Intermittent issue with triggering my drawbar port/pin
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2022 1:16 pm
So I have chased this for months now and I am still a bit confused. I am using one of the offshoots of the ATC macros, it has been posted here before. Most of the time everything goes exactly as it should.
However, the issue is that maybe about 1 in 20 machine starts the drawbar doesn't release on tool change. Simply, it appears the port/pin isn't activating and thus the solenoid never activates the PDB cylinder.
For the longest time I chased it as an electrical connection issue. Then the other day the drawbar wasn't releasing again. I removed the tools from the carousel and spindle and started testing. I restarted the machine, the control, get it all running again. It homes, everything works, but when I do a tool change the drawbar still wasn't activating/releasing. It should be noted I could activate it manually both by a switch on a second circuit (used for manual changes) and the switch on the solenoid. So the solenoid was clearly powered and working, just not via the port/pin from the control. That left me with the same wiring from the control to the solenoid that at this point I had inspected and replaced numerous times. Or the wiring in cabinet, but the cabinet is off the machine and rarely gets moved, and the drawbar was releasing fine the day before. That again left me puzzled. After some thinking, I wanted to see if I manually activated the port/pin if the drawbar would function.
I added the port and pin for the drawbar to Mist/M7 in setup. Then I hit the mist button via the GUI and sure enough the drawbar worked. Not only did it work, then the ATC macro functioned just fine, operating the drawbar as needed. This leads me to believe that it isn't an electrical issue, not unless it is on the MX3660. But more likely it seems to be a software issue. How else would it fail to function one minute and then start working after I added that function to the mist button? That was the only that changed.
I don't know how to troubleshoot this long term. For now pressing mist seems to get it all going again. That first tool change is a nail biter though as I never know if it is going to open the drawbar and crash the spindle on the carousel.
However, the issue is that maybe about 1 in 20 machine starts the drawbar doesn't release on tool change. Simply, it appears the port/pin isn't activating and thus the solenoid never activates the PDB cylinder.
For the longest time I chased it as an electrical connection issue. Then the other day the drawbar wasn't releasing again. I removed the tools from the carousel and spindle and started testing. I restarted the machine, the control, get it all running again. It homes, everything works, but when I do a tool change the drawbar still wasn't activating/releasing. It should be noted I could activate it manually both by a switch on a second circuit (used for manual changes) and the switch on the solenoid. So the solenoid was clearly powered and working, just not via the port/pin from the control. That left me with the same wiring from the control to the solenoid that at this point I had inspected and replaced numerous times. Or the wiring in cabinet, but the cabinet is off the machine and rarely gets moved, and the drawbar was releasing fine the day before. That again left me puzzled. After some thinking, I wanted to see if I manually activated the port/pin if the drawbar would function.
I added the port and pin for the drawbar to Mist/M7 in setup. Then I hit the mist button via the GUI and sure enough the drawbar worked. Not only did it work, then the ATC macro functioned just fine, operating the drawbar as needed. This leads me to believe that it isn't an electrical issue, not unless it is on the MX3660. But more likely it seems to be a software issue. How else would it fail to function one minute and then start working after I added that function to the mist button? That was the only that changed.
I don't know how to troubleshoot this long term. For now pressing mist seems to get it all going again. That first tool change is a nail biter though as I never know if it is going to open the drawbar and crash the spindle on the carousel.