Thread: Alarm 13, QT15-T2 Help

Here it is, this got me beaten an i need You guys help.
Got back from a couple of weeks off, "R&R", and went thru the routine of restarting the shop up and ... the mazak did not want any part with it.
I started the machine and all appeared fine until I tried to home it. The Z axis homed fine but the X as soon as I tried, returned a Error 13, the error did not clear with the reset, but it clear if i turn the control off and On again.
Tried for about an hour or so, every so often to go back and home it ... Nope.
First I checked the home switch for proper functioning, that appeared to be oK
What I noted was that (using the Joystick at 100% feed) the axis will move about a quarter inch (.220" to .275") if moved inward ( Toward center ) before stopping with the error 13 displayed, but if the move was done outward ( Toward the home position ) the screw would move twice as much, .450" to .550"before the error appeared
Pull power off and tried to move the screw by hand , and it move with little effort.
Checked the encoder, and found the back casing not too well sealed, the inside was kind of oily , washed all with contact cleaner, dried, re-installed and no difference.
Next, I pulled the motor off, ( with encoder ) check insulation and it appear to be OK.
Next, I got frustrated and decided to set it apart for the day, before doing something stupid, and so it has been for the last week and half.
Few times I have tried to locate the " Error 13" on the schematic, but i was not successful .
I have tried to describe the symptoms the best I could, If You have any idea on something i should check please let me know
I sure hope someone of You guys can set me straight on solving this problem.

Thank You in advance
and best regards

book says feed back problem or drive error
i had this on an old lathe that sat for a while
i moved the screw around (a bunch) and got to a spot where the thing (encoder)
would give a good signal got lucky and it came up (i don't turn that one off anymore)
try swapping encoders if there the same
cabling on and old machine is a possible too
unplug and reseat all the connectors

I just went through the exact same problem on my QT15, same error message 13-drive alarm. Called Mazak technical support, after several tests, first guy told me that the problem was the Z axis motor. I had it rebuilt, re-installed it, same problem. Second guy told me it was the X axis motor, pulled it off and had it tested, it checked out fine. Finally called a guy that used to work for Mazak. He came out and tested it. He determined that it was the axis drive. $6,111.00 later, (charge for a rebuilt drive) it's up and running again. (I will get 30% core charge back from Mitsubishi but still pricy.)

I'm not sure if yours has the same problem, but the drive was flashing F1 32, F2 56 which means that the X axis is having a problem, and the Z axis can't play because of that.

Well...
Today must have been my lucky day, Went to the shop this morning determined to do something about.
By the directions i got from wippin' boy, in regard to the fault being a following error, i was going to swap the encoder with the Z axis one, but before doing that i disassembled the encoder in question, and dumped in a bowl of alcohol to clean it a bit better than the first time, were i had used contact cleaner out of a can.
Started doing something else and forgot about it, so it must have been in there easily for 1 hour. Got back to it, blow dried with some clean air and sit it in the sun sideways, so not to leave any spots on the glass. Another half hour and I reassembled the encoder and than the encoder to the motor , hooked up on to the cables left it hanging on the back , powered the machine and ... it moved just like the old times... Yesss!
So the all thing was a dirty encoder, and this is what it got me fooled, if i moved the encoder by hand, the screen was displaying an increment or decrease accordingly with the direction of rotation, that made me think that it was oK, now we know it was not.
On a lighter note, this afternoon, right as i had buttoned everything back up, a customer came by and handed me the keys to his 2005 Ford GT..thought about for a while and I took it ..for a short ride of course, with My 10 Y.old son and with two thoughts constantly in my mind ( $150.000 and 550HP ). Whoow Life is good!

Thank You all
If You need more details please let me know

PS. David, Found Your message, I will call You in the morning.

Just a quick note about Andrew. Back when I first got my Mazak, he invited me to come by his shop for a little one on one with his 15 as he walked me thru an excellent Mazak/Mazatrol overview. He spent upwards of 3 hours of his personal time equipping me with enough knowledge to go back and get mine up and making parts in no time.

A true gentleman an asset to our PM community.

Andrew- Glad you got her back in service! Tell your wife I said hello.

Captdave,

Thank You for the nice words, has been My pleasure.
In turn, I should thank many people on this board without which, i would`n have been able to do a lot of things, or at list my progresses would have been very painful and slow .

Funny thing is that David Carlisi did exactly the same thing for me about a year earlier. He invited me to His shop and taught me how to program and setup on his QT-15, hands-on. He spent quite a bit of His valuable time doing so too. I could have not hoped for anything better.

Or, when I got the Mazak, and posted on the board about all of the Alarms i was getting, and out came Greg ( cnctoolcat ) that walked me thru most all of the troubleshooting 'till i got the machine spot on.

And all the others that just answered a post, sometime is extremely important to write things down and have somebody to brainstorm with, make you see things from a different prospective, and get you ( Me ) out of a stale situation. ( See this thread, and the hint i got from wippin`boy )

What goes around comes around .. Remember that ?

Captdave, I `m glad my little help was so appreciated.

Thank You All Guys
and Best Regards

Andrew, I was glad to help. You forgot to mention the generous gifts that you brought after that to show your gratitude, and that you were able to teach me some things about my own machine that I did not know.

This forum has been a lot of help for me from finding new reliable, inexpensive subcontractors and vendors to advice regarding everything from diet to pest control. I'm glad that I have been able to help a few guys out along the way. My only regret is that it took so many years for me to find this site.