Hi all,

We have an 8 position Sauter 0.5.480.316 (late 1980's) tool turret on our newly retrofitted cnc lathe. It's not wired up and programmed yet, but before it is I need to fully understand how it works. I'm hoping some of you guys with more knowledge of lathe tool turrets will be able to shed some light.

The 3 phase motor controls the 'unlocking, rotation and locking of the turret'. Unlocking and locking is controlled automatically by the meshing of a hirth gear using a cam. There is also a 24vdc spring actuated brake on the motor shaft. The brake is off when 24v is applied.

The proximity sensor monitors the angular position of the turret and checks whether the lock is engaged.

The encoder has 6 outputs; strobe (index), parity, bit 1, bit 2, bit 3 and bit 4. Each of the 8 positions has its own unique binary combination of outputs (ON or OFF).

What I'm unsure of is how it actually works, what is the sequence of events and what does the proximity switch (hall sensor) actually measure and when? How is the motor told when to stop in exactly the right position? Is this down to the PLC inputs from the proximity switch or encoder. Or a combination of both?

I've attached the manual, which I have read and come to my own conclusions, but some clarification from those with more knowledge is needed.

Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks