I was getting ready to engrave with my 440 on the Z axis of a cylinder. So the Z axis probed as it should. Next was to probe where the cylinder center is. Beginning at the X axis the probed moved as it should. When stylus moved to probe the Y axis it moved to probe two times and then PP alarmed out. The Status page said Probe input changed*.* I went through the routine again with the same results. I Estopped and powered off the controller and the machine. After powering back up the probe worked as it should. I don’t know what happened, but I am concerned t may happen again. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be going on?
I’m guessing you have a tormach probe?
I use a Hallmark probe
Sometimes I get the same error you describe, to fix it I just wiggle the stylus around a bit and it starts working again, it’s been 4 years and I should really disassemble, clean and re-lubricate
Whether you need to do that idk, also try some basic probing in pathpilot just one axis at time
Hope this helps
Ed
Had to troubleshoot some probe issues on my 440 this past week, so this is fresh in my mind but I am using a non-standard/non-officially supported probe.
Assuming you are using the Tormach passive probe, my bet is on #1 but if you haven’t done #2 and #3 in a while, it’s probably worth checking them while you are at it to ensure accuracy and reliability, especially if you have mishandled (dropped, semi-crashed, potentially over-traveled) the probe and if it’s been long enough, Lockheed’s suggestion to disassemble and clean according to the manual is probably also in order:
- Check if the stylus has come loose
- Check concentricity with indicator
- Check/re-run the probe setup/measurements
- Have you changed probe speeds for any reason?
Dirty probe contacts. I wiggle the stylus first time I put it in the machine every day. That way you can see the light come on so you know it’s working.
You’re going to break a probe tip. Might as well order the replacement now so you have it when it breaks. Better than waiting for the new one.
No breaky tip with a Hallmark​
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Another thing to check is where on the Probe tip you’re bonking the cylinder. Are you hitting at the equator? If you are hitting somewhere below the equator then any concintricity or other errors will multiply math errors.
The probing routine will check a few points on the arc to calculate a rough diameter then check on quadrants to verify.
One time I bumped into this issue was when probing a 1.5” coin that was only 0.08" proud of the soft jaws and sitting ever so slightly not square. This caused funny math to miss calculate the rough diameter and throw off the cycle.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think wiggling the stylus will be part of my new routine. After thinking about it I think the probe wasn’t hitting the equator. another thing I will keep an eye on in the future. As for probe tips buying spares is a great idea. Any suggestions what tips to purchase?
I often have my probe plugged in while running gcode. Erroneous trips form a dirty probe contacts or EMI interference will crash the program stopping gcode.