[jim_cliff11]

Hi,

I've just got my Bridgeport Series 1 - 2hp milling machine rigged up and into position. The machine is equipped with an Anilam Crusader 2 CNC kit. Now, I've bought this machine off a friend who cannot tell me if the CNC worked. Infact he cant tell me much at all.

Basically when I power the machine on from the isolator, the Crusader display panel comes into life as it should. The display works, the X, Z and Y positions adjust accordingly when I move the bed manually from the handles. However the mill spindle motor wont start. I've checked all fuses in the contactor box, and all contactors operate when they are supposed too. The servo motors are also dead.

The display takes it power from the board box on the back of the machine so this must be live. However the fans do not work and everything else inside this box seems to be dead. I've noticed that the spindle motor contactor in yet another seperate box is activated by two wires coming from the fan box (rear mounted box). I can only presume the contactor is not being powered by the crusader for some reason. Which means the problem must lie in the main fan / controlboard box.

Having never used a CNC controlled bridgeport mill I'm unsure as to what I need to check.

The limit switches on the guards around are the bed are all moving as they should.

Are there any other limit switches or parameters that need to be set before the motor will start? Or is there a process of buttons I need to press to allow the motor to kick in? Whats puzzling me is that the fans in the control box are dead, or is this correct? When pressing pulling out the emergency stop bottom and pressing start on the crusader dialog the box just makes one long beep before switching back to stop. Could there be an issue with the relays in the main box?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim

[holbieone]

fist check all fuses , the drives each have a fuse

then

you need to trace through the e-stop circuit , if i can remember correctly it's the black and clear wires

it goes through the circuit in series ,nothing will power up unless all components in the circuit are working

the limit switches

thermal switches in the motor

the drive boards (i'm guessing you have a bad drive board , the last ones i bought were $350 a piece , if you can still buy them)

the e-stop button

if your control powers up with out an error in hand mode ( there should be a toggle switch on the back of the control that puts you in and out of hand mode )

and only give you an error when you try to power up the drive the control should be good , most likely

there should be another toggle switch on the box the houses the drives , this switch over rides the control so you can turn on the spindle , i think you still need the e-stop circuit to work

if you want to just get the spindle working in the contact box for the spindle , you can jump line in to the spindle out


i had the same control on my BP , in 2007 i installed the ajaxcnc mill kit and never looked back

[jim_cliff11]

Thanks for the reply Holbie. I will thoroughly go through the circuit tomorrow based on your recommendations. since i originally posted I've progressed in the troubleshooting.

I triggered the large 240volt relay manually in the rear control panel, thus powering up the fans, power supply and servo motors. I also manually triggered the second smaller relay which powered the spindle motor contractor. Just a note on power-up... All 3 cards in the rear control box have red LEDs marked FAULT which light up for 2 to 3 seconds and then go off. Is this some kind of a self test function?

I'm going to test the relays tomorrow and see if they are at fault or the coil / trigger supplies. So another couple of issues to investigate:

1. I have full control on manual over the +/- X axis and the +Y axis. However the -Y and +/-Z axis servos do nothing, all I get is the beeping on the control panel. I cannot manually adjust the -Y or Z axis's which must mean the servos have power. Could bad transistors cause this?

2. On Manual The X and Y servo motors slowly turn with no command. Is there a POT to neutralise / centralise this?

Thanks,
Jim

[holbieone]

" I have full control on manual over the +/- X axis " i'm going to assume you mean manual on the control vs manual by hand crank

if you can move an axis under power in one direction only that points to a bad drive

try swapping the drives X and Y and see if the problem follows the drive , is so you have a bad drive , try it on Z also

post a pic of the component side of the drives , you mite have the ones that can be rebuilt


to balance the drives you will need a digital volt meter that goes down to mili volts

the you connect the two leads to the tack at the card and adjust the voltage to zero

you adjust the gains the same way but with the axis moving at a set feed rate to a set voltage , i think its 10 fpm at .1 or .01 volts

[jim_cliff11]

Morning Holbie,

Yes, I can adjust the +/-X axis manually via the crusader controller (however this is a little tempremental, sometimes working sometimes not). I cannot hand crank the axis in either direction when the servo is powered.
The +Y axis works on the controller also, and again I cannot control this by hand cranking when the servo is powered. I just cant power the axis in - on the controller. The +/-Z axis doesn't respond through the controller at all, however like the others I cannot manually (hand crank) it when the servo is powered.

I'll take a look at the cards tonight and run your suggestions. I'll take some pictures and post to see what you think.

Thanks,
Jim

[jim_cliff11]

Ok, tonight I've done the following:

- Checked all fuses
- Checked all plugs and connectors
- Removed, checked and refitted all boards for cracks, solder wear or signs of damaged components
- Swapped servo amp control boards around (All 3 boards work the X axis servo motor. -Y and Z axis does not work with any board)

I have had a few thoughts, does anyone know the answer to these:

1. Does the spindle motor have to be ON for the Z axis servo motor to work?

2. What do each of the cards do in the control box? (Red, green and black)

3. How do I go about testing a servo motor and limit switches?

4. I presume all three servo amp control boards are identical? They have the same part number. However the wiring configuration differs slightly for each one. Please see attached picture (Pin #4 is nearest the back of the box) The wires are C: Clear, B: Black, R: Red, O: Orange, W: White. I would imagine the same color wires do the same function on each servo, so surely they should be wired in the same order on the amp cards? I don't want to risk changing them until I get clarification just incase I fry something.

5. Is the small 4PDT 24vdc relay in the rear board box a latching or non-latching relay? When I manually actuate this for a split second the larger DPDT 240vac relay sparks inside and power is lost to the fans and 3x servo amp control boards. After a second all comes live again and the spindle motor stays engaged.

I can hear a high pitched whine from all 3 servo motors, and I cannot hand crank any without substantial force. However I still have the issue of being unable to control the -Y and Z axis through the control panel which displays no errors.

Any help appreciated chaps, as I have no experience in this field! I've attached pictures of my servo amp boards and the flash in the lower larger 240vac relay when I actuate the 24vdc relay.

Thanks again,
Jim
Attachment 331414Attachment 331418Attachment 331420Attachment 331422Attachment 331424

[holbieone]

"I can hear a high pitched whine from all 3 servo motors" this is good

" I cannot hand crank any without substantial force " also good

looks like the drives are good and looks like they can be rebuilt if needed ( the old ones were potted together )

try checking the brushes in Y and Z both motor and tack

can you enter hand mode ? if so do the scales read out smoothly

" 5. " from what i remember the E-stop circuit latches the relays on


you could try to swap axis

put the signal wires from Y dive to X and swap X and Y scale plugs on the back of the control

then if Y+ and Y- move table X- and x+ , i'd say the control is good

[jim_cliff11]

I've swapped the axis over on the side of the rear control box and tried both the Y and Z servo motors off the X axis controls which I know work. When I did this I could control the Y and Z axis both ways using the X buttons on the console.

So I know the 3 x Servo amp boards and the motors are good.

What color board in the console (screen) box controls the I/O to the servo cards?

I'm still having the issue of the main 240v relay not tripping to power the fans and servo control boards up, so for the time being I have bypassed this. I'll check the E-stop circuit. Where does the 240v switch come from to trigger this relay? Or does the console trigger the 24vdc relay which then triggers than the 240vac relay which then triggers the 3 phase 440vac contactor? What would be the proper start up procedure for getting the servos into a manually controllable mode on the console from off?

Thanks,
Jim

[holbieone]

The control needs completes the e stop circuit , so i believe thats why the machine will not energize with the e stop released

[holbieone]

If i remember correctly

Black card is the scales , the white card is the control , and the red card is the drives

[holbieone]

i would also check the limit switches and the motor thermal blocks

check them for continuity , you may need to isolate them from the circuit

you may have 2 problems if the above check out OK you will know the problem is just in the control

also try moving an axis using a programmed move

do the Y and Z keys beep when you press them ( are the keys working correctly )

[jim_cliff11]

Thanks Holbie, thoroughly went through the E-stop circuit tracing it back from the console. Problem turned out to be a faulty limit switch on the Y axis. When I bypassed it everything fired up when I pulled the E stop out and pressed the red toggle reset button on the servo amp box.

Still have another issue, but I'll start a new thread on that.
I can't thank you enough for your valuable information. If you lived locally I'd buy you a pint

Jim

[holbieone]

Glad to hear you got it running .

Holbie