[Talisman]

Does anyone have a Haas VF with an HRT indexer using the M21 (user defined). My machine is not wired up to the M21 function which I need for a certain application to do some time feeding/indexing to produce a simple spiral. I have the communication cable with the 4 PIN connector that plugs into the indexer control box.

I believe 2 wires go to the M21 function plug (1 common, and 1 would be in the Norm Open, or Norm Closed side)

2 other wires.
1 Goes to a M Fin (where?)
1 Goes to 24v (where?)

Anyone have this hooked up that can shed some light on this? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Tom

[ou812]

Does anyone have a Haas VF with an HRT indexer using the M21 (user defined). My machine is not wired up to the M21 function which I need for a certain application to do some time feeding/indexing to produce a simple spiral. I have the communication cable with the 4 PIN connector that plugs into the indexer control box.

I believe 2 wires go to the M21 function plug (1 common, and 1 would be in the Norm Open, or Norm Closed side)

2 other wires.
1 Goes to a M Fin (where?)
1 Goes to 24v (where?)

Anyone have this hooked up that can shed some light on this? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Tom

Tom,

Most Haas mills allow you to hook up an their indexer as a auxiliary axis. You still need the box and straight thru RS-232 cable. On the back of the mill there should be 2 RS-232 ports, top for communications bottom for auxiliary axis. By doing this it allows you to program the indexer in your control. You will need to still use the box to set zero, but after that use MDI and your program to drive the indexer. It is just a few parameter changes to the CNC control and box.

I find it a huge benefit to have the program drive the indexer than the box. It makes program restarts a mid-program starts a very easy. No longer do you need to remember to cycle the box thru to the correct point.

Call Mike Grammens applications/service at Haas in California. He knows his stuff.

[Talisman]

Thanks for the reply OU,

I do have my indexer hooked up as you have described. Maybe I'm just missing something.

I'm trying to sort of "sync" the rotary movement, and an X-Axis movement to produce a spiral. This is described in the HRT Manual under "spiral Milling". The example shown uses an M21 to start the rotary movement. Maybe I don't need to go this route?

[ou812]

now there is the fly in the ointment. I don't think you can do a spiral set up with the RS-232 connection. I believe you can do it as a M code only as you described.

Sorry, I got nothing else. Good luck.

[charger19690]

Do you have a 4th axis card on your machine? I am confused a bit. On a Haas control, if you machine has the 4th axis card, all you need to do is "Hit E-stop" go into your settings page and turn the 4th axis on. Restart your servos and you should have the "A" axis shown on your control from which you can just program the machine with an AX move.

If you are actually using the Haas Control box that is triggered by the M21 code. You need to program the box and the machine separately.

If you look in the programming book for the Control box it talks about programming it will a different code, rather than the G90 or G91.

I have done true 4th axis machining with a control box, but it takes some thinking, and if you read the book, there is some timing calculations you need to figure out between the control box and the machine tool control.

The different code in the control box is for...

When the machine reads the M21, it sends a signal to the control box, indexes the indexer, and the Machine tool control waits until the control box sends a signal back saying that the code has been executed.

While using the other code in the control box that I can't remember what it is, the control box reads the signal from the machine tool and waits some "X" seconds and sends a signal to the Machine tool control telling the machine to go to the next line. Then the control box executes the command while the Machine Tool control moves to the next line of code and executes it's command.

Sync'ing this dance, is all on the programmer. Using the control box for the HRT is just dummy switching between the too. The sync'ing is all by what you tell each control what to do at what time.

As the previous post, if you use a control box, you normally have to start each component, (Haas control box and Machine tool control) at the very beginning of each program for things to work flawlessly after provening out a good program.

If you have the card, no need, the Machine Tool control automatically runs each axis correctly.

Mike in MN

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