[allen_d]

I am a first year teacher and seem to have a.... LARGE problem. My shop is equipped with a HAAS HL-2 lathe. Since setting foot in the shop nearly two months ago, the students and I have made every attempt to send files to the lathe with no luck. The previous instructor had no problems with the machine.

We have used different computers.
We have tested the communication cable.
We have the settings on the sending computer matching the lathe.


we prepare the lathe to receive,,,, send the file.... the lathe screen maintains a "waiting" command on the bottom of the screen.

please submit any questions, suggestions, or otherwise. To hire someone to come and diagnose it is at least $1k..... because of our loacation. I am willing to try nearly anything...

THANKS!

[HuFlungDung]

You wouldn't be using the computer printer port as a comm port, would you?

Has the machine ever had a service technician working on it between the time the previous instructor was on the scene, before you arrived? Has anyone fiddled with the parameter settings? I did have comm trouble on my Haas mill, but this occurred after a major upgrade, including some new circuit boards, and there was a particular parameter setting that was not in the regular comm setting area, that had to be altered. I would not think this necessary in your machine's case, unless a major service had occurred.

[allen_d]

The machine was not touched over the summer. I have had several students who ran the machine day in and out try to communicate to the lathe. We are using the correct port. We have tried other working computers. No luck. I will look over all the parameters once again.... in a few hours when i wake up.

[gar]

051011-0758 EST USA

allen d:

First go to my web site www.beta-a2.com then pick the E232 PHOTOS page and find the connector wiring diagram and troubleshooting area. The wiring diagram is correct for the HAAS side, but to connect to a 9 pin PC connector certain connections at the 9 pin end need to be interchanged. See the written comments for this information.

To troubleshoot your problem start by determining if the HAAS is sending data out.

Set your parameters to 7 data bits, Even parity, XON/XOFF handshake (HAAS calls it synchronization), and 1 stop bit. For now use 9600 baud.

There are two RS232 connectors on the cabinet side. Normally the top connector is COM1 (COM1 is my terminology for the serial data communication channel. The other connector COM2 is for a rotary table.)

Connect a voltmeter (I prefer a Simpson 260, 270 or equivalent, but a digital can be used preferably set on a fixed range.) black lead (common, -) to pin 7 of the HAAS 25 pin connector. Pin 7 is signal ground (I prefer the word common instead of ground unless we are talking about earth ground. A common may be connected to earth ground, but it is not necessarily connected.)

Pin 2 is the TxD output from the HAAS connector. Connect the red wire (+) here. With no data being sent the meter reading should be about -10 v.

Pick any program in the HAAS, preferably 10k bytes or more, and send it (ALL is a good choice). The meter reading should float around +/-1 v.

If the voltage stays around the -10, then this connector has no data being sent out. In that case check the output from the other connector.

Pins 6, 8, 20 are "do not care" for HAAS. Internally in HAAS these are connected together but go nowhere else.

Pins 4 and 5 are RTS and CTS handshake lines but CTS is not tested by HAAS in the XON/XOFF mode, contrary to what a HAAS tech told me one day.

If neither connector shows data output on pin 2 relative to pin 7, then there is an internal problem in HAAS.

Just to make sure that your machine is not different jumper pin 4 to 5 and test for data transfer again. Note pin 4 (RTS) should be high (logic 1, +10 v). Note the data lines TxD, RxD employ negative logic (meaning a logic 0 is +10v v, and logic 1 is -10v).

With pin 4 connected to pin 5 you can change HAAS to hardware handshake (RTS/CTS) and again try sending.

I have had one customer that had RS232 hang because of a thermal problem in the RS232 area. Opening the cabinet door and using an external fan corrected the problem.

If you can determine that HAAS is sending data, then the next step is to get the PC to receive this data.

Also when the HAAS is not transmitting do a short circuit current test on TxD. This should be about 10 ma.

.

[WayneHill]

GAR,

That wiring diagram is misleading. The common wiring has the pins 2 & 3 and 7 & 8 turned around.

[gar]

051011-1745 EST USA

WayneHill:

My circuit diagram is not intended for PC to HAAS connection, but for our E232 to HAAS connection.

This I stated in my previous post, and I indicated that for connection to a PC that following the diagram I verbally described the wires to be interchanged at the PC 9 pin connector.

.

[WayneHill]

This is the wiring I used on the Haas Mini mills.


The cable connector for Haas Mills

PC DB9 .............Haas Mill DB25
--------------------------------

2---------------------2
3---------------------3
8---------------------4
7---------------------5
5----------|----------7
................|----------1

1-4-6 ................6-8-20

-------------------------------