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Thats a typical get up and running job, All engineers have committed Bodges and Patches to get Jobs running, Electronics engineers are even worse, because without delving into programmes or spotting links and bridges we have no chance if they are not logged.
So, seeing it’s a common and garden Omron relay that was missing from the lubrication circuit, I ordered one from RS electronics with next day delivery. Replaced it and the error code was gone. The Lube light ,well, lit up now when pressed, and the pressure gauge on the oil pump shows pressure. So, problem solved. Ran the program for another 15 parts. No issues.
Sixteen..... Not the magic number it seems. 👎🏻 Pressed go. Machine faulted out with a C drive error code. C drive is the spindle. The emergency circuit had tripped out all the drives. Off with the spindle covers thinking that possibly the drive belt had snapped and the encoder that reads the spindle speed was no longer sending data, hence it realising something was wrong, and shutting down
No such luck. Belts are fine. Switching the machine back on comes up with completely different error codes.
Greeted with this when switched on, nothing doing here...Gut feeling is this is going to hurt financially ...
No Nc ready is the the Siemens equivalent of the three rings of doom you get on an Xbox...
This is seriously not good. It’s Christmas Eve...What’s a man supposed to do.? The other workshop is closed until the 6th of January. I have pile of work to get finished between Christmas and New year, and a dead machine. Bah humbug....🥲
I have the feeling, this machine does not like you, Re-Commishioning anything old with old electronics is fraught with issues as you well know, even worse when you have a German machine that you are trying to get to run and the error codes are in German, and the fuckers have used German slang words for parts and faults on the machine , we ended up employing a German Ex manufacturer systems man, who made everything work .... Mostly
I have the feeling, this machine does not like you, Re-Commishioning anything old with old electronics is fraught with issues as you well know, even worse when you have a German machine that you are trying to get to run and the error codes are in German, and the fuckers have used German slang words for parts and faults on the machine , we ended up employing a German Ex manufacturer systems man, who made everything work .... Mostly
It’s not even particularly old. I will beat it into submission 🤣🤣
No point it getting to upset about it. Getting wound up isn’t going to fix the issue, so move onto plan B
Got the old mill connected up and level. Controller that I repaired awhile ago works a charm. Got the job finished on that, and no, the job didn’t require a milling machine to stir my coffee...🤣🤣 I figured I could put a positive spin of this mishap. The House Elf was home for Christmas with a very depleted bank account having discovered there is generally more month than money when you move out from home 🤣🤣🤣. So, with a willing slave aboard, I got him to take off all the covers off the milling machine for a spot of cleaning. They say, a picture says a thousand words., well, they are wrong.....These photos only say one word. ...Mingeing...
What with the House Elf gainfully employed for a couple of days, I decided it would be rude of me to stand around and watch him slave away 🤣🤣 So, out with the Mazda chassis legs again
Onto the mill for a touch of deconstructive surgery
One of the advantages of buying an Xyz milling machine is their parts back up. Generally they have most things in stock,and, more importantly ,their pricing is fair 😊 This turned up
It’s the relay board that is burnt. I don’t think it has anything to do with the current( see what I did there🙄) failure,but I want it sorted out properly. Fair price? I would say so. I think you would be hard pushed to buy 20 Omron relays for the price they supply the board populated with said relays.
By this time Chimbo was long gone and everyone who was going back to work, was, well, err, back at work. I phoned the Siemens specialist I had dealt with initially for the Ccu3 box .( No sniggering from the Peanut Gallery). He initially was as attentive as he had been when he was trying to woo £4000 out my wallet for the Ccu3 box that he supplied with a six month guarantee. He suggested a couple of things which I either tried or had tried. He explained what the leds on the Ccu3 box meant. Red one second from the top on the left row was the NC not ready issue. He suggested I take the Z drive out and just check connections and bent pins. ....And to phone him back. Needless to say, no pins had managed to bend themselves whilst I had my back turned.I took the drive apart for a thorough investigation. No visible signs of damage. Nothing showing signs of letting magic smoke out. Doesn’t rule out the z drive totally, but it is lacking any signs of catastrophic failure.
I checked the fuse in the drive at the same time,but that wasn’t blown. So I phoned him back.Answer phone. Fair enough , he might be busy. So I phoned him back. Answer phone. I followed this pattern of phoning him for a good 5 or 6 days. Probably close to 20 calls in total,at various times of the working day, leaving a polite message to contact me each time. No phoning over weekends as I am considerate. Always the answer phone. Well, Instagram messages also were sent. They were read,but not responded to. Well, between You, Me and the Christmas tree I was beginning to suffer serious sense of humour failure. Actions speak louder than words. I might be a bit thick, but generally I cotton on eventually when somebody is avoiding me 😡
It’s not exactly Rocket Science to confirm if someone is ignoring your calls,now is it? So phoned again . Answer phone. Gave it five minutes. Called again, this time from a different mobile number, and low and behold he miraculously had regained the power of speech.....🙄
