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Adding Cycle completion lamp to FANUC machines?

npinson

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 4, 2010
Location
Indiana
Hi all,
When I grew up, working in my father's business, His Okuma & Howa machines always had a revolving light that lit up when an M30 was reached in the program. It wasn't a stack light. I liked them though, being able to run multiple machines and telling if the machine was finished just by watching for the rotating beacon light to come on.


I have 2 Kitamura machining centers of my own now that have lights that do the same thing. One looks like it was retrofitted from the original light, and has a 3 color LED stacklight on it. Green light comes on when machine is running the cycle. And blinks amber when M30 is reached. Also red blinks on if machine is in an alarm state.

I also have several other lathes and mills that I would love to do the same thing with. One Mori SL35 lathe, with a FANUC 10T, two Hardinge T51 conquests with FANUC 18T, and two other machining centers with FANUC 0M's on them. Buying the lights from the dealer isn't something I'm going do. I already checked with one dealer and about fell out of my chair at what they wanted to buy the light. Not even installing it. I can buy either rotating lights, or stacklights in the right voltage needed on eBay for very reasonable prices.

Just wanted to see if someone out there has any advice to go about wiring these lights in. Personally, if all I have is a flashing or rotating light that shows when the machine is finished with it's cycle, it's more then sufficient. And turns off when the cycle start button is pressed. I was scanning through the ladder diagram from one machine to try and trace back and find the way the kitamura's are wired to the lights. Any advice is appreciated though!

nPinson
 
I suspect you would have better luck asking this in the CNC Machining forum, as more people familiar with the control will see it. That being said, it appears what you are looking for is a discrete output on the control. It's been my (somewhat limited) experience that if the builder didn't include the auxiliary light, they also did not provide the output.

My solution is usually to ignore the control, and look to the power wiring. Ask yourself the question, "what doesn't run when the cycle ends?" I assume at the end of the cycle the spindle shuts down? If the spindle motor is on a simple motor starter, you could simply choose a light of the same voltage as the starter coil, and wire it parallel with the coil, so the light is lit as long as the spindle is running, and goes off when it stops. If you really need the light to be ON when the spindle is OFF, wire a control relay in parallel with the starter coil, and use that to control the light.

Lots of ways to get where you want to go.

Dennis
 
I was lucky enough to find that my particular machine had been prewired from the factory. I would peek up top of your machine to see if you have a small panel cover hiding some wires or something. Then eBay!
 
Absent pre-wired or software-enabled solutions, you could always install a microswitch with a springy actuator lever a few inches long somewhere within the work envelope, and have the (stopped) last tool travel to it and actuate it, then pause the program. You see/hear signal, walk over, press control to continue (to the end of program) and change part. Could also use it if there are manual tool changes you'd like to have a signal for, etc. This is assuming you can add that function to the program, and want to.

Chip
 
Does the front panel have a light that is on when incyle?
Say a lit green cycle start or LED indicating in cycle.
Tap off this and reverse it.
Some electrical knowledge needed, sensing logic and a output relay or two.
You also might want a switch to kill the light or a timer so that it is not always on when out of cycle.
One can of course do it in the PLC side but that is a pain in the butt.
 








 
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