[Ahamay17]

Having a couple of issues and some questions which I have searched this forum for without any luck...

Anyone else have either of these and better yet, solutions?

1) I can't leave the homing/limit sensors plugged into the BOB for long production runs without the machine just coming to a stop, with no error reported....By luck I just happened to be looking at the screen once as this happened and the status bar quickly flashed "external e-stop requested" the machine stopped but the error message didn't remain in the status bar... I wonder if something is getting wet, it has happened while everything is freshly cleaned, so I don't think it's the sensor detecting chips, but not sure... Anyone had the need to upgrade the OEM proximity sensors to a better solution?

2) Recently the Z axis has dropped several times overnight, close to .050" which has ruined parts and broken tools...now that we know it is happening we now re-zero the Z axis anytime the machine has been powered off, not the end of the world but would certainly prefer a solution that would allow us to fire up and start running...

Also a question, regarding the "probe" port on the PDB, can it be used with with the Blue Probing screen by Big Tex and an active touch probe, and if so how do I set up mach3 for this?

Thanks,
Ray

[SCzEngrgGroup]

1) The unfortunate thing about the inductive prox switches used as limit switches on the Torus Pro is that they can be tripped by chips - even aluminum chips. It is also possible for them to be tripped by electrical noise, if Mach3 is not configured to 'filter" the signals. Assuming you have a newer machine with a SmoothStepper, this will be in the SmoothStepper configuration settings under the Plug-in menu.

2) You can NEVER assume the machine will stay exactly where it was when turned off, especially with a stepper machine. The whole point of even having Home switches is you can quickly and easily reference the machine EVERY time you power it up, and it should return to EXACTLY the same Home position as the last time. Even on expensive commercial machines you cannot assume it will not move when powered on.

The PDB Probe input can be used with any probe, assuming the software is properly configured. The Probe input is nothing more than a digital input to the BOB. There is no signal conditioning whatsoever.

Regards,
Ray L.

[CROSSHATCH]

On my Servo edition, my encoder on my X-axis was bad and during operation the x-axis would fault and the machine would pull the External Stop Error. But you are not seeing that error on the drivers.

I ended up getting a new Servo from John@Novakon and have been happy ever since. I also got an upgrade to the BOB which helped my charge pump/lock-up issues.

I too unplugged my switches until I upgrade them to something better!

-Jason

[AUSTINMACHINING]

The Only time I've had false triggering was a steel chip that worked it's way near the proximity switch. I've never had it trip so far from Aluminum (fingers crossed), and yesterday, I cut so much you couldn't see the vise or table as the piles of chips were that deep.

I've trying to imagine how the Z axis dropping .05" could ruin parts/tools. Are you leaving tools loaded .01" off the part when powering down at night ?.

DO NOT count on the proximity switches being accurate relative to a previously saves WCS when you reference the machine on boot up. They are not that repeatable. I touch off the WCS every time with a probe. I've had the Prox switches be off as much as .02" from one day to the next.

[Ahamay17]

The Only time I've had false triggering was a steel chip that worked it's way near the proximity switch. I've never had it trip so far from Aluminum (fingers crossed), and yesterday, I cut so much you couldn't see the vise or table as the piles of chips were that deep.

I've trying to imagine how the Z axis dropping .05" could ruin parts/tools. Are you leaving tools loaded .01" off the part when powering down at night ?.

DO NOT count on the proximity switches being accurate relative to a previously saves WCS when you reference the machine on boot up. They are not that repeatable. I touch off the WCS every time with a probe. I've had the Prox switches be off as much as .02" from one day to the next.

All I cut is aluminum and as I mentioned the issue has shown with the machine near spotless...I have modified the coolant spray and toolpaths to keep the chips washed off of the machine, almost all of the chips end up on the stand so I don't think it is chips but I would never completely them rule out...

The ruined parts came from us running the program not realizing the Z axis was .050" lower then it was originally zeroed at...The tools ruined were the result of very aggressive cuts and an additional .050" cut depth...the actual drop itself did not damage anything...

I don't count on the proximity switches to repeat accurately, because I know they don't...Currently I only reference home when we have had a crash and coordinates might be off, which would render my soft limits useless. Because I have to have the sensors unplugged to get through longer runs, I need my soft limits to be accurate...Until recently for long production runs we have turned the machine off then back on and continued cutting where we left off without re-zeroing, without any issues, guess I have just been lucky for the last 8 months... What probe and screen set are you using? All my fixtures have a bulit in zero block for using an edge finder which is tedious compared to using a probe, so I am looking to switch to a probe...

Ray

[UniqueMachining]

Second Ray L's comments.

It wouldn't hurt to verify the position of your sensors. The triggering slug should be exactly set at 90 degrees and as close as possible to the sensor (a couple of thou.). The greater the distance between the sensor and slug, the less repeatable the homing will be.

I have found that temperature also affects the accuracy. My machine is in a shop where the temperature drops to 50F overnight. Despite raising the temperature to 70F in the morning, the machine is still relatively cold. So, referencing the machine first thing in the morning, would be slightly different to referencing after a couple of hours use.

As far as repeatability, I reference the machine each morning {OR after any unusual error}, and measure each tool I will be using that day. Day to day tool measurement variation runs from 0 to .0013. Curiously, if a tool has not been used recently, it will may show a greater variation, say 0 up to .007. Temperature, degree of lubrication ....?

I recently experienced two occurrences of Z dropping. In each case Z was near its upper limit. The head weighs approx. 200 lbs. and the air spring is rated at 200 lb. Therefore, at its maximum extension, there is relatively little resistance. Spoke to John at Novakon and we agreed to replace the air shock (now rated at 225 lbs.). No further issues. The new shock provides a little cushion as the unit wears.

John

[upnorth]

In reference to your first problem. I recently got a Torus pro and had this exact same problem. It was easily triggered by almost anything. Emergency stop or limit switch errors. It was really bad when the power draw bar was added. Trying to change a tool would also trigger it.

I had the Sunfar 500 series VFD and it was generating a lot of electrical noise. Under warranty the VFD was replaced with a GS-2 VFD. This made a big difference. The limit switches now have no false triggers. I have not been using the mill a lot maybe once ever 2 days or so until things get busier.

I check my working coordinate zeros when ever the machine is turned on. Mach 3 does some weird things and I would never trust it to be right at the start of a job. I have had setting mysteriously change from time to time. An odd problem will pop up and I have to look through the settings and find out something has changed. I do home the machine every time its turned on.

Tom

[AUSTINMACHINING]

All I cut is aluminum and as I mentioned the issue has shown with the machine near spotless...I have modified the coolant spray and toolpaths to keep the chips washed off of the machine, almost all of the chips end up on the stand so I don't think it is chips but I would never completely them rule out...

The ruined parts came from us running the program not realizing the Z axis was .050" lower then it was originally zeroed at...The tools ruined were the result of very aggressive cuts and an additional .050" cut depth...the actual drop itself did not damage anything...

I don't count on the proximity switches to repeat accurately, because I know they don't...Currently I only reference home when we have had a crash and coordinates might be off, which would render my soft limits useless. Because I have to have the sensors unplugged to get through longer runs, I need my soft limits to be accurate...Until recently for long production runs we have turned the machine off then back on and continued cutting where we left off without re-zeroing, without any issues, guess I have just been lucky for the last 8 months... What probe and screen set are you using? All my fixtures have a bulit in zero block for using an edge finder which is tedious compared to using a probe, so I am looking to switch to a probe...

Ray

I probe manually using a Haimer 3d taster. I would be surprised if you are tripping sensors from chips based on my experience. I had a lot of random noise issues, worst was the spindle would just shut off while all the axis were still moving. A combination of the new BOB and rotating my vfd 180 degrees (the high voltage wiring was facing,touching wires conneced to the bob)took care of it.