Is probing possible on Fanuc 6m or not? Does anyone have a probe on these oldies?

[Milling man]

I do think there is room in the GoProbe monster overly for thinning, but it's a task I'm not up for.

Oh, GoProbe, yes, it's a pain..... I wouldn't edit it unless absolutely necessary either. But such is life - from a 40-year-old CNC it will not be possible to make Fanuc 30i, it will not work in any way

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

If creating a Macro with more than just a few lines, using the Control Keypad is pain, creating it externally is the way to go. I debug Macro Programs using BASIC, as the syntax is very similar and the actual CNC Command Code that the Macro generates in the control, can be created and checked before the program is uploaded to the control. Not having a Keypad that supports the Macro Symbols is no big deal even for debugging.

Regards,

Bill

I'll have to try that. Thanks!

 

[mcv410]

Thanks everyone for the interesting info. I have not yet tried the parameter change but will soon and reply.

"..................I used the word "lethargic" in my post. Someone chimed in about probing on the 6 calling it "glacial." ............"

Hopefully less glacial than pencil/paper/calculator at 2am. Current setting is done with a Haimer 3D sensor.

Thanks everyone who has replied. Still wondering if anyone with a FS6M equipped with probing can reply. Hoping to know more about the slowness issue and if there are any ways to improve it. Maybe it is possible........ but not worth it.

Just looking to automate WCS setting. Simple & basic.

To use shift, one must use the abs/inc key...

 

[Milling man]

Still wondering if anyone with a FS6M equipped with probing can reply.

In the USSR, a line of horizontal milling machines with Fanuc 6 was produced. At least in the description of these machines, the possibility of supplying with a probe for measuring a tool and / or part is mentioned. In addition, I have instructions for Renishaw MP3. 1984 year. If this thing couldn't work with the Fanuc of those years (just around the 6th Fanuc series) - why the hell would they do it at all.

 

[Vancbiker]

Just FYI, since your 6M has softkeys, that marks it as a 6MB2. Mori offered that control with macro based graphic conversational programming as an option. Never saw one on an OKK. Does it have a similar function? IIRC, there was a second CPU board in the architecture to support the advanced functionality.

 

[706jim]

Just noticed too that the soft keypad is a replacement (or possibly a later version than mine) as the original had plastic tabs instead of buttons which in my case eventually fatigued and failed.

 

[13engines]

That's a cool looking control.

Here's the thread that includes myself saying in #3 "Lumbering along" on the OM, whereas Generaldissaray mentions in #4 "Glacial" pertaining to a 6. Perhaps hit him up for his extended thoughts on the 6 probing. From what it sounds like you want to do, I think just about any speed would be fine.

*SOLVED* Fanuc OM-C GoProbe Throwing 115 Alarm

I've managed a mostly working legacy Renishaw Probe System on a mid 90's YCM Supermax 3 w/Fanuc OM-C control. I've got Macro B w/Extended Variables. I don't yet have the extended keyboard so I can do very little in MDI. I've calibrated and run simple Inspection Plus routines successfully. But...

www.practicalmachinist.com

 

[SeikiCorp]

I had run a Elox Sinker with a GN 6mb. ( Sinker Software )
The speed of the simplest Macro-B math or variable lookup function was really eye opening.

It was like it was feeding through a teletype machine. Slow is an understatement. But it did probe with electrodes. Just at about 10 Inch/Min feedrate in open air. We avoided it due to its slow speed.

 

[GENERALDISARRAY]

I went through the process of turning on the macro b option and getting probing working on my 6MB Mori MV40. For me this involved getting a different set of eproms for the machine software as the version I had didnt support the option. Adding some memory chips on the main board to support the macro variable storage and buying a used tulip fanram board to replace the bubble. And the renishaw hardware. After all was said and done It was very very slow to execute the Renishaw macros. It worked but it was sloooow.

Shortly after getting it going the control would fail to come up when I would turn it on. I would get a black screen, sometimes I would get a 9xx alarm. I peeled all the new hardware "software" back off to finally find the culprit was the Ebay Tulip board. I damaged the memory chips taking them off the mainboard and seeing as I had turned my once reliable machine into a problem. I decided the juice wasnt worth the squeeze to get it going again. So I moved all the Renishaw hardware to my 31i Robo, that I didnt have when I started monkeying with the Mori.

If you already have macro B. Most off the work is done, compared to my saga. I think the user Probe has some lighter weight macros that would undoubtedly execute faster. With those things in mind I would give it a go, If I were you.
The OMM is the way to go.

 

[Vancbiker]

Yes, with older controls processing a macro, particularly one with math operations can really drag it down. I did a macro to do parabolic interpolation on a Nakamura lathe with a 0t. The calculation figured a new X position for every .001” of Z. It was really slow regardless of what feed rate or RPM was programmed.

 

[angelw]

Yes, with older controls processing a macro, particularly one with math operations can really drag it down. I did a macro to do parabolic interpolation on a Nakamura lathe with a 0t. The calculation figured a new X position for every .001” of Z. It was really slow regardless of what feed rate or RPM was programmed.

Hello Kevin,
Its more likely the small tool movement that slowed the program down, more so than the math. I demonstrated the affect of small tool movement to a client when switching AI on and off. With AI off, a first program with a movement in X from Absolute X0.0 to X1000.0 at a feed rate of F1000 was executed, the movement took one minute to complete. The next example was with a program movement from X0.0 to X1000.0 made up of 4000, 0.25mm X movements, the 1000.0mm X movement took considerable time to complete. The second program was repeated with AI turned on and the 1000.0mm X movement was completed in one minute. A third program was executed with Ai turned on, with the 4000 X0.25mm movements dithering back and forth; this program took the same time as the straight line, 4000 x 0.25mm X movement program with AI turned off.

Regards,

Bill

 

[Vancbiker]

Hello Kevin,
Its more likely the small tool movement that slowed the program down, more so than the math. I demonstrated the affect of small tool movement to a client when switching AI on and off. With AI off, a first program with a movement in X from Absolute X0.0 to X1000.0 at a feed rate of F1000 was executed, the movement took one minute to complete. The next example was with a program movement from X0.0 to X1000.0 made up of 4000, 0.25mm X movements, the 1000.0mm X movement took considerable time to complete. The second program was repeated with AI turned on and the 1000.0mm X movement was completed in one minute. A third program was executed with Ai turned on, with the 4000 X0.25mm movements dithering back and forth; this program took the same time as the straight line, 4000 x 0.25mm X movement program with AI turned off.

Regards,

Bill

Hi Bill, Yes, block processing speed was a contributing factor. Certainly the sum of that plus processing a while loop containing calculation and motion resulted in the slow motion. The moves were so small that one did not see it as “stop action”. The end result was decent though which is what really mattered.

I did that long ago before I had CAD/CAM. I wonder how a long CAM generated parabolic curve code would have worked by comparison?

 

[angelw]

I did that long ago before I had CAD/CAM. I wonder how a long CAM generated parabolic curve code would have worked by comparison?

Hello Kevin,
Without AI I doubt that you would see much difference with many small moves, its all about acceleration and deceleration at the Start and End of each move respectively. In the case of the test where the X Moves dithered back and forth, in AI there was no opportunity to optimize Acceleration/Deceleration, due to the 180degree change of direction and therefore, the cycle time was the same as a 1000mm linear move made up of 4000 x 0.25mm moves with no AI.

If the loop was made using a GOTO command, and there was considerable code either before the target sequence number, or after the GOTO command, there would a considerable delay because the search is only forward. If the sequence number is not found before the end of the program, the search restarts from the Head of the Program. Its for that reason a WHILE Loop is much faster. For the actual processing of the math, I don't think there would be all that much difference compared to a late model control.

Regards,

Bill

 

[mcv410]

Set 300 to 00011110.

Parameters in the ranges you mentioned are options and configuration parameters. Some functions may not be supported by all firmware versions. I don't have info on what firmware supports what options for the 6 series controls.

This was it. I guess it was already equipped but not enabled. G31 now works & macro B was in effect the whole time. I have learned more about this machine in the past month than the whole time I have owned it. Thanks again for the input.

 

[mcv410]

Just FYI, since your 6M has softkeys, that marks it as a 6MB2. Mori offered that control with macro based graphic conversational programming as an option. Never saw one on an OKK. Does it have a similar function? IIRC, there was a second CPU board in the architecture to support the advanced functionality.

This machine may have had the "automatic programming function" and for sure it has a very nice backplot that can be scaled and rotated, set to isometric, viewed in different planes, etc. I just found the manual B-54044E-1 on the Fanuc portal which finally explains some of the graphic functions and parameters in detail. I changed the parameter so the rapids are dotted lines, and a few other useful changes that I wasn't aware of. Pretty good for '84. I had a 6T with the 9" screen and it was not fancy like this mill is (also have a 3T with no screen whatsoever). I will go looking for the other processor as I am curious now. Regarding the FAPT that this may (or may not) have had, while digging in the nc parameters I noticed the edit protect bit was 0 (for 319.7 and 318.7) so I guess this info was overwritten or erased. I realise now that I have taken the 14" color monitor for granted. It really is a plus......

Thank you everyone for sharing info. I will proceed with the probing and update it progresses.

Not sure if OKK Nidec (Methods) or Fanuc reads these fourms, but big thanks to them as well, both offer great help even to a nobody with one ancient machine. They provided me with quite a bit of new to me info for the asking.

 

[706jim]

I agree with you regarding the graphics. For 1983, they were (and still are) superior to what Haas provided at least in our 2009 GR510 router. In my case I was checking out a function called tape collation where you could punch a tape from memory and then run it back through the machine tape reader to check for errors. When I attempted to do this the tool changer magazine started rotating the alarm horn started honking and the tool numbers were erased. As the machine was brand new and still under warranty, the dealer reprogrammed the control with updated software and poof! the graphics appeared. At the time I wondered why anyone would need them but they sure have come in handy preventing countless crashes.

 

[Vancbiker]

Deleting the conversational macros from the 6MB2 was pretty popular as it freed up memory for CAM generated programs.