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IndustryArena Forum > MetalWorking Machines > Milltronics > Partner 1, centurion 5 machine Z0 location?
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    115

    Partner 1, centurion 5 machine Z0 location?

    I'm just getting to resetting my Partner 1 mill back up right after the control lost it's battery. SportyBob reconfigured it with the latest version that my machine will accept. He did a great job, BTW! Anyhow, I like to use a tool setter and have written a couple of programs to use M codes to set my tool length and part height. On the old version of the control this worked great but I ran into a couple of issues with how the control handles codes. I worked that out ok but now I have found that my machine Z0 isn't at the home position! It's at -9.1688". Home is positive by that much and anything below is negative. This wasn't a huge issue until I tried using a long drill that was above this zero location.
    Why isn't the home position 0 like before and X and Y are? How do I get it so that it is? I've gone thru all the settings and parameters a couple of times and can't find how to fix this.

    Thanks for any help!

    Mike

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    529

    Re: Partner 1, centurion 5 machine Z0 location?

    The machine should home to the limit switches and reset the DRO to zero. Then there is a parameter in the machine for how far down the machine needs to move to do a tool change, that can change if you move things around and change the position of the zero point on the Z axis encoder. I can't fathom how your machine is changing Z0 to be over 9" in the Z minus direction. Did you check your G54 position offsets and make sure you don't have a huge Z offset in there?

    My machine is a knee mill, so I'm not as up on the tool changer versions but there must be something set incorrectly.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    115
    I'm not exactly sure what's going on yet, but I talked to SportyBob this morning and changed my G54 Z to 0 and that reset my machine home to 0. It really doesn't make any sense to my that anything other than physically moving the home switch could change the machine zero! I didn't have any issues like this with the older version of the control. I like to use a tool setter to set my tools but I'm not going to be able to if I have to keep my work Z at 0.

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian L View Post
    The machine should home to the limit switches and reset the DRO to zero. Then there is a parameter in the machine for how far down the machine needs to move to do a tool change, that can change if you move things around and change the position of the zero point on the Z axis encoder. I can't fathom how your machine is changing Z0 to be over 9" in the Z minus direction. Did you check your G54 position offsets and make sure you don't have a huge Z offset in there?

    My machine is a knee mill, so I'm not as up on the tool changer versions but there must be something set incorrectly.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    529

    Re: Partner 1, centurion 5 machine Z0 location?

    I think you are going about it wrong. You clear your G54 Z value to 0, load a tool, go down to a set distance off the table, say 4", save that value as T1 H value, do all your other tools and save their H values. Then you take T1 for example and check the difference of the H value to where you want the top of the part to be Z0. If it's higher, i.e. the part in the vise is say 6" off the table, your G54 Z value would be 2".

    You set all the tools to be Z0 at 4" off the table, then you shift that Z0 position up or down accordingly using the G54Z value to move the Zo position to the top of the part. I think you are confusing the Home position Z0 value with the part Z0 value.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    115

    Re: Partner 1, centurion 5 machine Z0 location?

    Brian, I'm not confusing it that way. I understand how you setting tools & that seems to be the way Milltronics meant it to be but I like the other way. This is the way all my Fanuc controls are set up at work. The tool is the actual length from the gauge line of the spindle to the tip of the tool. G5X Z is the distance from machine Z0, so a rather large negative number. This way the control knows where the part is in relation to the tool tip. Machine Z0 is definitely changing and it is related to what is in G54 Z. I can't for the life of me figure out how or why machine Z0 would change unless you physically move the home switch.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    529

    Re: Partner 1, centurion 5 machine Z0 location?

    OK, I've never done it that way, seems a really easy way to f-up. But, check your Tool lengths, are they positive or negative, you using G43 or G44? The only reason I have ever seen for doing it your way is when you have an offline tool length setter.

    There are about as many ways to set tool length and program as there are machinists... not sure if any are "wrong" just overly complicated and easy to make mistakes with.

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