Ended up having to take a work trip last week, and didnt get to test things until yesterday, but seems like Ive taken a few steps forward and maybe one step back? Hopefully someone will have an idea here.
First of all, Langmuir, for all the issues Ive had, have been good with support. 3 new high power drivers came quick, and they also replaced my 3/8 cutter Ive fried twice now for me. Which was nice of them.
New drivers are in, and while I didnt get a chance to cut anything. X and Y move great with no issue. Also moved the control box to the front which is just absolutely needed.
Last night I was trying to get things set up to hopefully start this putter project again, and when I hit “Bring to front” and have it rapid forward to put on the probe, the Z axis just didnt want to work. I took the cover off and things didnt want to spin up and down. Pulled the coupler and the motor spins fine. Only seems to happen when going fast (having load on the Z?) I noticed the last drilling plate I did the Z climbed up, but I wasnt paying attention to the machine and havent had time to dig into it. Never noticed an issue rapid-ing the Z before, but could be getting worse maybe?
Doesnt happen on the 10 or 25IPM setting. Rarely on the 50. Often on the 75, and always on the Rapid (100)
Curious to what people think might be the issue here. I dont want to start my cutting until Im sure this is working right. Hopefully the video link below shows well enough whats going on.
You haven’t changed the maximum Z feed rate have you? I think it comes set at 40 IPM pretty sure you can adjust in settings menu. Maybe double check dip switches on the drivers. esp for Z.
I had a loose motor coupling on the z-axis. Sometimes the motor would move and sometimes it wouldn’t but it didn’t sound like it was missing steps and I could see the coupling rotate but not the screw. I tightened the coupling and now it is fine. Just something to check.
Measure how much force is required to turn the Z leadscrew. Make sure the screw and nut are clean and well lubricated, make sure the bearings aren’t too tight. Rapiding up and down at full 40IPM shouldn’t skip any steps.
Any suggestions how to check that? The nut is tight, but Im not sure how to measure the force to turn the screw. I know I cant turn it at all when the motors are on.
You would have to disconnect the stepper from the shaft. I’d start by making sure everything is clean and lubed. Then go right into adjusting bearing preload. Only tight enough to minimize backlash, just like the other ballscrews.
If you happen to pull the stepper off Id expect the head should actually spin the leadscrew under its own weight. Hopefully @langmuir-daniel or others can help with correct torque required.
Finally getting this machine back up and running. Fixed the coolant drain with a couple of amazon stainless steel fittings. So thats back up and running. Although the coolant flow seems lower than I remember at full open, so Ill have to see if there is a filter or something in the pump that I might need to clean.
Having some limit switch issues it seems. Every time I home, it says it failed. Cant remember the exact error but I think its something about the limit switches not coming off on retract? I think it is something going on with one (or both) of the Y switches
Id really like to get this back up and running. If there are issues with my limit switches (I know they were an issue item for a while at one point) are people still replacing them with the plunger style? In the 6 months Ive been out shown anything new thats better? A quick search hasnt shown much.
Remember, those limit switches are usually ‘closed’ so when they are activated, they are ‘open.’ That means a dirty/loose connection or broken wire might register as an activated switch. Check connectivity with ohms meter (no power) going thru the switches or wire and see if you find high resistance.
(Note: Or at least that is how the limit switches are on the Pro table.)
They can be triggered by hand. It will fault out and say the limit was tripped on cut control. So Im not 100% sure whats going on. I think it has something to do with the 2 separate Y axis ones. I haven’t had a ton of time to dig into it and not really sure what to look for yet.
My machine experienced the same issue. I contacted Langmuir support and requested the new water proof switches. They sent them no charge. I replaced all 4 and haven’t had an issue since.
Had my Cut control glitch and crash my Z axis down hard. (destroying my touch probe)
Very annoyed/frustrated, but Langmiur is trying to make it right. They sent me a new control board thinking that maybe thats the problem. I went to swap it today, and I found this (white wire far right side of the connector). I dont think this happened when I was disconnecting it, but I cant be sure. I didnt feel anything and it looks cut. Just want to make sure this is normal or if I need to repair this before starting things back up again.
Mine is not cut. My machine is number 602 I got it in November of 23 so not sure if anything has changed prior or since. But thought I’d share since I had the box open anyway.
