Pnc 1100 running PathPilot
I had a problem while milling about a 2 x 3 pocket .
The machine stopped while milling one of the wings and it was a motor axis z fault, with a software e stop.
I resset and restarted near the last line milled, ran for a little while and did it again.
I let the machine set for at least an hour and then it finished the first level but then the same fault while milling out the center on the second level. Done for the day.
The only other posts on this didn’t list any solutions. I haven’t found it in the manual yet.
there wasn’t any real load on the z cause I was feeding into a hole. Did not loose the Z zero, I checked every time.
Motor getting weak?
PCNC’s should never get motor faults. This sounds like it is likely a software issue, I would recommend opening a support ticket with a log file from your machine.
Well Tormach responded quickly. One of their suggestions was swapping drivers. Did so and it ran for about 4 hours and still z axis fault with software e stop.
The z motor was running about 25 degrees warmer than the x.
I have almost never ran a program this long. Normally just start up and run a half hour. Actually haven’t run it in about 2 months.
Started checking for lube faults. Lubed it a lot by hand and with the oiler. The unused tiime probably contributed and I think I should have been pulling the lube handle more often. It ran the next day without issue.
The z motor still runs about 15 deg warmer at the top near the brake. With the z axis mostly holding position should it run hotter there normally? Being verticle the heat will rise of course.
Steppers generate heat based on the amount of work they’re doing. Since the Z axis has to be “active” 100% of the time, if only to keep the spindle in place, I’m not at all surprised that it’s running warmer than the other axis motors that likely have a lower duty cycle.
@David_Trader I want to check in to make sure everything is running correctly. From your last post it sounded like the axis was not getting proper lubrication. Please let us know if you still have an issue so we can help you get the machine back up to spec.
Yea I don’t normally run long programs and it faulted at about 3000 lines.
I did run a longer program about the same length yesterday with no problems. I was pulling the lube handle more often .
I could have done it faster in my manual mill, but of course I would have to be cranking the whole time.
Hi @David_Trader it sounds like there may be something more occurring. What I’d recommend at this point is to continue working with the tech team with the ticket that was already started, we’ll have to do do some more analysis and can post back here on what more may be necessary.