Emco 120 CNC lathe

I private messaged this to "Wrench" but his box was full so I figured this was the best route. Thanks for any help guys.....


Hi.. Glad to see you are knowledgeable with the emco 120...

I just bought a 120 and I may need some support in the future, or now actualy. So I just wanted to introduce myself and get in contact with you.

The lathe looks to be in pretty good shape.

I actually don’t know though because I have not started it yet.

I have the transformer, cool.

I am just a home shop hobbyist so no three phase.

I did make a balanced leg(s) rotary converter a few years ago. I power my Bridgeport CNC mill with it. The mill only needs the three phase for the spindle drive though because the control is an “Ah-ha” control which is single phase.

My RPC is somewhat balanced as far as I know due to the build specs and a simple voltage measurements, static and during full power.

But after reading as much I can find, the emco control needs a really stable and balanced line voltage.

So, I have not attempted a power up with the RPC yet, but I will, just to see.

I want to learn more about this lathe first before turning it on to prevent any mishaps.

Some questions I have are concerning the tape programs or system configuration tapes.

Where will I find the tape if it is still on the system? There is a micro cassette on the face of the control box. I have removed it but it has some hand written notes saying something about a program. It does not look like a factory (emco) tape.

I do have some documents for the machine but it does not talk about the parameters tape.

Also, the previous owner looks to have made a quick getaway and removed the transformer wiring for the output. The supply, or line voltage wire is intact but the output or supply for the lathe is not there. Do you have a schematic or description of that linkage?

Thanks for any help you can give me, I really appreciate it. Glad to have a knowledgeable person available. And within the same state also..

This lathe looks to be just what I need. Semi small footprint but stout as heck for the size.

Moving her on in was a chore to say the least.

Easy to underestimate the weight of it due to the size. Definitely made for production.

The motor seems to be a large part of the weight. But, as close as I could look into it I could not find where the additional couple hundred pounds are hidden. Sturdy for sure.

Thanks again and I hope to hear from you, Jrouche

Oh yeah, the lubrication also is a concern. I want to lube up all needed surfaces such as slides and ball screws but it is sealed up tight. How do I lubricate those areas? Thanks...

Will contact you.... We are both on the left coast...

I'll also look at my inbox.

Alan

I think my manual has the wiring diagram, I can scan and send if you want
Bob

Hello,
I have been searching on the internet about some manuals and wiring diagrams to a machine and I have not had any luck until now. I was very happy when I read this thread and realized that here is guys with much experience and knowledge about this machine. I have just bought en EMCO 120 P T1 and I have some problems... When I started it up the fuse of glass exploded. Now I want to do some search for the reason and need some diagrams or manuals. Is there some one that would be so kind and help me out here, please?
Thanks in advance!
Owe

Hi Owe,
You have come to the right place... I am sending you an email to introduce myself and to get more information about your problem. There are *many* fuses within the EmcoTronic control, so I am not sure which one has blown (exploded).

Regards,
Alan

I may have some manuals for you, I just bought a lathe and mill from the local college, and I got stacks of books. Give me some time to sort thru them, and I will let you know.
I will also need help getting mine to run.
Kindest regards,
Paul Low

Hi all,

I also have an Emco 120P that I bought last fall and I am having some spindle trouble with it.

I live in minnesota and have a un-heated garage that I work out of, during this last winter I was able to keep my garage at a balmy 45-50 degrees while working out there. During this time I can get the machine to run for about 4-5 hours and then the spindle will shut down. But, now that the weather is starting to warm up here, I am cant get the spindle to run at all.

I actually think it may be something to do with the control or the spindle itself. I run mine off of a phase converter and I have read that this can cause alot of headaches (the voltage thing) and I don't know if this particular spindle problem is related to this or not.

Anyways on to describing the actual problem, I will use today as an example. I hooked up the compressor line to the machine, turned the phase converter on and then powered the machine up. I went through the motions of getting it ready to run production, turning on the Aux drives, homing the machine, etc.. I went into EXC mode and started the spindle at 150 RPM and let it run for a couple of minutes, then shut the spindle off, loaded the program from memory, and started the program in Auto. The machine read the pre-cursor commands and the spindle max RPM which was set at 2000 RPM, but as soon as it hit the first spindle start command which was G97 S300 M03, the spindle ramped up to probably the 2000 RPM (maybe more) and then shut off with a drive not ready error. If I power the machine completely down, including the phase converter, and the main power switch, The spindle will still ramp up and then stop with the same error.

Please help, I bought this machine back in September with the hopes of starting a small business out of my garage, but am losing hope that this will ever happen.

Thank you for all of your time,

Sean

Thanks for the reply Doug,

I think I am essentially doing the same thing as you describe because here is the basic layout of how I program all of my jobs:

O0001
N0000 G70
N0010 G54
N0020 T0101
N0040 G92 S2000
N0050 G97 S300 M03
N0060 G00 X1.0000 Z0.1000 M08
N0070 G96 S350 M03
N0080 G00 Z0.0000
ETC....

I think, and I may be wrong, but by putting a machine move between the G97 and G96 lines it is essentially creating a dwell for the spindle. Unless you are suggesting to put the dwell in before the machine moves?

rsmachine,

Where about are you in MN??? That's where I am, I can possibly give you pointers on that thing. I have a Compac6P running off a 15 hp phase converter. I start my spindle at 150-250 rpm and put in a dwell just as Doug suggested, it doesn't always work though, some days I can run it all day without a problem, sometimes it gives me fits.

JRouche,
There is a door on the head near the rear of the machine, the parameter tape is usually kept in there in a small pocket on the door. The tape readers on the Emco aren't worth a tinkers, does your's even work? They want 500.00 to replace mine. I have a hard copy of the parameters.

Wrench,
I sent you an email, I don't think you are whom I though, although, Your first name is the same and the state is the same, sorry.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I am running mine on a 10 hp converter, and this may also be part of the problem. But, according to the company I bought it from, it should power this machine just fine. It is supposed to be a balanced CNC duty soft start phase converter. I have considered contacting phase perfect, because I have heard that their phase converters are the best to use for these machines. (I just hate the idea of purchasing another phase converter though) Apparently they can hold their voltage to +/-1%.

I live in Forest Lake. How about you?

Sean

I'm around the Norwood/YoungAmerica area, just west of Chaska. Forest Lake is a bit far to just drop in and say "Hi" but it's not impossible. My converter runs at 230 volt's, within 3 volts between the legs. There is a way to adjust the spindle control board but I haven't tried it yet. I need to borrow an oscilloscope to do it. There used to be some guys at Emco in Ohio that were very, very good with those machines but they have since retired. To bad, the Emco dealer in Eagan ain't worth a dam. One thing they did suggest/recommend was to solder the spindle wires to the main board. You have to remove the large panel on the front of the control to check it. Your's may be that way already as it's newer than the Compac6.
Dave

When I bought this machine, I had had someone come out and put in a subpanel in my garage and he also wired up the phase converter and the transformer for the lathe. When I first powered up the lathe the spindle wouldn't even start, so I got a hold of a machine tool repair guy I know and he came out and checked the taps on the transformer and said the voltage was way to high on the machine so he adjusted the taps, but said they were still high but that they were within range to run the spindle, and the machine has been running fine until now. As the weather gets warmer the machine spindle won't run at all (see the description of the problem above) I did try the dwell yesterday and it made no difference. The spindle still ramps up to what sounds like max speed and then just quits.

This is super depressing!!

I suppose it could be, but it seems as though if the temp in my garage is lower than about 50-55 degrees the machine runs fine, anything above that isn't going to work.

A good example is last weekend. I fired up the machine and used the exact start of my program as shown above, (I actually have a 200 pc order that I'm about 65 parts into) When I got everything started up I started the spindle at 150rpm and let it sit for about 3-5 minutes, then I stopped the spindle and loaded the program from memory and started to single block through the machine read all the way up through the G92 S2000 line and when it read the G97 S300 M03 line the spindle started and ramped up to at least the 2000rpm, maybe more, and the just stopped. After it stopped a main drive alarm came up. When this happens it will not recover, it just does the same thing over and over again. However, a couple of days later the garage had cooled down to about 45 degrees and I ran the machine for 4 1/2 hours straight without a hick-up.

Sean,
Remove the rear cover of the lathe. On the spindle motor (left as you are facing it from the rear) there is a fan with a filter (black plastic snap on cover) It could be that the motor is overheating and the filter is plugged with dust, dirt and or debris. The spindle motor is finicky with heat. There should be a tremendous amount of air blowing out of the vents towards the brushes. The look like louvers.

Dave

I will check it tonight, thanks!!

Another FYI, the brushes can be no shorter then .47 inches. Then they need replacing.

Dave

We had the problem of the main drive running away on seemingly random occasions. (Emco P 220). The spindle encoder cover was removed by the previous owner and left hanging from the cable. We put it back and all was OK until the brushes wore down to below the minimum.

Hi guys,

Replaced the filter on the back of the spindle this weekend, THAT THING WAS NASTY!! But, it didn't completely solve the problem. I think I would now like to check the brushes to make sure but I couldn't see how to get to them, a little help on how to do this would be great.

Thanks,

Sean

I also have a 120P that has problems ramping up to speed. But it has developed a new, very annoying, problem. The spindle won't stop!!!! Even if you hit the emergency stop button the spindle continues to "idle" along. The only way to stop it is to force an error and then start all over again. Any ideas, I think it may be a grounding problem but thats just a wild, desperate guess
Bob

Sean,
So after replacing the filter it is getting better, correct? At least your going in the right direction. On top of the spindle motor, about mid point is a square, non-louvered plate with 4 bolts, remove it and they are inside there.

Bob,
Sounds like your getting some stray voltage somewhere. It "could" be a ground problem or a loose terminal somewhere. Check the terminal connections X43 on the phase angle board and X45 on the speed control board. Use a flat screwdriver and make sure the wires are seated in the plastic plug.

Dave