[SBC Cycle]

Good afternoon all,

About 2 weeks ago one of the new VF-2s started throwing this alarm when Zeroing the machine in the morning. A "Reset" and a second press of the Power Up/Restart would clear the alarm. I tried to find some info on it, most of which seemed to point to a chip or some other obstruction on the X axis proximity sensor. That didn't appear to be the problem as most people mentioned an axis drift along with it. For a few days when powering up and getting this error, we constantly checked our offset to make sure they hadn't moved (we've had the same fixture in there for 3 months, it zeroes in the same spot every time). We quit checking it a few days ago as it's never moved, not even a 0.0002" difference (Renishaw probe). Of course that was bound to be a serious error.

This morning instead of the 165 error (X-AXIS ZERO RETURN MARGIN IS TOO SMALL), we got a 145 (X-AXIS LIMIT SWITCH) alarm. After clearing that, the 165 error came back. The operator cleared the alarm as he's always done, zeroed the machine, started the program, and promptly crashed the tool. Now my offsets are off exactly 8mm (0.3148"). After some head scratching, we try to power down and restart everything and now we consistently get the 145 error.

I call the HFO this morning and the tech suggests a chip on the proximity sensor. So we pull the -X axis way cover off and find what appears to be the obvious problem. The Proximity sensor wire is laying on top of the ballscrew.

Attachment 200690

Upon further inspection, we discover the proximity sensor wire has two crimp marks on it and the red light that is normally always on (at least it is on my Haas lathe) is no longer illuminated.

Attachment 200692

Now when trying to home the machine, the X axis runs away in the wrong direction. The exact same thing happened to our 2007 SL-20 within months of brand new and it turned out to be a proximity wire that was routed incorrectly and was guillotined by the sensor mount.

Now that we have some background, the reason for this thread.

The machine is still under warranty but it's going to be a few business days before they can get here. Today is Friday so the weekend is out and I'm probably not going to be running until Tuesday at the earliest. What concerns me is that the Haas tech I spoke to is trying to tell me it's not the proximity sensor because my problems started with the 165 error, even after telling him about the crimp and the fact that if I bend the wire around the crimped area the sensor will light up intermittently. Again, when I had this EXACT same problem with the Lathe they insisted it was not the sensor, came all the way up here from Cincinnati, only to find it WAS the sensor . Of course he doesn't have one on the truck It took two more days to get them back up here to fix it.

My first question is obvious - If not the sensor, what else should I be looking at? I really don't want this to sit for the next 4 days if I can limp it along. If I hold the cable just right (making the light stay on) it appears the machine will try to home in the right direction (no more axis runaway).

My next question - Is there a reason this wire needs to be 36" long?? The motor is mounted solid, the proximity sensor is mounted solid, and there's only 12 inches separating them. This cable was folded 3 times, wire tied, and crammed into the tiny crevice between the motor and the bent sheet metal bracket the way covers slide on (best I can make out) before something ripped it up out of there. I'm leaning toward the way covers grabbing a hold of it.

Attachment 200694Attachment 200696

I have a twin to this machine sitting right next to it and both of the warranties are set to expire at the end of November. If the other one looks anything like this one, I already see downtime in my future. I'm going to make them pull the covers on the other machine while they are here. Would it be out of line to demand they replace both of these cables?

[SBC Cycle]

Update: Just got a call from the HFO and they have a tech a little over an hour away who is going to try to make it here by 3:00. I'll wait all night if I have to. I was told there are different lengths of cable on the proximity sensor, I will see what he suggests.

[SBC Cycle]

+1 for the Cincy HFO. The tech clipped out the crimped spot on cable and did an old school solder, heat shrink/electrical tape fix and I'm back running until we get a new sensor. I will update further after we get a permanent fix.