Denford Software & Machines

Triac VMC
Serail #u00158
Elect. SN oc00243093
July 2001

Tool Changer Carousel Problems.
On tool change, the Z axis does not line up with the carousel. Toolholders crash into the carousel, not lining up with the groves. (Z axis was adjusted for this.)
The carousel does not move far enough in to center the tool holder in the spindle, it needs to move about 3-5mm further.
The spring clips in the carousel do not always hold the toolholder straight, some times they tilt and will crash into the spindle on tool change.
The wire loom from the carousel drive motor was rubbing against the upper frame of the unit. The cable that carries the signal wires from the carousel has worn enough that the outer insulation and shield are worn thru and 1 or more of the wires inside have broken inside the insulation. Now the carousel just keeps rotating until it gets a "Time Out" error.

How can we get more travel on the carousel so that the toolholders line up with the center of the spindle?

It just simply needs some adjustment on the air ram, I'm not near my machine at present so can't be more precise but if you activate it and look at the ends you will see what stops it, it's really quite obvious

Absolutely, all the stops are adjustable - otherwise we would never be able to set them up.

However, if you don't have enough air pressure then this may stop the carousel from making the final few millimetres to push up against the stops.

Photos of Tool Carousel.

On the tool changer sensor, what is the supply voltage? I thought it was 5 volts since that was what the meter read, but after looking at a bunch of catalogs, it appears these sensors typically have an operating voltage of 8 - 30 VDC. Is this sensor an inductive proximity sensor? Is it NPN or PNP? Can you tell me where the sensor connects inside the controller (what wire numbers)?

Wire nos for the sensor are;
69 +5v
70 0v
75 Input

Sensor is 10 - 30v PNP. RS p/no 249-2344

We now use the sensor connected to the 24v supply line and drive a relay which then closes/opens the sensor input.