[islandracing]

My ATC stopped in the 60 degree position with a tool clamped and is positioned under the spindle. This is where it stopped. I went into the ATC diagnostics to clear it but it won't let me swing back to zero because my axis are not calibrated and I can't calibrate because my ATC is not in the home position. Is it time to call a service tech?

[Hurco1]

Is the ATC the air operated type or the electric motor drive type? What machine type?

[islandracing]

It's air operated VMX24. I used the air valve resets to get it back to the home position but now I have a error saying it does not recognize the position. This is when I try to use it. It will go back to the position under the spindle and stop then gives me an error.On the backside of the tool changer there are two air cylinders one is directly over the top of the other. The cylinder on the top has a three piece housing and air is coming out of the bypass hole in the center of the cylinder. The air is coming out with the arm in the home position. I will probably need to remove the cylinder and repair it. Does anyone know if there are rebuild kits available? Also is there a position sensor that keys off those air cylinders?

[Hurco1]

Your best bet is to call Hurco Service (800)638-1849.
But if you insist on trying it yourself before talking to the service techs....

How you recover from this depends on the ATC type. I'm assuming this is a VM series unit. If it is air operated WHATEVERY YOU DO DO NOT TURN THE AIR OFF ON THE MACHINE OR HIT THE EMERGENCY STOP At least not yet.

If the air is cut off to the unit while it is in the 60 position the arm could drop and the 0/60 and 180 gear racks will drop out of time. If that happens, it will be a noisy mess to recover from and serious intenal damage could result.

If it is an air operated unit, there will be a series of air valves you can access through the inspection door on the front of the cover. There should be a lable depicting what each valve does.

From top to bottom you will see that the valves have a right side and left side actuator.

From top to bottom the valves are:
Tool pot up / down
Arm 0 /60
Arm up / down (Arm down and rotate are interconnected so when the arm goes down it WILL rotate 180)

NOTICE THE UNCLAMP IS NOT LISTED HERE!! It is a separate operation valve located in the head of the machine.

With the air turned on, as long as the control is not trying to drive the valve into the 60 position (one side of the valve is lit up) you should be able to active the side for 0 to drive the arm back to the 0 position.

If the unit is an electric drive, hit the emergency stop, climb up on the table, locate the electric drive motor for the ATC (grey or black motor housing sticking straight up from the ATC transmission), release the brake by moving the arm sticking out of the side of the motor. Get a wrench on the HEX sticking out of the back of the motor and try hand cranking the arm back to 0

If the transmission is not completely bound up, you should be able to crank it back to 0 without a lot of difficulty.

[Hurco1]

Call hurco service directly for further assistance. 800-638-1849. They cna help with parts and procedure.

Air comming out of the top indicates a blown shaft seal on the top end.

The loss of signals indicates either the arm is not getting to the 60 position or it is getting there but the position indicator proximity switches aren't working.

If you haven't already, try the tool change operation without tool holders in either pot or spindle.

Call Hurco with the result. If you don't want to hang on hold, send a message to [email protected]

[bloke]

With the pneumatic toolchangers, if you get it out of sync, turn the air down to 40PSI to minimise the risk of breaking the guide key when re-synchronising it.
The only known and fixed thing in the mechanism is the vertical move. turn off the air and push the arm until it drops to the bottom of the vertical stroke then lift and chock it about 1/2" to disengage it from the bottom rack.
Next, chock the arm with a small piece of wood to stop it being able to travel upwards.
When the air is re-applied, the bottom rack will pass to the end of it's travel and stop. Press the middle right button on the solenoid bank to move the top rack to 60 degrees position and then press the bottom right button to make sure the arm is trying to move downwards (but can't due to the chock).
Remove the small piece of wood that is preventing upwards movement and then press the bottom left button followed by the middle left to move the arm upwards and back to 0 degrees.

If you are not getting the 0 and 60 degree switches when you should be, turn off the air with the changer in the home position, then remove the four long tie screws from the top cylinder and lift the whole cylinder upwards so you can see the actuators for the prox switches.
The ring with the actuators may be loose and will need the four M6 capheads that hold the ring in place tightening or may need the washers replacing.
When it comes to positioning the switches, loosen the bottom four tie screws hoilding the cylinder that has the switches in and rotate the cylinder to line up with the switches.

If you do take the changer off the machine to remove the air cylinder, make sure you note the distance that the top rack is screwed onto the piston. This distance determines the total travel for the arm at the top positions (0 & 60). If you get it wrong, when you re-mount the changer, the arm can be set to pick the tool up at 60 degrees but may hit the head at 0 degrees if it travels too far or not far enough. The only way to correct it is to strip it again.