X,Y,Z warm up. I am not a programmer...

Hello,
I recently got a Haas VF-0E up and going. It had been in a government storage facility for several years (mfg in 1998, less than 2500 hours in operation).
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php/alarm-122-and-176-194496.html

I can repair CNC machines but do not consider myself a machinist by any means. I found on here the programs for warming up and running in the spindle. What I would like is a program to do the same for the axis' (X,Y, and Z). Perhaps something like a figure eight with progressive speed increases.

I have done a couple of quick searches for it but couldn't find anything except a mention of it.

Does anyone have such a program they could send me so I can download it to a floppy and upload it?

Thanks!!!


H. Howard

I am not a programmer

Click to expand...

Seems to me that you're going to have to become one sooner or later! I think it would be a disservice to you to just spoon feed you something this simple.

Look in your manual for G1 G2/G3, G90/G91 and G53. Read those sections, and try your hand at a short program in MDI. You're going to have to know this soon anyway, and this is just about as simple as it gets. If you have questions regarding the G code I listed above, please ask, but try it on your own atleast once.

Just go slowly as you're learning, make sure you know where the 5% rapid override button and the feedhold button are, and you'll be fine.

I agree with Matt, this is something you should be able to figure out fairly quickly from the manual.

But before doing much axis motion check that the lube oil is flowing. At the back of the machine is the way lube tank and on the top of it is a gauge and a manual plunger. If you pull the plunger up and release it you should see the gauge indicate pressure in the lube system. This pressure should go back down to zero over a timeperiod of between 10 and 30 minutes or so. If it drops to zero in much less than 10 minutes it can indicate leakage in the lines running to all the ballscrews and linear guides; my guess is that this is very unlikely. If the pressure takes a lot longer than 30 minutes to decline to zero it indicates blockage in the lines; this is a possibility. There are flow restrictors that meter the flow to the different locations and these can clog so there is a possibility you may be faced with replacing them if there is no way lube flow.

Matt & Hdpg,

Thanks for the confidence building statements!! (no sarcasm intended).

Unfortunately, we do not have a operator's/programing manual. We are a used machinery dealer, no chips being made here. I have a pretty good idea how my boss would feel if I sat down and spent time learning how to program. Usually, when a customer comes to look at a CNC machine, we just call up a program that is already stored in the memory. All I really do is make sure that the axis' and spindle works and if not, fix it. Beyond jogging and homing, I never have done much as far as running one goes.

Don't get me wrong, I also believe I can do it, given time. As the saying goes though, "time is money" and there are several projects I need to work on.

Hdpg,
I have checked the lube system. It works just fine, drops down to zero in about 20 min. as it is has been a bit chilly here (Huntsville, AL) lately, relatively speaking of course.

%
O02022
M03 S500
M97 P1000 L20
G53 G00 X0. Y0. Z0.
M30
N1000 G53 G01 X-20., Y-16. Z-16. F100.
G53 X0. Y0. Z0.
M99
%

This will start the spindle and then run all the axes out and back at 100 inches per minute 20 times.

If you type it in using MDI omit the % at top and bottom and omit the O02022.

If you copy this to a floppy you need the % for it to load into the machine. There should not be aby program with this number.

EDIT: Make sure the spindle nose is not going to hit anything when Z comes down; no tool no vises. You can check that Z-16.0 is okay using handle jog and looking at the position display.

Hdpg,

Thank you very much! I will type that in and give it a shot. Well, when the temp in the shop gets a little warmer. Currently less than 25 deg F.

hrhoward said:

..... Currently less than 25 deg F.

Click to expand...

25 F????? Isn't that illegal in Alabama?

Hdpg said:

25 F????? Isn't that illegal in Alabama?

Click to expand...

One would think, but that bill is tied up in legislation. Low of 8 deg F buy the weekend.

Resurecting a machine

If the machine has been sitting for more than 6 monts or so you need to do more than just warm it up.

The Vactra No 2 oil that lubricates the guide ways and ball screws and the spindle has turned to gel. You need to fix that. I saw this method in Denver back in 98 and I use still.

Empty and clean the oil tank. You will get an idea of how much the oil has turned from oil to gel. Fil the tank with 1" of mineral spirits. Pump the oil system as much as you can, 20 or 30 times to lift the handle. Then run the machine at low rpm and slowly on a 3 axis. If you get low lube alarms every 30 min's, that is good as mineral spirits is thinner than oil. if you don't then you need to look deeper into the oil system. When you get the low lube alarms then run a mixture of 60% oil to 40% mineral spirits and then check the ball screws and guide ways after 20 or so hrs of run time. If any thing is dry you need to fix the oil line before it costs you a ball screw or guideway.

I check mine and run the oil mix every year.

And dont mix anything in the oil system other than Vac2 until you check for compatibility

Hdpg said:

%
O02022
M03 S500
M97 P1000 L20
G53 G00 X0. Y0. Z0.
M30
N1000 G53 G01 X-20., Y-16. Z-16. F100.
G53 X0. Y0. Z0.
M99
%

This will start the spindle and then run all the axes out and back at 100 inches per minute 20 times.

If you type it in using MDI omit the % at top and bottom and omit the O02022.

If you copy this to a floppy you need the % for it to load into the machine. There should not be aby program with this number.

EDIT: Make sure the spindle nose is not going to hit anything when Z comes down; no tool no vises. You can check that Z-16.0 is okay using handle jog and looking at the position display.

Click to expand...

Thank you for showing this program. I am very new to cnc machining, and need all the help I can get.
I made one change to your program.
Because the tool change position moves the Z axis to about G53 Z4.5, I changed the Z0. to Z4.5 as shown in the following line of code:

G53 X0. Y0. Z4.5;
(this line is used twice in the above program)

I would say you have a choice. You can pay Haas about $300.00 to hook it up for you or you can pay thousands for the boards you burn up.