Betts 20' VBM
with Centroid T400 Control

Daily Operation

Startup

  1. Switch on main switch, on the magnetics cabinet door
  2. Open the control cabinet doors and press the power on/off button on the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), mounted on the left door below the console PC.
  3. Wait for console to boot and display "Home not set"
  4. Release Emergency Stop
  5. Press CYCLE START to find and set machine home
The Machine Home position is fully Z+ (ram up) and X+ (saddle right)

The control starts up in Incremental jog mode. In order to jog the axes in continuous movement, you need to press the INCR/CONT key to switch from incremental to continuous jog mode.

Idle Periods

  1. Press Emergency Stop to remove power from the servos and shut off the oil pump.
  2. Optionally, press Aux2 to turn off the work lights
  3. To resume normal operation, release Emergency Stop. Press Aux2 to turn the work lights back on if needed.

Shut Down

  1. Optionally, press F10/Shutdown, F1/Park to move the ram and saddle back near the machine home position. This will save time on the next startup and homing sequence.
  2. Press Emergency Stop
  3. Press F10/Shutdown, F2/PowerOff
  4. Wait for console display to go fully blank (about 15 seconds)
  5. Open the control cabinet doors and press the power on/off button on the uninterruptible power supply.
  6. Switch off main switch, on the magnetics cabinet door.

Tool Setting

For single-tool work, I recommend using the Part Setup screen for both Z and X positions, and not using Tool Geometry Offsets at all.

The procedure for this may be found at http://www.cncsnw.com/OLEL.htm, as "Method 0".

Table Rotation Controls

You can control table ("spindle") rotation speed and direction manually with jog panel keys, or automatically with program codes.

Note that table direction is judged by tool direction. "Forward" or "Clockwise" is the direction you would run a standard twist drill. This is opposite how you would judge "clockwise" and "counterclockwise" if you were looking down at the face of the table.

The spindle must be in Auto mode in order to use programmed M and S codes. The spindle must be in Manual mode in order to use the jog panel keys.

Switch between Auto and Manual control modes.

In manual mode, you can control operation and direction with these keys:

Select spindle forward (CW tool)
Select spindle reverse (CCW tool)
Start spindle
Stop spindle

In Auto mode, you can control operation and direction with these codes:

M3 Start spindle forward (CW tool)
M4 Start spindle reverse (CCW tool)
M5 Stop spindle
Snnn Set speed to nnn RPM or SFM
G50 Snnn Limit speed to nnn RPM when
using constant surface speed mode

In constant-RPM mode (G97) the S code specifies RPM. In constant surface speed mode (G96) the S code specifies SFM (surface feet per minute).

In either mode, you can further control speed with these keys:

Increase speed
Set speed to 100% of programmed speed (Auto mode) or to half of maximum speed (Manual mode)
Decrease speed

Table Jog for Setup

With the table stopped, you can momentarily jog it around at low speed with these keys:

Jog table CW (looking down at table)
Jog table CCW (looking down at table)

On the standard jog panel overlay, these two keys are the blank blue keys to the right of the coolant controls.

Shifting Gears

The machine has a manually shifted three-speed gearbox.

After you shift gears, you should press one of the following Aux keys on the jog panel, to tell the control what gear the transmission is now in.

Indicate high range (A, 1.3-19.2 RPM)
Indicate mid range (B, 0.45-6.6 RPM)
Indicate low range (C, 0.13-1.92 RPM)

Important: It is possible to overspeed the table in high gear. The machine was originally designed for a maximum table speed of 12.8 RPM. With the frequency-controlled motor drive, it is possible to exceed that speed in high range. It is your responsibility to program spindle speeds within the limitations of the machine.

Rail Jogging

Rail movement is powered by a 20HP motor on top of the bridge, which turns the elevation screws through right-angle gearboxes.

You can jog the rail up and down manually whenever Emergency Stop is released and no program cycle is active.

You must first release the pneumatic clamps with the Aux6 key. The LED in the Aux6 key will light to indicate that the rail is unclamped.

Jog rail up
Unclamp or Clamp Rail
Jog rail down

Chip Conveyer

You can switch power to the chip conveyer on and off as needed using the jog panel key:

Switch chip conveyer on and off

The chip conveyer has its own motor control switch, on the elevator controls box. As long as the CNC control is supplying power to the conveyer, you can switch it on forward or reverse using that switch.

Work Lights

The work lights will come on automatically when the control starts up. You can switch the lights off and on as needed using the jog panel key:

Switch work lights on and off

Yaskawa Servo Drive Parameter Settings

Most servo drive parameters are set to factory defaults.

The following parameters are set to values other than factory defaults:

Parameter Value Meaning
Pn000 0020 Torque control mode
Pn001 0020 Active decel to stop on overtravel
Pn10B 0004 Disable mode switching
Pn110 0012 Disable online auto-tuning
Pn201 2048 Encoder output cycles/revolution
Pn400

Z = 100 Percent input for rated torque output
X = 100
Pn407 3000 Maximum RPM during torque control
Pn50E 0211 Remove /S-RDY from output SO3
Pn50F 0300 Put /BK (brake release) on output SO3

See the Yaskawa Sigma II series user manual for detailed information on these and other servo drive parameters.

Hitachi Spindle Drive Parameter Settings

Most spindle drive parameters are set to factory defaults.

The following parameters are set to values other than factory defaults, or are of particular interest:

Parameter Value Meaning
F002 10.0 s Acceleration time
F003 10.0 s Deceleration time
A001 01 Frequency source from control terminals
A002 01 Run source from control terminals
A003 60 Hz Motor base frequency
A004 90 Hz Maximum frequency
A011 6 Hz Frequency at minimum reference
A012 90 Hz Frequency at maximum reference
A015 00 Use A011 value if reference below minimum
A038 6.0 Hz Jog frequency
A039 01 Decelerate to stop from jog mode
A044 03 Control mode: sensorless vector
b012 119 A Electronic thermal rating
b037 00A Full display of parameters
C028 01 Monitor output current on AM terminal
H002 1 Use Auto-Tuned motor constants
H003 75 kW Motor capacity
H004 6 Number of motor poles

See the Hitachi SJ700 manual for detailed information on these and other spindle drive parameters.

Errors, Faults and Warnings

The PLC program can generate the following fault messages, in addition to those listed in the Centroid operator's manual.

You can use the PLC Diagnostic display on the console to view the PLC input and memory locations mentioned with some of the following fault conditions. At the control's main screen, press Alt-I to activate the PLC Diagnostic display. Press Alt-I again to dismiss it.

The Diagnostic display shows four rows of red and green dots: the first row shows PLC inputs 1 through 80; the second row PLC outputs 1 through 80; the third row PLC memory bits 1 through 80; and the fourth row PLC program stages 1 through 80.

You can use the arrow keys to move a highlight box over any of these locations. The name of the highlighted location will be displayed at the bottom left.

"436 NOPTIC1 fault"

The NOPTIC1 servo drive interface board in the control cabinet is reporting a fault condition.

Check optical fibers 4 and 5 from the console to the NOPTIC1 board; check power in and out of switching power supply PS1; check the 3-wire fault cable from the NOPTIC1 board to the PLC unit. Press and release Emergency Stop to clear the fault.

References:

PLC INP62: indicates the NOPTIC1 fault condition. Green = 0 = okay, Red = 1 = fault.
PLC OUT64: latches fault until reset with Emergency Stop: Red = 0 = okay, Green = 1 = fault latched
Schematic: Line 94, 129, 130

"9001 Table & Gearbox Oil Pressure Failure"

The oil pump is running, but pressure switch PS1 has not closed to indicate adequate pressure for table float and gearbox lubrication.

References:

PLC INP7: indicates PS1 state: Green = 0 = closed = pressure up, Red = 1 = open = low pressure.
Schematic: Lines 39, 78

"9003 Rail not locked"

You attempted to run a program cycle or run the table, but pressure switch PS3 was not closed to indicate that the rail was securely locked.

Check Aux6 to see if rail has been unlocked. Check supply pressure; check for leaks in the lines to the rail; and check operation of the pressure switch.

References:

PLC INP23: indicates PS3 state: Green = 0 = closed = pressure up, Red = 1 = open = low pressure.
Schematic: Line 86

"9004 Oil Pump Motor Overload"

The oil pump motor overloaded and tripped the overload relay (OL2) on its starter (M2).

References:

PLC INP8: indicates OL2 state: Green = 0 = closed = tripped, Red = 1 = open = okay.
Schematic: Line 79

"9005 Chip Conveyer Motor Overload"

The chip conveyer motor overloaded and tripped the overload relay (OL3) on its starter (M3).

References:

PLC INP9: indicates OL3 state: Green = 0 = closed = tripped, Red = 1 = open = okay.
Schematic: Line 80

"9006 Rail Elevation Motor Overload"

The rail elevation motor overloaded and tripped the overload relay (OL4) on its starter (M4U/M4D).

References:

PLC INP10: indicates OL4 state: Green = 0 = closed = tripped, Red = 1 = open = okay.
Schematic: Line 80

"9007 Spindle Brake Unit Fault"

The spindle drive dynamic brake unit (HBU-4220, on the right side of the magnetics cabinet) has reported a fault due to overheating.

If the drive has been performing frequent braking, allow time for the brake unit to cool. Press Emergency Stop to clear the fault.

PLC INP13: indicates fault relay: Red = 1 = open = ok, Green = 0 = closed = fault.
Schematic: Line 82

"9008 Spindle Brake Resistor Overheat"

One or both of the dynamic brake resistors for the spindle drive has overheated. Allow time for the resistors to cool, then press Emergency Stop to clear the fault.

References:

PLC INP14: indicates thermal sensor state: Green = 0 = closed = ok, Red = 1 = open = overheat.
Schematic: Line 82

"9009 Yaskawa Servo Fault"

One of the axis servo drives detected a fault. If possible, open the control cabinet and check the LED displays on the drives themselves for an alarm code.

References:

PLC INP20: indicates drives state: Green = 0 = closed = okay, Red = 1 = open = fault.
Schematic: Line 85

"9010 Internal PLC Fault"

The Centroid PLC interpreter software has encountered an error while processing the PLC logic. Notify your Centroid dealer or service technician.

References:

PLC variable W2: indicates error code.

Informational Messages

These messages do not indicate fault conditions, but provide useful information.

"9099 --- Fault Cleared ---"

A previous fault condition has been reset with Emergency Stop.

"2101 Rail not locked"

You attempted to start a cycle, but the rail clamps were not locked.

"2102 Rail not unlocked"

You attempted to jog the rail up or down, but the clamps were not unlocked.

"2105 Rail at top limit"

You attempted to jog the rail up, but it is on its top overtravel switch.

"2106 Rail at bottom limit"

You attempted to jog the rail down, but it is on its bottom overtravel switch.

Software option unlock codes

These codes usually only need to be entered once. They are stored on the control with the Machine Parameters. They should be kept on file in case the Parameters file is ever lost.

Serial Number: 30178 -- Key A (plain): 1111081884

The following are necessary to unlock software features:

  1. If at the demo mode expired screen, start at step 7.
  2. Go to the Main screen of the Control software.
    (Setup, Load, MDI ... across the bottom of the screen)
  3. Press <F1> to enter the Setup screen.
  4. Press <F3> to enter the Configuration screen.
  5. Type "137" in the window which asks for the password.
    Press <ENTER> to accept this.
  6. Press <F3> to enter the Parameters screen.
  7. Press <F1> and enter parameter number.
  8. Enter parameter value and then press <ENTER>.
  9. Repeat step 7 and 8 for each new parameter value.
  10. When finished with all parameters press <F10> to save.
Option Parameter # Parameter Value
0 Cutter comp 200 0.0
1 Drilling cycles 201 0.0
4 Subprograms and Macros 204 0.0
5 WCS 205 0.0
6 Multi-range spindle 206 0.0
14 Spindle Speed 214 0.0
26 Permanent Unlock 298 0.0
27 Intercon 300 0.0