[scottou1]

Well I hate to do this but as my first post here I am issuing a cry for help. I am new to the CNC world but have been studying, watching, and learning for several years now. I finally had the opportunity to purchase a brand new Slant Pro Lathe. Shipping and initial setup seemed to go pretty well. I have movement in both axis. I can not get any movement out of the spindle though. In fact, the C2 contactor is not closing when I put in an RPM amount in PathPilot and click the FWD button. Since the contactor is not closing, the VFD is not powering up at all. I have checked everything I can to try and find why this is happening. I have checked all the fuses I can find, and as many wire connections as I can find. I just can't find what is going wrong. I emailed Tormach and the individual that responded told me to study the electrical schematic and trace all the wiring in the control panel and figure out what voltages are going to what circuits. Well I have to be honest, I am checking everything I know how to check but I am certainly not an expert in electronics. Has anyone else had a problem like mine? Would anybody have any ideas as to what is going on. It is really not a good feeling to buy a brand new machine and then have to sit and stare at it while it stares back at me doing absolutely nothing lol.

Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to help.

[alan_3301]

Is there an E-Stop switch somewhere that needs to be reset?

Hopefully it's something simple. I can't believe they would tell you to trace it all out yourself. What would they say if you electrocuted yourself?

[tmarks11]

Let's go for the low hanging fruit. Designed safety interlocks can sometimes makes things... too safe...

The chuck guard (or enclosure door) has a microswitch that prevents the C2 relay from energizing if the door is open... or the microswitch is misadjusted.

Try this:
1. Verify e-stops are not engaged
2. With the Enclosure door open (or the chuck guard up), manually press and hold the microswitch until you hear it click
3. Without letting go of that microswitch, push the START button on the controller panel, and command the spindle to start from the computer.

Let us know how that goes.

Manual lathes with interlocked chuck guards frequently give users fits with this sort of thing.

EDIT: look at the manual on page 134 for the troubleshooting guide for spindle not operational. One interesting thing is that it says there are TWO microswitches (although the drawing shows a single double pole switch) for the chuck guard. One gives 5VDC control signal to the controller, the other is an interlock for the C2 contractor. Either being misadjusted (or failed) will prevent spindle operation. I suspect if only the 115V failed, the spindle would not operate, but you would get no alarm.

A failure of the 115 VAC switch is less obvious. The control software thinks the door is closed and tries to start the spindle, but the spindle drive won’t receive power. If you can press the spindle forward button on the control software, and you don’t receive and error message, but the spindle does not turn on, you may have a fault in the 115 VAC switch circuit. Examine the switch for broken or disconnected wires, as well as the J7‐3 and J7‐4 connections on the machine control board. If nothing is found, remove power from the machine and Ohm out the switch.

[scottou1]

There are two E-Stop switches on this lathe. I have both of them reset, also Pathpilot will throw an error if the E-Stops are pushed in. PathPilot is giving me no error codes when I attempt to run the spindle. It takes the command and then does nothing.

[scottou1]

Let's go for the low hanging fruit. Designed safety interlocks can sometimes makes things... too safe...

The chuck guard (or enclosure door) has a microswitch that prevents the C2 relay from energizing if the door is open... or the microswitch is misadjusted.

Try this:
1. Verify e-stops are not engaged
2. With the Enclosure door open (or the chuck guard up), manually press and hold the microswitch until you hear it click
3. Without letting go of that microswitch, push the START button on the controller panel, and command the spindle to start from the computer.

Let us know how that goes.

Manual lathes with interlocked chuck guards frequently give users fits with this sort of thing.

EDIT: look at the manual on page 134 for the troubleshooting guide for spindle not operational. One interesting thing is that it says there are TWO microswitches for the chuck guard. One gives 5VDC control signal to the controller, the other is an interlock for the C2 contractor. Either being misadjusted (or failed) will prevent spindle operation. I suspect if only the 115V failed, the spindle would not operate, but you would get no alarm.

I tried the trick of holding both switches but didn't have any luck there. How would I check if the 115V switch is faulty?

[tmarks11]

If you have a multi tester, you could measure the voltage on the spade terminals on the microswitch, against the ground connection for the machine. Should be 115V VAC (or 5VDC if you chose the wrong set) on both terminals with the switch pushed.

Tormach's "ohm out" statement is with power removed from the machine, you would measure resistance (with your multi tester) across the switch and see if the shutting the switch causes the resistance to go to zero.

If you don't have a multi-tester, I strongly recommend you get one. They are cheap ($15), and you can pick one up at walmart, home depot, lowes, any auto parts store. They are not hard to use, we could easily walk you through use.

Two other things from the lathe manual:

3. RPM override slider is at 0 percent. If the RPM overrides are set to zero percent the spindle gets a zero speed
command and won’t start. Verify that the RPM slider is at an appropriate level.
4. The machine is in constant surface speed mode, but the surface speed command and current X position of
the lathe is such that the commanded RPM is less than the minimum.

[tmarks11]

Also, did you verify that wires J7‐3 and J7‐4 on the machine control board were tightly plugged in?

[scottou1]

Also, did you verify that wires J7‐3 and J7‐4 on the machine control board were tightly plugged in?

Yes those wires are tightly plugged in.

I also have a multi-tester and I am trying to understand how to ohm them out. When you say measuring across the switch, how is that done?

[tmarks11]

Turn the barrel switch off to remove power.

On the multi tester, you probably have a rotary switch to select modes. One of them has the OHM Ω symbol. In that mode, when you touch the two leads together, the display should show ZERO (0).

The chuck guard (enclosure door) microswitch should have 4 terminals attached to it, probably crimped spade connectors. It is essentially two completely separate switches in one box. Tormach is generally outstanding at using lots of cable labels.

EDIT: since this switch is in an enclosed box, you probably want to go into the control cabinet and measure across where the wires from this switch are attached. You can find an accessible 104 wire on the C1 contactor and a 106 wire on the C2 contactor.

Look for the 104 and 106 wires (115V switch), and touch each probe to the terminal they are each attached to. Then push the switch. The multi tester display should go from a very high number or blank display to near zero if the switch is working.
Now repeat with the J10-1 and J10-2 wires (5V switch).

EDIT: I don't think the 5V switch is the problem, but you can find both the J10-1 and J10-2 wires on the machine control board.

[MichaelHenry]

Where are you located? Maybe someone is close enough to stop by and check the basics for you.

Mike

[scottou1]

Turn the barrel switch off to remove power.

On the multi tester, you probably have a rotary switch to select modes. One of them has the OHM Ω symbol. In that mode, when you touch the two leads together, the display should show ZERO (0).

The chuck guard (enclosure door) microswitch should have 4 terminals attached to it, probably crimped spade connectors. It is essentially two completely separate switches in one box. Tormach is generally outstanding at using lots of cable labels.

EDIT: since this switch is in an enclosed box, you probably want to go into the control cabinet and measure across where the wires from this switch are attached. You can find an accessible 104 wire on the C1 contactor and a 106 wire on the C2 contactor.

Look for the 104 and 106 wires (115V switch), and touch each probe to the terminal they are each attached to. Then push the switch. The multi tester display should go from a very high number or blank display to near zero if the switch is working.
Now repeat with the J10-1 and J10-2 wires (5V switch).

EDIT: I don't think the 5V switch is the problem, but you can find both the J10-1 and J10-2 wires on the machine control board.

Ok I attempted to ohm out the door switches. I am not getting either one of them to give the results you described they should have. I think this means I am not measuring the ohms correctly, as I know that one of them is working properly according to Pathpilot. On the the other hand the C2 contactor made a strange vibrating or buzzing sound today. I am just at a loss with this thing.

- - - Updated - - -

Where are you located? Maybe someone is close enough to stop by and check the basics for you.

Mike

I am in the Oklahoma City area.

[tmarks11]

What numerical result did the multi tester give you between 104 and 106 wires with the switch open? And then with the switch shut?

How long did the C2 "vibrating, buzzing sound" last? a second or two, or longer?

The C2 contactor is actuated by the machine control board... even with the chuck guard 115V switch open. But the C2 contactor cannot "seal" itself shut if the chuck guard switch 115V is open, so it would just momentarily energize and then de-energize.

In order of probability of fault:
1. 115V chuck guard switch failure.
2. loose or disconnected wiring.
3. C2 contactor failure.
4. machine control board malfunction.

[scottou1]

What numerical result did the multi tester give you between 104 and 106 wires with the switch open? And then with the switch shut?

With the door shut I am getting a reading of 1.2 between them, with the door open I am not getting a reading.

[scottou1]

What numerical result did the multi tester give you between 104 and 106 wires with the switch open? And then with the switch shut?

How long did the C2 "vibrating, buzzing sound" last? a second or two, or longer?

The C2 contactor is actuated by the machine control board... even with the chuck guard 115V switch open. But the C2 contactor cannot "seal" itself shut if the chuck guard switch 115V is open, so it would just momentarily energize and then de-energize.

In order of probability of fault:
1. 115V chuck guard switch failure.
2. loose or disconnected wiring.
3. C2 contactor failure.
4. machine control board malfunction.

I would say it lasted a good ten seconds or so. It wasn't very loud at all, in fact I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from at first.

[tmarks11]

Did you have the control panel door open at the time that happened? Did the display on the VFD turn on and display any codes?

[scottou1]

Did you have the control panel door open at the time that happened? Did the display on the VFD turn on and display any codes?

Control panel door was open and the VFD did not turn on.

[tmarks11]

What numerical result did the multi tester give you between 104 and 106 wires with the switch open? And then with the switch shut?

[scottou1]

With the door shut I am getting a reading of 1.2 between them, with the door open I am not getting a reading.

[tmarks11]

With the door shut I am getting a reading of 1.2 between them, with the door open I am not getting a reading.

That means you took the measurement correctly, and that the switch is working properly.

So the next thing to do is take a voltage measurement. This isn't too tough. Just keep your fingers off the metal of the probe.

1. Your multimeter should have a switch position for AC Voltage (or Volts with a squiggle curve next to it), possibly with a range of voltages. You want the 0-200V range (or similar).
2. Locate the ground in your control cabinet (a threaded stud with one or more wires attached to it that is bolted right to the control cabinet).
3. Turn the barrel switch on, and push the start button.
4. Place one lead of the multi tester on the control cabinet ground, the other lead on the J7-3 terminal (wire 104) on the machine control board. You should get something between 105-125V.
5. Make sure the PC is RESET to allow control of the lathe. Place one lead of the multi tester on the ground, the other lead on the J7-4 terminal (wire 107) on the machine control board. It should be <10V or so. Now turn on the spindle from the PC. You should again see 105-125V. EDIT: or place the multimeter on the C2 contactor on the 100 and 107 wires if that is easier.

Assuming #5 gives you 105-125V, that means the contactor is getting power. Now we will see if the C2 contactor is shutting by measuring across one of the contacts powering the VFD.
6. Turn the spindle off from the PC. Place your multimeter leads on the cabinet ground and on wire L26 on the C2 contactor. It should read 0 volts. Now turn on the spindle from the PC. You should again see 105-125V.

EDIT: reread my post cause I saw I misidentified a wire number.

EDIT EDIT: Scott, sent you a PM.

[scottou1]

That means you took the measurement correctly, and that the switch is working properly.

So the next thing to do is take a voltage measurement. This isn't too tough. Just keep your fingers off the metal of the probe.

1. Your multimeter should have a switch position for AC Voltage (or Volts with a squiggle curve next to it), possibly with a range of voltages. You want the 0-200V range (or similar).
2. Locate the ground in your control cabinet (a threaded stud with one or more wires attached to it that is bolted right to the control cabinet).
3. Turn the barrel switch on, and push the start button.
4. Place one lead of the multi tester on the control cabinet ground, the other lead on the J7-3 terminal (wire 104) on the machine control board. You should get something between 105-125V.
5. Make sure the PC is RESET to allow control of the lathe. Place one lead of the multi tester on the ground, the other lead on the J7-4 terminal (wire 107) on the machine control board. It should be <10V or so. Now turn on the spindle from the PC. You should again see 105-125V. EDIT: or place the multimeter on the C2 contactor on the 100 and 107 wires if that is easier.

Assuming #5 gives you 105-125V, that means the contactor is getting power. Now we will see if the C2 contactor is shutting by measuring across one of the contacts powering the VFD.
6. Turn the spindle off from the PC. Place your multimeter leads on the cabinet ground and on wire L26 on the C2 contactor. It should read 0 volts. Now turn on the spindle from the PC. You should again see 105-125V.

EDIT: reread my post cause I saw I misidentified a wire number.

EDIT EDIT: Scott, sent you a PM.

OK I went through all the steps and everything checked out fine until the very last. The c2 contactor is not shutting after turning on the spindle from the pc. The voltage stays at zero. Also I got your pm and I really appreciate that.