CNC lathing

[bandsawgal]

Hi! We had ANderson come in and train the other guy for a couple of days, (then for another couple of days) when they initially installed the machine and the week after. The problem was that my boss speaks a bit of English (though he is super intelligent at learning stuff and an amazing canoe builder) and the Anderson guy spoke no French so between them was the guy from the shop (who got the training instead of me) who acted as an interpreter between the two. (I live in Quebec)
The guy from the mill now talks frequently on the phone to the kid from Anderson to troubleshoot the machine. ( still???)
With all of ANderson's help and all the guys in there, I wonder why things aren't running more smoothly, but I guess it takes time.
I think the onion skinning thing is a great idea and I will bring that up next week at work.
Yes I was referring to the tool holder. I don't know what went on when that happened as I was on the bandsaw at the time cutting patterns. I suspect, I'll find out on Tuesday when I get back to work since they had Anderson on the phone for a lengthy period of time.
I will try to give you an idea of the Fanuc face panel plate next week when I go in and memorize the keypads fully. I already know the "pos" program, reset, alter, menu offset,keylock, and other function keys and their purposes. The function key that I don't know is on the other left side panel, last key on the bottom. I can't find it anywhere in any of the manuals. I have to say, its driving me crazy.. (curiosity killed the cat I suppose)lol..
Anyway I'll attempt to sketch it out for you next week somehow on my rather archaic low speed pc here..
Meantime, where are you located. You must be U.S. eh? Which magazine did you say that your work was being shown in? I'd love to see some of it. I'm rather new to the woodworking scene as I've only been doing it for two years now. I moved out to the country (to raise grapes) and found a local job in a furniture mill and took to it all like a fish to water with zero training.They just slapped me on some big machine that planes the plank edges and after that, the bandsaw, jointer, router etc.. then I went and got myself some tools for home. I love it and dream of a workshop of my own one day. (The trick is that I'd love to build it myself so I watch all those shows on T.V that discuss framework and construction etc to slowly learn the technics. (I am so jealous of Norm Abrams equipment)!!
I just hope that by the time I learn it all and can afford the materials, I'm not too old to pick up the power tools..lol.. I also like masonry and have played around with that too a bit on our 1850's house foundation.
I really admire people who can take pieces of wood and turn them into beautiful furniture. ( Ahhh One day...)
Well I'll let you get back to the shop now
Have a great day
Bandsawgal

[handi]

Bandsawgal,

Yes, I'm in the US, in New Hampshire. I too moved out into the country last year. I have the perfect arraingement... I have great neihbors on all sides, but can't see any of them from my yard

My first articlewill be apearing in the Sept/Oct issue of Woodworker's Journal. It is on building a hinge mortising jig that I developed. I'm pretty excited, this is my first woodworking article.

By the way, was this machine bought new or used? If it was bought new, I'd be looking to the dealer to give a big discount on upgrading the vacuum pump, they should have specified a bigger pump. If you bought it used... well thats different.

Talk with you soon,

Ralph

[bandsawgal]

Hi Ralph, New Hampshire isn't that far from Quebec I think. We have the same view here as you..lots of green and corn fences on three sides and nice friendly neighbors but they can't understand me at all so I don't see much of them.
You had to have been up this way at one time or another eh?
Congratulations on your first article. You must be really excited to see it in print! I'm going to hunt a copy down and check it out. Isn't Woodworkers Journal for more professional woodworkers? I'm afraid I'm only at the level of "Woodworking for Idiots" right now.. lol.
By the way, the CNC machine was bought used and this is why it came with the 9hp pump i think. I was told the 25hp pump was an extra $6000.00!! I don't think that aspect was explained in advance to my boss because he's pretty smart about that stuff and would have gone right away for a larger pump when he initially purchased it.
He (my boss) told us he saw a Holtzer (I don't know if that co. name is spelled right) CNC with the same pump as we have now that cut plywood with no suction problems. That is what made him want one in the first place. Thats when the kid from the sales company WHO I WILL LEAVE NAMELESS so as not to get him in trouble(who was there during the conversation) said "Well maybe you should have bought a Holtzer instead".. (which I thought was kind of non-professional even though he meant it as a joke.)
So if you buy a used machine like that, you still don't get to specify what size pump you get or other specs at the purchase of it? Does that mean you basically get exactly what is already on the machine or can you request changes? I really don't know how it works.
Anyhow, I think my boss is now getting a handle on the machine and how to run it efficiently. He is smart like you are. He knew nothing about it in the beginning and now he is learning the entire thing along with the codes, programming.
I can't wait to get back to work on Monday and work on it again.
Well you have a nice day in the shop. I'm going back in the pool (its a holiday here today)
Bandsawgal

[handi]

Bandsawgal,

I AM tickled pink to have my first article coming out. Woodworker's Journal is not what I refer to as a "trade" magazine, it is designed for the hobbyist, so I'm hoping that a lot of folks will try out the jig

As far as buying used equipment, typically, you buy this type of system as is, but not always. You are correct, a high flow vacuum pump (new) will be about $8,000.00 US, but you might be able to find one used.

Keep me posted!

Ralph

[bandsawgal]

Hi! I ordered the Woodworkers Journal because I couldn't find it around here anywhere locally. I wouldn't want to miss your article!
I was working this week on the CNC again. I like it a lot and I am slowly getting the hang of it even though I'm not getting a whole lot of training. All I know, I dragged out of the shop manual and from asking you who have been extremely helpful to me
One question I did have though (and i hope I can explain this appropriately)..
When the CNC is in operation (program running) and cutting the plywood board.. What happens if someone accidentally trips the safety wire guard and the machine stops mid cut?
Can you over-ride that and continue the process or do you have to raise your Z axis and home it changing the work piece?
This is a FAnuc Stratos series CNC. An older version I believe so I haven't found anything in the manual that refers to troubleshooting that problem.
This happened the other day and the panel screen read "Not Ready" and stopped the cutting program from running right in the middle of the board. I wanted to find something that would continue the cutting process but I couldn't.. Then the unthinkable happened..
The other guy who was trained on the CNC tried to home it without raising the Z axis!! Snapped the bit and that was that. Even though he was trying to help I sometimes think we are a bit like "the blind leading the blind" lol...
Also, when I do my manual offset before running a new program, there are constant variations in the numerics from one program to the next. Should there be? Especially if we are using the same table depth and same bit, same plywood? I figure the reading should be much closer than it has been lately. Is there something or perhaps a series of things that might cause this?
Hey thanx by the way for always helping me. Thats pretty nice of you. I hope you have a nice weekend

[handi]

Bandsawgal,

The short answer to your question about restarting a program in the middle is "no". It can be done on a Fanuc, but it is a pretty advanced technique and requires really strong working knowledge of the controller to do it successfully. As you folks get more confident, I can get you in touch with someone who knows exactly how.

The other problem is that typically, when the safety is tripped, the vacuum is shut down. If the part moves, there is little chance of getting it aligned exactly right again. On some systems, the vacuum stays on. If yours does, then you can rewrite the program skipping the part thats already run. If the program is short, then just re-run it from the start.

BTW, what software are you using to generate the G-Code? You may have told me, but this thread has gotten pretty long

Have a great weekend,

Ralph

[bandsawgal]

Hi Ralph,
Thanx for answering my message.
I believe the vacuum did stay on when the safety wire was tripped on the machine but I'm not 100% sure..(I'll check this week).
I will continue to home and restart it until I get a better handle on its functions. But if the vacuum does not shut down, then there typically would be no movement of the board, then perhaps it would be possible to recut the piece that it already started right? (or would that not be advisable)?
Have a Happy July 4th!
Bandsawgal

[handi]

Bandsawgal,

Yes, if the vacuum does not turn off, the part should not move, so you'll be able to cut directly over the previous path after resetting.

Ralph

[Andy]

Handi & Bandsawgal,

I noticed in a recent post that Ralph (Handi) mentioned that this thread is getting long -- I just wanted to say that I hope you haven't felt like this has been a problem. I can't speak for anyone else, of course, but I have been enjoying "overhearing" this on-going conversation. I know absolutely nothing about CNC, but at least I'm starting to get some ideas from your questions and replies!

Andy

[handi]

Andy,

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not too worried about talking too long

Ralph