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  1. R

    Center clamping mechanism for Hey facing and centering machine

    We have three of these machines here and only one is operational; the other two are our parts cars. The only issues we have are the clamping heads. They all tend to seize over time where they can't be adjusted but can still clamp. I'm sure they can be rebuilt but I was thinking of taking it...
  2. R

    NDA for subbing out work

    I'm going to be quoting a job where I might have to sub out the companies logo to have a sign made. Is there a template I can build off of to have the sign company sign so they're not to disclose or publicly post the work? I'm a side-job, one-man-band so I don't have a [business] lawyer handy. I...
  3. R

    Any vibration analysts in the house?

    I'm trying to upgrade an old, antiquated analog vibration analyzer in our facility to something modern. I'm doing this based on a few reasons but mostly because our products get retested by the customer so I wanted to mimic their testing equipment and procedures to eliminate discrepancies (we've...
  4. R

    Step pulley drill press VFD conversion: Continuous boost function

    So I had spare time/money to convert my 20" Jet drill press from step pulley to VFD. Running a 4.5" pulley on the motor to the what I measure 7.5" step (bottom) on the spindle pulley. RPM range is fine for what I need but would like a little more grunt on the lower RPMs. I'm using a Siemens...
  5. R

    Tree Journeyman 325: Determining motor encoder wiring

    I managed to retrofit a Hitachi SJ P1 VFD to my Tree Journeyman 325 General Numeric spindle motor. Now I would like to integrate the encoder using the Hitachi P1-FB. The Tree I retrofitted was gutted and there wasn't a VFD, just the frame and ends of cut wires. I can't find a wiring diagram...
  6. R

    Robotic welding cell integrators in the Midwest

    We have an old OTC/Daihen welding cell with a turntable that is finally taking its last dump. We've resurrected this thing to the point I'm going to tell management we need a new robot. Last tech said this is the last of it in regards to parts. It's 20 years old and worn out from the days of...
  7. R

    Any Siemens VFD gurus in the house? Proprietary cable?

    Hooking up an older V20 and can buy the external BOP and module for a few bucks to remote the controls. However, it takes a DB9 cable to connect the two. Anyone know if it's an off-the-shelf cable or some crazy crossover?
  8. R

    Tapping solution/fluid/paste/etc

    I've been fighting this process where I have to drill and tap fourteen 1/4-20 on this 4140PH shaft shoulder that I have to reach in about 6 inches but doesn't give me enough clearance around the shaft to get a proper tap extension. My best solution is using a hand tap extension. I bent the...
  9. R

    Asbestos in wiring?

    I've been retrofitting an old Tree Journeyman and came across some 4 conductor cable that was used for the button to activate the power drawbar. Seems like normal rubber jacketed power wire but when I cut into it, a white, fibrous substance came out. I never been around asbestos but I'm...
  10. R

    Contacted by contractor for quote

    I normally avoid contractors like the plague; not based on my experience but my fathers. He went bankrupt from his largest job because the contractor ended up underbidding a huge government job. The contractors cut and ran and left all the subs hurting and my father had to shut the doors shortly...
  11. R

    Rebranded import machines: home shop upgrade

    I just work in the basement/garage with a handful of machines and am wanting to look at upgrading my Harbor Freight floor standing drill press and maybe get a horizontal bandsaw. I know most of these import machines leave the same factory, just with different logos and paint jobs. I can look at...
  12. R

    Tool/MRO crib/cage access and inventory tracking solutions

    I can't believe I work for a multi-billion dollar company and our facility is stuck in the stone ages by hand writing tickets to check out tools and other MRO items. Since this company doesn't replace people when they leave, responsibilities get divided amongst the rest. We had a full time...
  13. R

    Floating tap with rigid cycle

    BLUF, I'm not a machinist or very experienced. I've been fighting an ongoing issue with tapping some 4140 prehard material where I have to use unconventional methods to extend the tap length (using a hand tap extension to reach past a shaft shoulder where numerous extensions have collided with...
  14. R

    Fadal drive swapping and repair

    We had a Fadal that had an X-axis drive error. Our maintenance guy retired last month so I took a poke at it. I saw the X-axis drive wasn't lit inside the cabinet and fortunately we had a parts car I could scavenge from to swap the drives. Powered right up and is operational. Question is, are...
  15. R

    What would this machine be called and where to find another?

    We have this old turning center at work. It's completely hydraulically driven and controlled. It's Japanese built and the company is called Fuji but that's all I can find on it. There's no documentation on it. My former PM hired a bunch of handymen paint the machines in the plant and the...
  16. R

    Why wouldn't a company want to finance a new machine?

    I work for a large-ish American corporation but it's your cliche corporation: not willing to invest back into operations; profits go back to investors instead, yaddi-yadda... My PM thinks he did an outstanding job getting 200k worth of funding to go back into the plant and part of which he...
  17. R

    M98/M99: Subroutine just loops and wont return to main

    I've programmed subroutines like this before and it has worked flawlessly in the past. I've found older posts in here with the same situation of "it used to work but I have no idea what's going on now" but there wasn't a follow up solution. Fanuc 32i Example: M98 Q1000 L1 M98 Q2000 L1 M98...
  18. R

    School me on OPC/SCADA/MQTT/etc.

    I'm picking up a project that was abandoned by a former employee to monitor natural gas usage at various machines. They had inline digital flow sensors installed but never wired them. With rising gas prices, I wanted to monitor and throttle usage when production idles. At my former employer, I...
  19. R

    PLC Programming for beginners

    I've been trained on PLC programming from my last employer but it was more troubleshooting and familiarization based training. I did often make some programming changes and integration. I have a simple project where I would like to tackle programming one from scratch. Wondering what sources...
  20. R

    FANUC 31i-A: Using Taster probe in program but machine throws spindle alarm

    So I have a program where I can select a macro to call the Taster 3D probe in an HMC and feed into the part where I need to index. However, when I jump into my first G1, the machine alarms for "G1 command error, rotate spindle". Yeah, I get it. Machine knows the spindle isn't on when it's...

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