torinwalker
Aluminum
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2010
- Location
- Oakville, Ontario
It is now the third week since my Conquest T42 arrived and I am becoming increasingly disappointed with the state of the machine I purchased. I knew going in that the rust was going to be an issue, but I didn't expect it would translate in to problems like this. After restoring all the way covers and embrittled wipers, I wanted to see if the sub needed aligning with the main. I pressed the Auxiliary Function (draw tube interlock) to install a collet and noticed it didn't lock. As I rotated the sub I felt a detent where the pin should go in, but it wouldn't engage fully.
So off came the cover. Where the interlock pin should engage, there is a hole filled by a little spring-loaded button that lcoks the drawtube to the spindle. When the interlock extends, it pushes this button in and decouples the drawtube from the spindle so they can rotate independently. Well this little button had seized which is why I felt the detent but it wasn't locking the drawtube. With a few light taps and WD40, I worked it free and pressed the button again. This time a satisfying "tonk" locked in place.
But then the sub wouldn't turn independently from the drawtube, indicating I needed to unseize the drawtube too, so I figured I'd just open and close the closer while twisting the sub. BAD IDEA. When I hit the closer button to close it, it sheared off the interlock pin. DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!!
The pneumatic solenoid has a little hall sensor that appears to be ON in the retracted (un-engaged) position, so I don't understand why the control would allow the closer to actuate if the pin was in the engaged (hall sensor off) state. I would think this to be a fail-safe design - if the hall sensor isn't being read (either engaged or due to a cable failure), then the control would assume the pin is engaged and NOT move the closer.
Fortunately, I was able to extract the broken part of the screw from the solenoid, and everything appears to be ok. Now I have to machine a new pin.
So I'm not sure if this is a logical failure, or if somehow someone disabled the sensor or forced it to be always on. Can either of these be possible?
** UPDATE - Hardinge said that unless I'm in the AUTO mode, it figures I know what I'm doing and will allow me to do anything I want, including engaging the collet closer while the draw tube lock pin is in place.
Lesson learned.
Torin...
So off came the cover. Where the interlock pin should engage, there is a hole filled by a little spring-loaded button that lcoks the drawtube to the spindle. When the interlock extends, it pushes this button in and decouples the drawtube from the spindle so they can rotate independently. Well this little button had seized which is why I felt the detent but it wasn't locking the drawtube. With a few light taps and WD40, I worked it free and pressed the button again. This time a satisfying "tonk" locked in place.
But then the sub wouldn't turn independently from the drawtube, indicating I needed to unseize the drawtube too, so I figured I'd just open and close the closer while twisting the sub. BAD IDEA. When I hit the closer button to close it, it sheared off the interlock pin. DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!!
The pneumatic solenoid has a little hall sensor that appears to be ON in the retracted (un-engaged) position, so I don't understand why the control would allow the closer to actuate if the pin was in the engaged (hall sensor off) state. I would think this to be a fail-safe design - if the hall sensor isn't being read (either engaged or due to a cable failure), then the control would assume the pin is engaged and NOT move the closer.
Fortunately, I was able to extract the broken part of the screw from the solenoid, and everything appears to be ok. Now I have to machine a new pin.
So I'm not sure if this is a logical failure, or if somehow someone disabled the sensor or forced it to be always on. Can either of these be possible?
** UPDATE - Hardinge said that unless I'm in the AUTO mode, it figures I know what I'm doing and will allow me to do anything I want, including engaging the collet closer while the draw tube lock pin is in place.
Lesson learned.
Torin...
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