HMC APC Rotation Adjustment

[JakeL]

We have a 2 pallet Matsuura H-Plus 630 HMC that recently turned 20 years old. The machine has a Fanuc G-Tech 16i control. A couple weeks ago the cam box that drives the whole APC system started grinding and clunking when the APC is rotating. We opted to buy a whole new cam box, but it's 30 weeks out.

We've kind of ignored the extra noises but in the last couple days the pallet change arm started over rotating by 1/4" or so. This causes the pallet to miss the cones when the machine puts it down (not good).

My question is, is there a way to adjust the APC rotation angle "home position"? In the parameters manual we found a keep relay for "APC adjustment mode 1 = effective" but no info on how to actually make adjustments.

At this point we are manually pallet changing. And before the machine puts the pallet down, we take a 2x4 and "adjust" the rotation back to where it should be so the pallet hits the cones. Far from ideal, but it keeps the machine making chips.

Any information or suggestions is appreciated!

[MIL-TFP-41]

All the "APC adjustment mode 1 = effective" does is override some of the interlocks so you can recover from a pallet change that went very wrong. I believe inside the cam box is the only place to adjust the amount of rotation. Sounds like you are going to find a pin or 2 that has been sheared off.

other than tearing apart the cam box, about the only thing you can do is modify the APC macro so it has an M00 in to so you can check alignment & do your 2 X 4 adjustment.

Another thing that could be done inside the APC macro (and in no way would I recommend doing this) would be adding in something to move the Z and B axis enough to hopefully align the cones with the pallet. Then Matsuura likely has something that will not allow axis movement with the pallet in mid-air unless it is in the before mentioned adjustment mode. Note again I would not recommend doing this.

 Word of caution - if it is in that bad of shape now, I doubt it will hold up for 6 more months.

[JakeL]

other than tearing apart the cam box, about the only thing you can do is modify the APC macro so it has an M00 in to so you can check alignment & do your 2 X 4 adjustment.

Thanks for the reply. We never thought of doing this, we may try it.

Word of caution - if it is in that bad of shape now, I doubt it will hold up for 6 more months.

It has definitely gotten worse much faster than we expected. The new cam box got ordered pretty quick so there's not much else we could have done. The machine's age did not help the lead time.

At this point we're throwing around ideas for how to load parts through the operator door for when the APC inevitably quits. That'll be about the only option if we want the machine to continue to run.

[JakeL]

Have you any drawings, or lifted the cover on the cambox?
Is it like Hitachis - Is it needle roller bearings running in a cam slot type config?
Has a needle roller bearing exploded?
Personally, I'd dig in and temp fix it....because as Mil said it surely won't last.
A week down and a calculated bodge repair ( ) might then keep it running long enough for the new box to arrive.

I don't think we have any drawings, usually when the Yamazen service guys come in they tell us they can't give us any drawings.

We already put one band-aid on it about a week ago. The APC arm wasn't lifting the pallet high enough to clear the cones so the pallet was rubbing the cones when swinging in and out. We put a spacer under the APC arm to get the clearance back.

The issue is the part that the machine is running has to be done by the end of the month. Once that part is done the machine will have some wiggle room to be down for a few days for a possible temp fix.

[JakeL]

Jake - have a crawl around (underneath) and look for a nameplate label.
Make/Manufacturer, model number etc.
I wouldn't have thought, Mats made the cambox....

The crawl around was unsuccessful. There's too much stuff in the way to see the cam box.


After throwing around some ideas, we think we should be ok as it sits. The next part to run in the machine is a big piece of duplex stainless, each operation should take a couple days, so very few part changes. We'll probably load the parts thru the operator door.

I was also told that if everything goes smooth, the 30 week lead time could end up being as short as 22 weeks. I'm not betting on it, but that sure would be nice.

[CNCAppsJames]

Yeah, 20+ year old machine parts aren't always readily available off the shelf. Especially big or expensive ones.