Haas Aux Axis Set-up

[F800R]

Calling all Haas guru's....We have a Haas VF3 with a full 4th and a indexer 5th. Machine config, we have a HRT210 in-line with the X axis (index only, run by the Haas box) and a 5C bolted to the face of the HTR210 (full rotary, A axis).

 

Haas has the ability to integrate a indexer as a auxiliary axis and can be called in the NC code as a "C" axis. This takes the need to make sure the operator need to make sure the box program is in the right spot.

 

I integrated the HRT210 as the Auxiliary "C" axis and find that the indexer will make full 360 moves as it moves to position. This is a bad thing due to the cables and air line attached to the 5C rotary. Basically it gator rolls and wraps cables and that equals damaged indexers. Trust me we have learned the hard way. So my question is there a setting to set "shortest distance"? Also the axis limits (box parameter 13 & 14) do stop the indexer from moving past the limit just alarms out after it moves past the setting. Is there a special trick to setting these to make them work?

 

Sorry, I know this is not a MC topic but thought there might be some folks that might be able to help.

 

KK

[mpeterson]

I don't know about the parameters, but in a shop I used to work in we did this kind of thing all the time.

 

The trick was to figure out which direction the indexer moved Zero when Homing it out. Then mount the second indexer just before Indexer Home in the Opposite direction.

 

Next, and this is only the way we did it. Program the indexer box in Incremental, utilizing the + and - directions of travel distance. This insures that you tell the box which direction to travel on each line.

 

That's how we did it so we could turn the main indexer off at night.

 

There is some communication with the operators and such, but sometimes you have to use the tools you got and make them work.

 

Mike in MN