

[SyntecLee]

Hi Lee,
I have seen your video on you tube and they have been pretty helpful to a complete rookie of 2 weeks. I got a ATC3015 with syntec controller. I have marched on and after a few hurdles got it cutting. But have a few problems well three at the moment. Yesterday it was cutting fine. But the hood for the tool was catching i took the covers off and back on. Went to run a new program and got the two errors bellow.

1.
Motion 17 Z axis first positive software limit exceeded

When i run a program this warning comes up but the machine will not have moved. When press run cycyle and before it moves any axis the warning comes up.
If i move the z axis (in jog) the error goes away but if i try run the program its back and the z would have gone no where. but i can home all the axis fine so it goes to the Z limit and no problem. But i run a program and it halts everything


2
Coordinate 40 the1NcporgramL7: Block end point exceed software limit


This i have no idea what is going on.


One minute its working then i load a new file and nothing.
I try other files ( that were working fine) and nothing
I have turned off and on, home the axis and all is good, run file then the two errors come on.


I Have deleted the new file and almost all files from the computer, turned off/on and tried a file that did work fine yesterday, still the two errors pop up.


I was only about to start some real work on it after 2/3 weeks of just getting it to cut and now i'm standing looking at the machine about to lose my mind.

On another point i have only been b=manually changing the tools as the when i tell it in V carve to use T2 or T3 when i export it to machine it always says T1. But that's a whole other thing. if i could just get it cutting with T1 for now i'd be more than happy.

any help gratefully appreciated,

James
where abouts in NZ are you?

Ok basically there are software limits set within the syntec parameters of your machine

The error basically states that what your program is telling the machine to do is outside of the limits the machine has set.

In this case the program is telling the machine to raise the tool about the highest point of the Z axis

It could be that you have your safety moving position set wrong in the program you are designing with, and before it starts it is telling you to move the spindle too high, a point to far above the material

In basic terms it is based on the coordinates, Machine coordinates are measured from the home position of the machine, ie: the machine zero for Z axis is the highest point the spindle can sit, your material maybe be set to -145 in the machine position, effectively this means that the spindle would know the material is located 145mm below the home position of the machine.

Obviously before you start any job you set the material offset positions, X , Y, and Z

These offsets become your absolute zero positions of where the job is to start from, your program will move so much down and so much to the right and so much up and down the table. all of this information comes from the program ( G-Code ) that you producedusing your design program and output using your post processor.


all this being said the likely causes of your problems are


A. Offsets set incorrectly, not latched into the G-54 positions, latched to the external shift instead

B. Table height parameters or tool height settings set incorrectly.

C. Safe Z or Rapid move height set too high in the program

D. Post processor incorrectly formatted causing it to set the wrong positions or not correctly allow for the heights of the tools


In order to help you any further with this would need to see one of your output G-Codes or perhaps check some of your settings

I currently work for Speedy Signs Dunedin at present, in Dunedin, New Zealand

Cheers
Lee ( SyntecLee )

[Clearyjames01]

Hi Lee,
Thanks for the reply,I was melting my mind checking everything even looking at the parameters of the axis. but when i walked away from it and went step by step back the problem was the table height for the tool was in wrong. The simplest answer was the last one that i came too. Thanks for your time. My next challenge is to get the auto tool change to work. At the moment i am using T1 and manually changing the head and resetting the tool height. I'm using V carve pro and telling it to us T2 T3 etc but when its output to the PP file it always comes up at T1. But for now i can get cutting which is the immediate problem and give me time to play around after the works are done. I know speedy signs, lived in Dunedin for 6 years only left 2 years ago. Think i even had some sign work done at at your place. Small world. Thanks again. James

[annatian123d123]

hello ,

We are professional cnc router manufacture in China .If you have any questions of woodworking machine ,welcome to contact with us .My skype is anna.tian22
my whatsapp is +8613381182501
thanks
Anna

[dunderdunder]

Hi Anna,

I´m not looking for any machine, already got one machine.
I´m looking for styrofoam cutting tools.

Cheers
Daniel

[annatian123d123]

Hi Daniel,

It is ok .Thanks for your reply ! where are you from ?

Best regards
Anna

[SyntecLee]

New information on the Syntec 6MA front, checking my software today and looking at the spindle moving I made the assumption that although I may have put in 5000rpm in my G-Code the actual speed seemed to be much faster. I had no way of testing this theory till I picked up a digital tachometer. I found that there had been a mistake in a parameter in the Syntec control software, specifically parameter 1671, which seems to work like a multiplier in conjunction with the VFD controlling the spindle. Together they match the programmed spindle speed to the VFD so that the output is correct.

A better explanation is to say that I would put in 1000rpm in the G Code and the Syntec would actually be doing 4000rpm ( Checking it with the digital tachometer )

After adjusting the parameter the spindle speed in the Syntec controller and the actual speed now match.

There is also a parameter 1801 that controls the maximum speed of the spindle, obviously for protection but if it is set too low then it will restrict anything in the G Code set above the value stored in that parameter

Hopefully this may come in useful to someone

Cheers
Lee

[Frankmali17]

Hey Lee...
I got a machine from ASIA also... My Spindle was not wired correctly...
We have 3phase Y type power.. meaning we have 120/ 208Volts...
The spindle was wired for 380... so during testing, it seemed underpowered and we snapped a 3/8 bit...
It took some time and investigation.. and luckily my HSD was a genuine model (not chinease) and was configurable for 220 or 380..
Some electrical rework.. and we got it cutting SUPER...

[daniellyall]

looks like you lucked in the one I got was a lump of poo different company.

a lot of the out fits over there just copy each other,and have all most the same names.

[SyntecLee]

The equipment is good but the setup leaves a lot to be desired, fortunately for me the majority of the problems I had were settings and parameters etc, kind of not very well set up in the factory, I realise things move and change over the distance traveled but mostly this was just a lack of care and attention in the setup process. With a little help from CNC Zone and a lot of reading most were an easy fix

Cheers
Lee

[daniellyall]

mine was about $10,000 in the end to get working right. but it worth more than what was pad for it know

[SyntecLee]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, we have kind of been down the road of buying chinese machines before so I knew what was to expect at the other end. We have a 2.5m wide UV Flatbed printer from china as well. It had a number of teething issues but we have had it for 7 years now and it has put through a power of work, the purchase price was approximately 1/4 of a european or american machine. Its fairly mechanical but once you know the systems in operating it the basics work well. I have worked on a principle with both machines of buying good components and hoping to smooth out the rest.

My background is that I have 2 degrees, one in computer in information science, the other in electronic engineering. so generally I am faced with the problem of fixing anything that goes wrong with any of the machines at my work. With China effectively being the other side of the world for us, I knew getting service was basically going to be near impossible, they offer advice mostly, I take the advice and try and derive a solution, using resources of friends, contacts and of cource CNC zone which has been an invaluable help.

Cheers
Lee

[denis5000]

Hello.
I am have a problem with a new chinese machine.
It has a Syntec 6MA controller.
The problem is that when I try to change the tool the machine tried to change the tool at a spesific X axis offset to the side (same offset to all the tools), and breaks the tool holder (it is a linear tool changer with 10 tools).
At first I thought that the tool positions were not calibrated properly at the factory so I used the MPG to position the tools in the tool holders and then entered the gcode G991T(Tool Number) to set a new tool changer position.
I did it for 2 tools and than after playing with the machine for a couple of minutes the positions on all the tools reverted to factory setting (my positions became with offset and the original positions became correct).
Than I recalibrated my 2 tools again and than it changed to the offset position again an oll the tools.
It looks like there are 2 positions than the controller can switch between them.

Can somebody please help me to find how to remove this offset in the controller so I can be sure that the tools willchange properly and will not break the tool holder?

Thank you in advanced,
Denis.

[UnionTech]

Do you have some photos of the control panel?

[daniellyall]

mine ended up being 3/4 the cost after all the fix`s having been done that includes softwear. I would do it again as I know how to fix them now

[SyntecLee]

Finished cutting some 40mm Plastic today. A design for a conveyor rail given to me by a neighboring Engineering shop, Machine was cutting out ( 4x ) 520mm x 40mm parts with 5 different tool changes, two different drill cycles and a 45mm v carve, a slot cut the length of the part and countersunk bolt holes to sit below the level of the slot, including the 5 tool changes and considering the material was 40mm thick it tool just on 1hr to cut out the 4 parts, so approximately 15mins a part, all the parts were measured afterwards and found to be extremely accurate. Very impressed at the speed and quality of the job considering all the factors

[daniellyall]

now to try and do it with less tool changes