I bought a Makino today...

Garwood

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Will it load pallet 2 if it is in the pallet 1 position? Does it have a way of identifying the pallets? There may be sensors at the different pallet positions to signal to the control what pallet is where.
I don't think it can identify the pallets. The control just keeps track of where 1 and 2 are.
 

Vancbiker

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That machine just tracks in the control which pallet is in. The pallet changer is a swing type rather than a side by side so it always has a pallet on the table. If you do a manual pallet change using the maintenance pendant you can get the control “confused” as to which pallet is in the machine. It’s a pretty simple matter then to reset the pallet data in MPC2 to sort that out.
 

Garwood

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The only thing that I can't figure out at this point is why in the hell I have to MDI in the spindle tool before every program. Not sure how to format my programs so I don't have to do that.

It's probably in the 20" stack of books somewhere lol.
 

Vancbiker

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IIRC, you only should have to do that at power on. You look at the spindle tool showing in MPC2 and if the tool in the spindle is correct then you key in the Txx in MDI. From there it should track all tools. This process was explained to me as a safety verification that the tool the control thinks is in the spindle at power up is indeed the correct tool. Post up some code so I can see how your post is calling tools.
 

Garwood

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IIRC, you only should have to do that at power on. You look at the spindle tool showing in MPC2 and if the tool in the spindle is correct then you key in the Txx in MDI. From there it should track all tools. This process was explained to me as a safety verification that the tool the control thinks is in the spindle at power up is indeed the correct tool. Post up some code so I can see how your post is calling tools.
%
O0000
G20
G0G17G40G49G80G90
M60 (bring in pallet 1)
T20 (call up tool 20)
M6 (put tool 20 in spindle)
T4 (next tool precall)
M11
G0G90G54..........

Blah Blah Blah
......
G28Z0.Y0.B0.
M60
M30
%

The program runs through fine, but when I go to run it again it alarms out and wants me to re-MDI in the tool in the spindle.

Could M30 be the problem?
 

lobust

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%
O0000
G20
G0G17G40G49G80G90
M60 (bring in pallet 1)
T20 (call up tool 20)
M6 (put tool 20 in spindle)
T4 (next tool precall)
M11
G0G90G54..........

Blah Blah Blah
......
G28Z0.Y0.B0.
M60
M30
%

The program runs through fine, but when I go to run it again it alarms out and wants me to re-MDI in the tool in the spindle.

Could M30 be the problem?
What does your last tool change look like? Are you staging a tool and never calling M6 again after that? Not staging another tool after the last M6?

Not that wither of those would upset any machine I've used, but....
 

Garwood

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What does your last tool change look like? Are you staging a tool and never calling M6 again after that? Not staging another tool after the last M6?

Not that wither of those would upset any machine I've used, but....
Yes, I stage the first tool the program starts with after the last M6.

Could that be my problem? Pre-staging the same tool twice?

Still that strikes me as something that would create some stupid "Can't call the same tool twice" alarm instead of "Spindle tool not qualified" alarm.
 

Garwood

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Instead of forgetting and pushing cycle start again I looked at the MPC2 screen and the spindle tool is flashing. So it's not calling the same tool twice.

I removed M30 from the end of the program and running it now. we'll see...
 

Garwood

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The spindle tool reset is related to M30. With M01 the spindle tool is unaffected. I entered M30 in MDI and it unqualified the spindle tool in the MPC2 screen.

I'll try M2.

The manual covers setting up that pallet changer. It suggests calling the 9810 pallet change subprogram directly, makes no mention of M60 and doesn't really explain what the pallet check M-codes do, though it says I'm supposed to use them if running in standard 2 pallet mode. The manual section spends a lot of time discussing the random pallet changer configuration for a pallet pool, this machine has neither the pool nor the random pallet option because why would it.

Maybe I need to reread the section a few times because it's not translated well. It doesn't make much sense in general. Like the manual suggests the workflow through the machine should be driven by what pallet you load. So you manage the workflow with the pallet screen and it calls the programs and enters the offsets associated with that pallet. I'm not following how that's useful or why they'd do it that way. I assume I'm missing a lot.
 

Garwood

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This sounds like it could be a parameter. Is this sort of like an early version of a professional control? I know the pro3 has a screen where you can change how some things behave.
Yes, exactly. It's the predecessor to Pro3. Kevin gave me the MPC2 cheat sheets so I can get into the deepest darkest corners if I want to, but I'm heavy into making parts mode at the moment.

I need to retrofit the 13.3 screen showing up Saturday. Figure out why the chip conveyor stopped conveying. And the spindle chiller fan occasionally sounds like you were starting a large turbine engine and poured a bucket of ball bearings into the intake.

The spindle tool and pallet change stuff is mostly me trying to figure out if I'm the problem because I'm HMC/Makino ignorant or if the way Makino did it back in 1989 really was just stupid and I need to dive in and change stuff.
 

Barbter

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When you say "re MDI the tool" - does the M30 wipe out the T number totally or just H offset number?
Yellow books say #5003.6 clears tools on reset (or not depending how it is set) - maybe worth checking?
Or possibly a Keep Relay setting?
 

Garwood

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So you're saying I should MDI Txx and Hxx, then MDI M30 and see if the M30 cancels out the active H as well as the T?

I gotta read Kevin's cheat sheets to figure out how to even find the parameters.

The MPC2 thing is kinda cool, but it's like Makino created two separate, different user interfaces that you are CONSTANTLY switching back and forth between. It's like if they just went a little bit further and put all the program stuff in the MPC2 side it would be a great deal- I'm guessing that's what Pro3 is.
 

Vancbiker

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MPC2 was an implementation that took the abilities of the 11and 12 to the max. Having to switch from CNC to PMC was just the only way to do it. PRO3 is much more seamless. Mainly because Fanuc “opened” up the window between their side of the control and the builder side.

Since the MPC2 software is not written in Ladder, it does not use the typical PMC function like KeepRelays. There are parameters though that configure MPC2 to suit the machine it is installed on. MPC2 for the 11 and 12 controls was written in Pascal. Not sure if MPC2 for the 15 was Pascal or C.
 

Barbter

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So you're saying I should MDI Txx and Hxx, then MDI M30 and see if the M30 cancels out the active H as well as the T?
Okay, so I see it literally wipes the T number? You could do that too - more info the better when trying to fault find.
Sometimes... 🙈
I just checked through my stuff and found these:-

3402 Bit 6 (CLR) Clear or Reset state (Clear, clears Height offset)

3409 Bit 7 (CFH) Rewind can clear F,H,D codes (and T for lathes)

You could also MDI a tool, then hit the reset key and see if that gives clear state etc (wipes out H number or both)?
Whether Bill will easily be able to put his finger on a number....🤷‍♂️
 

Garwood

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Not much of an update, but wanted to share screen info. I could not find much of anything for cheap 12.1" vga lcd's they must be pretty obsolete. I bought a 13.3" display for $80, but it was too wide.

I have used the cheap China fanuc 9" lcds previously and the color/clarity was bad. Kinda turned me off to them. But, this Makino 14" (12.1) screen has been blurry/bad picture since I got it, so figured it couldn't be any worse. Bought the cheapest Ebay one for $337 delivered. It fit pretty ok. Plugged right in and the screen is now perfectly clear and crisp!

17095882423729041735218788799329.jpg

It looks better in person, phone refuses to take a nice pic of it.

Anyway, super happy that I can read the Makino screen looking out my office window now.
 
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Garwood

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Seems like just about any used CNC you buy is going to have some issues to work through.

This Makino has had this obnoxious "OMAL1" alarm pop up the first few times the spindle starts since I got it. A couple times it took a half dozen resets or the MPC2, then the Fanuc side then restarting to get it going then it would run fine. Then the chip conveyor stopped working. The, last Friday, M8 stopped turning the coolant on and the second chip conveyor stopped working. All DC voltages good, no alarms. So strange.

kevin helps me figure out OMAL1 is the Oilmatic spindle chiller. But nothing is wrong with the chiller!

Kinda stumbled through the books and found a relay that controlled 100V AC power to pretty much everything that didn't work. That relay was supposed to be controlled by the heater on the contactor for the oil skimmer. But, uh, this machine never had that. Don't know what controls that relay. Thought about what the worst that could happen might be if I jumpered the relay and couldn't think of anything bad so I did it.

Somehow, that jumper fixed the coolant, both chip conveyors and the OMAL1 alarm is gone!

So much nicer using a machine that doesn't shut down every 5 minutes!

And thanks again to Kevin!
 
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