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Tool change problem haas tm-1, help please

Koja

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Location
GrandRapids Mi.
My Haas mini mill has developed a problem when it releases the a tool. Normally it it is quick to let go and very profound hissing noise like it should. But now it doesn't let go completely of the tool and very little hissing sound. I'm running 120 psi and water seperator nothing has changed there. It seems like the draw bar is sticky or something . Took the cover off it today and eveything looked fine, no air leaks, all the valves and solinoids seem to be working correctly. Any ideas?????? Has anyone else had this problem? thanks in advance for any help.
 
The only problem we have had with our Haas umbrella style tool changer is air related. The water seperator had become clogged. Removed the seperator and all was fine. The inner working of the seperator had rusted....go figure something that seperates out water and it rusts. With the lack of hissing on your machine I would think this may be the cause.

I'm still looking for a good seperator if anyone has suggestions.

Athack
 
First, if you don't know how to release a stuck tool from spindle, tap holder with a with mallet or piece of Brass, then press Tool Release Button while holding Tool holder. If it don't pop, then try holding holder, pressing Release button and tapping...if you don't have three hands...find someone to help.

Make sure Spindle is perfectly clean, no marks, depressions, impressions etc. Clean if you do. Tool holder, the same thing.

Is it one holder in particular giving you a problem? If so, maybe toss..or just don't use. Once in a blue moon we find one that is problematic...

A little oil in spindle, surface, on stud area...clean till spotless.


All that fails...check and clean your filter, that white element gets clogged from time to time.

With front cover off, right over the head casting, in front of Spindle motor is your Tool Release Plunger. It is the Big block of steel with air lines coming into a valve and a pair of Limit Switches. If there is a Stone Exhaust Element, you can try to remove and clean...give a try with removed...just for sh$ts and giggles.

If that don't work...it may be time to look into the Tool Release Plunger itself. Haas sells a rebuild kit for it. It is just a simple Air Piston (Hammer) that uses compressed air to push Ram down with a good Knock... the O-rings wear and the plunger looses its Ummph.

That should keep you busy for a little while.

If your Haas HFO is anything like mine...give them a call and let them walk you thru the diagnosis and fix. You may have something different...or I may have missed something. I like dealing with a skilled tech who systematically progresses thru a fix...they know where I am and what has been done. It's a huge reason I buy Haas.
 
Separators....they all suck, but better then nothing.

I had four filters/water separators, one at the Compressor Tank to main Air line, one from the main line to the Right Side CNC Air branch, one on each Machines Air feed line, plus the filter on the machines itself. I still had water issues at the machine with daily drains to the Compressor Tank and Filters. I put Air Lines on several of the down pipes and could squirt them like water guns...it was my way of checking to see if I needed to do an additional water drains thru the day.

I finally decided it would be best to stop the water from entering the Air line by using an Air Dryer. The dryer is a chiller that pulls the moisture from the compressed air. It goes in line after the tank. Another benefit is a Electronic Drain Valve on compressor. It opens every 20 minutes for a few seconds...it evacuates the hot compressed water from accumulating in tank, reducing the humidity of compressed air. Six months with this and I was able to pull the extra filters out of the line...clean dry air with less restrictions.

Not cheap, but a whole lot less time starting up in the morning without having to purge the filters and I don't have machines with water issues...a huge savings.
 
First, if you don't know how to release a stuck tool from spindle, tap holder with a with mallet or piece of Brass, then press Tool Release Button while holding Tool holder. If it don't pop, then try holding holder, pressing Release button and tapping...if you don't have three hands...find someone to help.

Make sure Spindle is perfectly clean, no marks, depressions, impressions etc. Clean if you do. Tool holder, the same thing.

Is it one holder in particular giving you a problem? If so, maybe toss..or just don't use. Once in a blue moon we find one that is problematic...

A little oil in spindle, surface, on stud area...clean till spotless.


All that fails...check and clean your filter, that white element gets clogged from time to time.

With front cover off, right over the head casting, in front of Spindle motor is your Tool Release Plunger. It is the Big block of steel with air lines coming into a valve and a pair of Limit Switches. If there is a Stone Exhaust Element, you can try to remove and clean...give a try with removed...just for sh$ts and giggles.

If that don't work...it may be time to look into the Tool Release Plunger itself. Haas sells a rebuild kit for it. It is just a simple Air Piston (Hammer) that uses compressed air to push Ram down with a good Knock... the O-rings wear and the plunger looses its Ummph.

That should keep you busy for a little while.

If your Haas HFO is anything like mine...give them a call and let them walk you thru the diagnosis and fix. You may have something different...or I may have missed something. I like dealing with a skilled tech who systematically progresses thru a fix...they know where I am and what has been done. It's a huge reason I buy Haas.

Yep, what he said!
 
Just an update on what I have been doing to the mini-mill . So far took apart the air dryer , cleaned it and found a bunch of dark brown stuff in every fitting and some in the main air line running up to the head. It's weird looking stuff, reminded me of brown permatex . Almost tar like. It started working again no problems for a few days. Quit working yesterday along with an alarm that said "low air volume". So took cover off the spindle and cleaned all air related items and solenoids . Found every elbow and fitting packed with brown goo . Got it back together this morning and fired it up,,,,and it still stuck , no alarms , but after a couple manual release button presses it worked fine the rest of the day. So I have my fingers crossed I got the problem. But in the back of my mind I'm starting to think the problem may be in the spindle . Hope not , but I have both the mechanical and electric manuals on the way from Haas .
 
I have a new Super Mini 2 and I had the same issue. Essentially what my HFO told me was that the tool holder and the spindle taper sometimes can fit too perfect. I had issues of the spindle raising up before the tool was gone, it would make a popping sound. I also had issues when I first powered up, sometimes the spindle would get stuck. If you put some lithium grease (just a bit) on your pull studs, and then remove the tool from the spindle each night (leave the spindle empty) you should not have issues. If your running for long periods of time especially at a high load and rpm, you will get some popping when changing tools cause the metal expands, but since I started doing this, it cleared up.


hope it works, I could be totally wrong, but it worked for me haha
 
This is not a solution but my own daily ritual
At the start of a run I give a shot of WD40 to the tool holders I will be using, and the spindle socket
good time to check for crud and chips

the brown goo needs to go!
Not having a Haas, is there an oiler at the machine?
If not, it may worth a thought.
Clean dry air is good, but in some conditions air with a litlle of the right kind of oil will help things move freely.
What you can't do is put an oil in that would cause a combustable mixture when exhausted out a port
Removing the tool from the spindle at shutdown is std practice in all the shops I've been in
Mike
 
Just an update on the tool change problem. Cleaned everything , new filter in the water separator,new regulator on the manifold for the tool release piston and lots of WD40 . Seems to be fine now. Did order the seal kit for the tool release piston but have not had time to put it in yet ,,,,maybe when I slow down a bit??????
 
Great to hear.

I don't really understand how gunk gets in the lines and past filters...but as you now know it does.

Tranny shift orifice clogs up too, hanging up the shifting. Another pleasure of dirt, gunk and goo in airlines.
 
We have a problem with our tool change as well with the tool actually falling out of the carousel as it releases. I am wondering if these might be some things for us to check as well in our VF1?
 
We have a problem with our tool change as well with the tool actually falling out of the
carousel as it releases. I am wondering if these might be some things for us to check as well in our VF1?

When does the tool fall out? After it is in the spindle? Or when it is in the tool changer? If the tool changer then the ears that grab the tool may be sticking. Not hard to take the bottom of the carrousel and clean it. But if the spindle is not grabbing it is most likely the tool release piston.
 
Sounds like an older machine with a 20 tool carrousel and it has gotten the fingers stuck or the springs full of chips and such. Interrupt an tool change and see how the tool holder feels in the fingers. I bet they are stuck.

Mike
 
It falls out when being removed from the spindle. Whether its a delay for some reason or not seating correctly in the carousel I'm not sure.
Does the spindle hold the tool correctly? As in putting the tool in by hand? My guess (and just a guess not seeing what it is doing) would be the the fingers in the the tool changer are sticking as already stated. Other than that about the only other thing that would do that is the tool change height is off. Have you had the mill apart or serviced lately?
 
We have a problem with our tool change as well with the tool actually falling out of the carousel as it releases. I am wondering if these might be some things for us to check as well in our VF1?

Could be a bent carousel plate causing misalignment of the tool change fingers and the holder. Spot check 4-6 places around the carousel and see if the fingers line up to the holder. My bet is some will be off and some will be okay. (bent plate)
 
I just wanted to say thank you all for helpful suggestions and support. That's why I love this forum. I know you sure helped me get back up and running, and I learned alot about my machine.
 








 
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