Machine Down for Retrofit

[mowens]

My machine, that was shiny and new and the object of many tours where people would ooh and aah when I first hired in, is now a decrepit piece o' crap. Thanks in part to a spectacular crash that was, in large part my fault and partly my software vendor. It left a head worth about half a mil dangling by some cables and the heavy hard stop landing about a foot from me. It also released hundreds, if not thousands, of ball bearings into the wild. Plus the machine is now about 16 years old.
They are doing a several million dollar retrofit that will take about 3 months so I have a lot of idle time. Thus, more time on the forum. And I woke up cranky for some reason.

Next week, my fellow programmer and I may be helping the composite layup techs. As long as it has a charge line I'm good.

[Jeff]

a head worth about half a mil

How big is this machine???

[mowens]

The room is about 35 feet tall and the machine comes within a few inches of the ceiling with Z all the way up. The bed it travels on is about 30 feet wide and 70 feet long. It's a large gantry that travels up and down the bed. When X axis is moving quickly it sounds like the Martians in the Tom Cruise version of War of the Worlds. If the rotators are functioning, it is an 8 axis machine. It was designed to fit either a 737 or a 787 barrel (section of fuselage).

[Zoffen]

https://www.facebook.com/machinistmemes/photos/a.464407223664493/682131625225384/?_rdr

[Zoffen]

Pics or it didn't happen!

[CNCAppsJames]

I put in Renishaw Axi-Set on a head/head Onsrud 5-Axis router, installed and setup. Broke a probe tip in the process, but got it configured, installed, and tested before Christmas. I had to change a few parameters related to TWP and WSEC. Tested most of the cycles, tested a bunch of the GoProbe stuff. All good. 

What I did NOT look at; programmers probing code and format. 1st part they go to run... full Z rapid into the part... with the probe. Because of my lapse, customer's machine is going to be down for several weeks... and probable cost my company ~$90k.

Definitely a low point in my career.

[Zoffen]

1st part they go to run... full Z rapid into the part

Everything else may be your fault... but this sure aint.

"New machine. New probe. New code. Me worry. No way. Just send it we got this apps guy here i'm sure he's got it all dialed...Let me just check my phone real quick... BOOM!"

In the future maybe disable all but 10% rapid until after you leave....

[Jeff]

1st part they go to run... full Z rapid into the part

That's what happened when the Okuma guy was setting up our new M460v 5 axis, only it was he who was at the controls running a probe cycle. I was standing right next to him.
I think he shit himself when it exploded the probe lol.

Machine was fine, but was without a probe for a few days.

[Jeff]

The room is about 35 feet tall and the machine comes within a few inches of the ceiling with Z all the way up. The bed it travels on is about 30 feet wide and 70 feet long. It's a large gantry that travels up and down the bed. When X axis is moving quickly it sounds like the Martians in the Tom Cruise version of War of the Worlds. If the rotators are functioning, it is an 8 axis machine. It was designed to fit either a 737 or a 787 barrel (section of fuselage).

Holy crap that's huge!

[Elmer Fudd]

Holy crap that's huge!

I hear that all the time.   

[YoDoug]

I put in Renishaw Axi-Set on a head/head Onsrud 5-Axis router, installed and setup. Broke a probe tip in the process, but got it configured, installed, and tested before Christmas. I had to change a few parameters related to TWP and WSEC. Tested most of the cycles, tested a bunch of the GoProbe stuff. All good.

What I did NOT look at; programmers probing code and format. 1st part they go to run... full Z rapid into the part... with the probe. Because of my lapse, customer's machine is going to be down for several weeks... and probable cost my company ~$90k.

Definitely a low point in my career.

I had a similar experience about 16 years ago. Albeit was my fault. I was doing set up and training on a spindle and tool setting probe in a Hardinge mill. The operator kept asking for changes to make it like his other machine. I was modifying Renishaw macros on the fly. Everything went well until I missed one case condition and it drove a 3.0 diameter facemill right through the touchsetter. I learned a few good lessons that day. 1. stick to scope of work. When you stray outside of planned scope on the fly, bad shit happens. 2. Sometimes you just have to tell the customer no. I often explain it as a 2+2 versus 1+3 versus 1+1+2 problem. The customers old machine has to do 2+2 to get 4. In the machine your training them on it is 1+3 or 1+1+2. I learned to simply tell them that is how it is done and move on.

[JakeL]

That's what happened when the Okuma guy was setting up our new M460v 5 axis, only it was he who was at the controls running a probe cycle. I was standing right next to him.
I think he shit himself when it exploded the probe lol.

Machine was fine, but was without a probe for a few days.

Had a guy come in to install a Renishaw probe on one of our Matsuura 630s HMC. We have a foot pedal at the operator door to disengage the pull stud so we can have 2 hands on the tool... can you see where this is going? While showing me how everything worked the guy accidentally stepped on it. The probe fell out, the stylus broke off. Luckily the spindle was at the bottom of Y travel and after re-calibrating (and a new stylus) the probe was fine.

[mowens]

Pics or it didn't happen!

The crash was a few years ago, so it wasn't the only cause of the machine retrofit. As time has gone on, the production machine was updated as technology developed; however, my R&D machine was not. So, not only is it getting worn out, it has outdated technology.

I can find no pictures of my machine. This is the production machine that makes the forward fuselage section of the 787. A axis is the blue yoke ; B axis sits inside the A axis yoke; C axis rotates around Z. I also have a Cprime axis and a U axis. I'm supposed to use A axis for most of the heavy lifting. B axis looks like it would be better, however, B axis at 90 puts C axis parallel to A. This will cause the machine to lose it's positive location in space; it just takes off as fast as it can in a random direction. I and my software vendor forgot about that when we were trying to solve an issue. If you've seen Apollo 13, where  they are worried about gimbal lock it's the same thing. If two of their axis become parallel, they lose their positive location in space.

The crash left the A axis assembly dangling by some cables.

[Newbeeee™]

I had a similar experience about 16 years ago. Albeit was my fault. I was doing set up and training on a spindle and tool setting probe in a Hardinge mill. The operator kept asking for changes to make it like his other machine. I was modifying Renishaw macros on the fly. Everything went well until I missed one case condition and it drove a 3.0 diameter facemill right through the touchsetter. I learned a few good lessons that day. 1. stick to scope of work. When you stray outside of planned scope on the fly, bad shit happens. 2. Sometimes you just have to tell the customer no. I often explain it as a 2+2 versus 1+3 versus 1+1+2 problem. The customers old machine has to do 2+2 to get 4. In the machine your training them on it is 1+3 or 1+1+2. I learned to simply tell them that is how it is done and move on.

Weak sauce. C'mon Doug, you're way better than that!
Compatibility and standardisation are what should be the number one thing between machines - the more they can be "the same", the less smacks happen in the factory.....
"Standardisation is a wonderful thing, If only Doug would do it"....

[Newbeeee™]

Had a guy come in to install a Renishaw probe on one of our Matsuura 630s HMC. We have a foot pedal at the operator door to disengage the pull stud so we can have 2 hands on the tool... can you see where this is going? While showing me how everything worked the guy accidentally stepped on it. The probe fell out, the stylus broke off. Luckily the spindle was at the bottom of Y travel and after re-calibrating (and a new stylus) the probe was fine.

Dare you to step on the pedal when the spindle is running
The 1st Siemens lathe I bought had some necessary PLC tweaks to be done - we had Siemens in for 3 days checking, changing and implementing things because a previous customer had stepped on the chuck foot pedal when running and the jaws opened....