Thoughts on Buying a Mazak QT 8 with some alarms.

I think I already know the answer to this, but just trying to hear some thoughts.

Let me start out by saying that this would be a project machine for the garage.

I came across this 87-89, I don't recall the exact year, Mazak QT 8 with a T2 control. The machine was running fine about a year ago and then quit. The spindle sounded good and the machine is over all in good shape. I did see the machine run, turret index and move in x, z and tailstock. Most of the original paint is still in tack inside and out, and its pretty clean over all, no repaints or funky modifications. It looks like it was maintained, but they are looking to replace it. The seller is asking 3.5k for it, its loaded with tooling, parameter sheet and 5 manuals (parts, tools, electrical, programing and one other).

I took a picture of the alarms on the control that are currently being displayed. From the looks of it, it could be a drive issue, correct me if I am wrong. For those who have replaced drives, what would you say the cost would be? I want to take this on as a learning experience, and if it works out maybe it can pay for itself, but would like to reduce the chances of ending up with a boat anchor.

Are there are any other things you guys would recommend looking into?

Thanks in advance for the feedback

What do your parameters look like? Any asterisks?

I didn't take a picture of the parameters, but I do recall seeing some asterisks. My guess is that the machine has been powered down for at least a year and the battery was dead before it powered on.

One of the twin cabinet cooling fans was shot from dust collection, and it smoked a bit when I turned it on, so it got unplugged.

A minty-condition QT8 of any vintage is worth $3.5k.

The T-2 is a solid control. Standard memory is only 16 programs, but the Mazatrol is just perfect for 2-axis turning. Part for the T2 and drives are available on ebay.

This machine probably just needs new batteries (3 in total, on the control boards in the rack), and a control re-initialize. Worst case, you may need a new spindle drive, or servo drive(s). Again, ebay, or send off for rebuild (or do it yourself...)

One of the most awesome things about the T2 control is that there is only 3 pages of parameters! So, punching them in by hand is a breeze.

Online support here (and FB nowadays) -- along with Google, can solve about any problem you may encounter. You need to be familiar with a multi-meter, and have the canny ability to interpret the electrical and mechanical manuals.

ToolCat

cnctoolcat said:

A minty-condition QT8 of any vintage is worth $3.5k.

The T-2 is a solid control. Standard memory is only 16 programs, but the Mazatrol is just perfect for 2-axis turning. Part for the T2 and drives are available on ebay.

This machine probably just needs new batteries (3 in total, on the control boards in the rack), and a control re-initialize. Worst case, you may need a new spindle drive, or servo drive(s). Again, ebay, or send off for rebuild (or do it yourself...)

One of the most awesome things about the T2 control is that there is only 3 pages of parameters! So, punching them in by hand is a breeze.

Online support here (and FB nowadays) -- along with Google, can solve about any problem you may encounter. You need to be familiar with a multi-meter, and have the canny ability to interpret the electrical and mechanical manuals.

ToolCat

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Thanks for the info. Just to get an idea, in case a drive or two is bad, what is usually the cost or repair or rebuild. I don't mind paying, I am just trying to get a rough idea what this whole project may cost worst case scenario.

I just looked, and these are the manuals that come with the machine. Operating Manual, Electrical Wiring Diagram, Programing, and Maintenance.

Drives can be anywhere from $1k up to have repaired...lots of independent shops do it. Mitsubishi Electric Automation made the drives, but some of the older ones they can't repair (they claim lack of available parts.)

Mazak/Mits used drives are common. If they have came out of a running machine, the drive(s) should be good to go.

Even if you the purchase price again in repairs, you've still got a bargain!

Asterisks = corrupted parameters

Thank you everyone for your input, I'm hoping to get the machine in about 2-3 weeks. I'll post pictures and more info once I have it on the floor.

@ sudsy55 I'll see if the owner lets me re-initialize the machine and mess with it for a couple of hours.

sudsy55 said:

If you want to be sure about it buy the batteries and re-initialize before you buy it. Worse case you are out the price of the batteries. In saying that you could let it run for a few hours which should put some charge back into the old batteries and caps then do the re-initialize and reload parameters. Unless the batteries are totally toast then should be enough to see if it's going to run.

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Does anyone recommend a good place to source the batteries?

Is this the procedure I should follow to reset the control?

Should I do any other procedures?

Can the reinitialize be done with dead batteries? I would like to check if everything does work before I purchase the machine as suggested above. I would be ok with loosing my parameters after I shut it down after testing. I think the seller wouldn't mind me going back again, but I don't want to push my luck and be a pain by requesting to go back to have another look.

Mazak Service Bulletin 0989-002

0989.002.pdf - Google Drive

I want to give thanks to the member who posted that link, unfortunately I don't recall who it was.

Maybe, you can get the parameters in and reset, if needed power off quick and back on, without batteries you will lose the parameters on power off. I bet you won't need any drives, those errors are common with lost parameters.
Good luck, have fun.

BOB-OO said:

Maybe, you can get the parameters in and reset, if needed power off quick and back on, without batteries you will lose the parameters on power off. I bet you won't need any drives, those errors are common with lost parameters.
Good luck, have fun.

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Thanks for the reply. I tried the reinitialize procedure and adding the parameters, but I don't think I did it right. I'm not familiar with the control, so I'm sure I did something wrong along the way. I only had time to do the reinitialize once, from what I read, one may need to do it multiple times for it to take.

I was able to clear some alarms when I was adding the parameters, but some parameters I was unable to change. I'm guessing that this is because I didn't reinitialize the control properly.

Here are some more pictures to the parameter screens and some of the drive lights. One light kept flashing F2 and 21.

There are some hydraulic hoses that are not connected. I didn't trace them, but I think they maybe for the tail stock.

Hydraulic hoses

Hello. Did you solved your problem? I'm looking for parameters for Mazak QT8 with Mazatrol Cam T2 controll. Could you help me with it?

Regards,
Maciej