fadal mill help

[rex miller]

I have a fadal 4020 mill

Does anybody have problems with the cards

( x,y,z cards ) having to reseat them all the time.

and having to open the cabinet door so the

motor cards dont over heat.

thanks

[Guest]

Have you checked your cabinet fans to make sure they are functioning and also checked the vents to make sure they are clear of any built up debris?

[rex miller]

my cabinet dosnt have any vents

but Im abought to put some in it.

The fans are working good.

it just circulates the hot air if door

is closed.

[Guest]

Not being in the shop right now I can't verify it but I believe our cabinets have air hole vents around the bottom of the cabinet. Nothing fancy just some rectancular slots in the sheet metal.

 

Are you running an older 4020 with a 10k RPM spindle? They were notorious for overheating if consistantly run at the max spindle RPM.

[betts]

Rex

We had to use an "elastic retention device" (read rubberband)on the X-Y-Z boards as they would vibrate loose when doing aggressive milling.

 

Don't remember the over heating thing, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

I guess I would look at adding a fan or, like you said some vents to outside in the cabinet door or side panel.

[Thad]

quote:

---

Does anybody have problems with the cards

( x,y,z cards ) having to reseat them all the time.

---

On our machines, there is a metal "strap" that keeps them all plugged in. The memory has vibrated loose before because it plugs into the side of one of the boards that is strapped in. When the memory comes loose, it gets reported wrong when entering the ME command. The recommended memory fix is to zip tie the board in place.

 

I think we have 2 fans in that cabinet with wire "grilled" vent holes.

 

Thad

[Storkman]

We don't have one anymore , but our old Fadal always overheated. We had the cabinet door opened more than closed. We didn't have a good experience by owning a Fadal. That's why it's gone. I liked their controller though.

[Guest]

quote:

---

I liked their controller though.

---

You actually liked their control, eeeck.

 

Well I can see one albatross being attracted to another.

 

[DaveR]

I have a VMC here in Phoenix, for two years through 115 F summer days, never had a problem. Only has a 7.5k spindle though. There are vent holes behind two 6" fans that blow right on the cards.

[rex miller]

I have the metal strap across the cards,

but they still give me problems.

some times i reseat them 2 or 3 times

I even sprade contack cleaner .

but still have same problem

[gavetta]

We have a 4020 with 10k spindle. Cabinets vented and haven't had any problems with over heating in the 4 yrs I've been here. I've had a bunch of other stuff go wrong (chiller, board came loose, tool changer, z-axis motor, .....well you get the idea). If our budget was bigger, I'd be looking at other machines.

Al

P.S Anybody want to start a thread on whats the best 3-axis machine for surface machining?

[savagkd]

We have a 4020 w/10k spindle. There are no vent holes in the cabinet and the only problem we have is keeping belts on it. It's been a workhorse for 14 years, with only 3 spindle changes.

[Storkman]

quote:

---

You actually liked their control, eeeck.

---

Yea believe it or not. Once I got used to it.

[Jim at Gentex]

No overheating problems here either. I have 2 Fadal 4020's that are mostly problem free. Does yours have a chiller Rex, and if so, is it working properly?

 

Mine both have the metal strap as Thad described and that seems to hold them in pretty tight. In fact, the service tech once had a heck of a time getting one out! We did have a control wire vibrate loose from a board once and the spindle wouldn't turn, but that was an easy fix with a crimping tool.

 

If nothing else seems to work you may need to resort to adding some vents and possibly rigging some kind of exhaust fan to draw the hot air out.

[rex miller]

yes it has a chiller.

the water level hasent changed,

Ill take a closer look at it.

the larm im getting is #21 emergancey stop.

I go to jog move from part. and start tool

all over again.

It stops in light cut and heavy cuts.

Thanks for all the help!!!!!

[Boris Schatalow]

I had a very old Fadal that had the same problem of the cabinet over heating. To remedey this I purchased a small cold air gun and piped it through the cabinet. This was cheap and effective.

[Mito@DeeringBanjos]

our fadal is a work horse, max rpm almost all the time but we had to add two additional fans. one pulling air in the cab one blowing out.