I have a 2016 VF3 and I'm having problems dealing with the thermal expansion in the Y-axis. I'm sad to say that this has been an issue since the machine hit the floor but it has taken me this long to narrow down what/where the problem has come from.
It started when I'd start the machine for a new day of work and noticed the X and Y was always off a little bit from the previous days G54 zero/zero offset. I figured it was due to the power-up cycle and hitting the limit switches.
Over time I started to notice cutter lines not blending from one program to another when the machine sat idle for awhile.
I have figured out that if I run a 20 minute "warm-up" program, sweeping the X and Y in a large circle, I get things warmed up and they hold their zero. The problem is, if I let the machine sit idle for 30 minutes to an hour, say over
lunch, my X-axis is still dead on G54 zero but the Y can be .0005 to .0008 off. As soon as I run another "warm-up" program, this time about 10 minutes since the machine has been in use, the Y-axis goes back to G54 zero.
Haas and their Factory Outlet reps say this is normal and a cost of doing business. I'm having trouble believing them as this the 3rd VF I've run and neither of the other 2 have had this issue.
I've played with the different Y-axis thermal expansion settings but nothing I do will keep the Y-axis at G54 zero as the machine cools down.
I can place indicators on the table at the end of the day, both X and Y, and by the next morning, the X indicator hasn't moved while the Y has moved .0008 to .001. So something is heating the Y-axis up and causing the screw to expand.
Do you think that it is just the way these newer machines act or did I get a problem machine and my Haas guys just aren't telling me since they don't know how to fix it?
Thanks.
Ed Wendt
RCS Machine and Tool