Mach3 Mazak Slant Turn 35 ATC retrofit using a C2000 Delta VFD and ASDA-A2 Drives and a CSMIO IP A (IO Extension and Encoder Extension)

Mach3 Mazak Slant Turn 35 ATC retrofit using a C2000 Delta VFD and ASDA-A2 Drives and a CSMIO IP A (IO Extension and Encoder Extension)

I was part of a team that retrofitted an Old Mazak Slant turn 35 and my job was to make sure the ATC and other functionalities were required for the machine to run smoothly. At that time all the covers were removed so we jumped into the wiring. I don't have much expertise in the wiring but I learnt how to connect motors to drives and drives to the controller and same with the encoder. All required valve outputs were also connected together with signal inputs for limit switches as well as.

Then came the creation of the code to run the ATC and I didn't know how valves worked and even run two that push the hydraulic in opposite directions till one overheated. When I realized that I had to turn one off to actuate the other I started to get things moving. I got the ATC to rotate on either side which involves using one valve to allow movement then two more for rotation on either direction. Then came the hardest part. Stopping the rotation of the tools at the slots. I didn't know the mechanisms and thought that there was a timer since after getting a tool signal, as registered. However, there was no consistency. Here is the tools were stopping, and a link to how they were supposed to stop.

I tried it for about 3 weeks before I finally found a pattern. God had my back on this one, like always .

When changing the algorithm, I realized that the motor was an index motor and learnt how it works. However, I did not understand its functional mechanism in a programming manner. Then I tried to change the valve stop sequence and though the tools did not slot, finally, there was a pattern. All the tools stopped consistently at a spot beyond the slottable hole. Unlike before when the tool would end up on either side per cycle.

Finally, I had passed the huge hurdle that had absolutely destroyed my hope day in day out while coming up with possible solutions daily, recording patterns on a book to see if they match per cycle. It was an absolute menace but I had finally done it. However, the tools still weren't in the slot. So we decided to untighten the belt and try to rotate it, but it didn't work so we removed the motor rotated the tools manually, slotted the tool then returned the motor and BOOM! All the tools could slot. My teammates had helped a lot I got all the tools to index and created a tool change sequence.

Then came another hurdle, the probe and setting the tool offsets. 

I managed to get it working after figuring out the G-Code for probe and finally I was done. I might've broken the probe because of the Front and Rear tool post changing the direction of movement and again when I used normal coordinates and set zero after touching the probe. I used machine coordinates for the whole process and everything went perfectly smoothly.

Doing all functions in Machine coordinates is the way to go since they don't change but you have to restrict machine usage before homing.

I then got the tailstock to move in and out.

Then moved on to make the Z axis to couple with the tail stock in a semi-auto and automatic manner.

Then came another issue of high speed. The machine had a gear box and I didn't know, thought it was the C-axis. The maximum speed is 3000 rpm. So, I tried to achieve this speed using the gear that was set and ended up ripping the belts. That's when I decided to switch between different switches and achieved different modes for the gears. I implemented them and achieved the high speed with much ease.

Finally the machine functionalities that had been preset for retrofit were done.

Here is a link to all the code that got the machine running