Emergency errors on start up

[ajgepper]

I am a newbie and a CC machining instructor struggling to get my DCC gage running with PCDMIS 3.5. I have to stand on my head and recite poetry to get the machine to operate manually before opening the program and homing the machine. It seems the y axis is the main problem. I can get X and Z to move, but then the little light goes out. I have tried:

1.Cleaning the ways and scales with alcohol eyeglass swabs.
2.Starting up with PC off, E-stop on, moving the x,y and z by hand, un-twist the E-stop and hold down start machine. (This sometimes works)
3. I checked that the E-stop button in the controller is properly attached to the switch, and that the dongle is fully engaged on the back of the PC.
4. Going back to square one, turn all off, wait 10 minutes and power up again.

Don't even let me start with the lab tutorial problems I am having (Clearance planes? Values for "Find Nominals Tolerance?). I really need to get this up and going for my students and for checking their project parts.

Help!

[bob mappes]

Where are you located? maybe someone is close to you that they might stop in and have a look......

[craiger_ny]

Let us know where you are. A lot of folks would be happy to help their local community college out.

[John Kingston]

Is the air pressure set correctly? This should be covered in the installation manual that came with the machine.

Ditto the location thing. I know I'd stop if you are nearby.

[ajgepper]

There is an expert coming tomorrow recommended by someone from Hexagon (we have no service agreement and my budget is blacked out). I just want to make some progress in the tutorials before he gets here because of my need to get the solidworks cad models in and programmed quickly. I want to have my students do this workbook this month.

I am impressed by both machine and software and want to have it meaningfully included in my curriculum. But as a machinist, I am troubled by the inconsistent behavior of both. The software will act one way and then another way the next day. Is this typical? I need to say that this equipment has not been used much in the past here.

I am up to lab 7 in the tutorial workbook.

[why me]

scale

It may be the eye that reads the Y scale It could be a spacing issue (should be
.006 from scale) or dirt/scratch on the lens. sometimes the alignments of this eye will be out when the machine is moved. I have also seen it go out all by itself or the small light that is inside the eye maybe going out. These are all things I've seen in the past.

Ditto on the where are you I would be happy to help if I was close enough
to get there.

[ajgepper]

I am at Palm Beach CC in South Florida. See:

Call me at 561-868-3862.

[ajgepper]

My home page:
http://www.pbcc.edu/x1901.xml

[bob mappes]

I'm gonna spout off here, but I would think that Hexagon would be able to help out better than just hooking you up with "an expert".

I would think that at a school level they would keep your software up to date in the very least.

So, really, if you search around these forum threads you will notice that 3.5 is an older version (4.1 being current) and that it may not be the most stable version either (3.7mr3 is)

try pushing Hexagon a bit harder

[ajgepper]

Air pressure on the side gage is 45 PSI. How would I clean or correctly position the "eye" mentioned above? The machine is B&S DCC gage approx 3 years old, with about a 24 inch squre work window.

I cannot find my installation manual...

[bob mappes]

at that pressure my machine won't run
mine takes 80psi min.
Starrett 28" x 40" x 24"

[JIM HARRIS]

Air pressure should be around 80-85 lbs.

[why me]

Air pressure on the side gage is 45 PSI. How would I clean or correctly position the "eye" mentioned above? The machine is B&S DCC gage approx 3 years old, with about a 24 inch squre work window.

I cannot find my installation manual...

The eye would need to be adjusted by a tech. it's hard maybe impossible to get it right with the proper equipment voltage meter and a Oscilloscope.

[ajgepper]

Moving to 85 PSI seems to have helped, thanks to all! We'll see tomorrow if this was the root of the evil...

[PaulB]

I am a newbie and a CC machining instructor struggling to get my DCC gage running with PCDMIS 3.5. I have to stand on my head and recite poetry to get the machine to operate manually before opening the program and homing the machine. It seems the y axis is the main problem. I can get X and Z to move, but then the little light goes out. I have tried:

1.Cleaning the ways and scales with alcohol eyeglass swabs.
2.Starting up with PC off, E-stop on, moving the x,y and z by hand, un-twist the E-stop and hold down start machine. (This sometimes works)
3. I checked that the E-stop button in the controller is properly attached to the switch, and that the dongle is fully engaged on the back of the PC.
4. Going back to square one, turn all off, wait 10 minutes and power up again.

Don't even let me start with the lab tutorial problems I am having (Clearance planes? Values for "Find Nominals Tolerance?). I really need to get this up and going for my students and for checking their project parts.

Help!

does the error say anything about an "encoder"? I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a board in the controller. For some reason the CMM thought it was hitting something when it wasn't.