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Machine Setup Commands

MANUALS

Running a Basic Part Program

This chapter provides basic instructions for operating the CNC-7 Controller. It describes the steps to start up the CNC-7, enter a password, home the worktable, set the drill spindles, pick a program, and begin machine operation. The section on how to "Log Out" includes directions for shift changes. WARNING: Always wear safety glasses and safety shoes when operating the machine to prevent injury. Do not operate the machine while wearing a watch, ring, or other jewelry. Do not wear loose or unfastened clothing. Do not attempt to operate the machine without first being familiar with all controls and their corresponding machine movements. Know how to shut off the machine in case of emergency. WARNING: Prior to operating any machine, know the location of the nearest fire extinguisher, and know how to use it.

Power-up

To "power-up" the CNC-7 and drilling machine, press the POWER ON button located on the CNC-7 console. After a few seconds, the CNC-7 display page will illuminate, a color bar will appear, and the controller will run through its start-up commands. Once this power-up is complete, an operator prompt will appear in the upper left-hand corner.

Log-in

The CNC-7 is capable of accommodating many different operators. Each operator will be assigned his own password. Your name and password are the key to logging in and out of the system. Your password belongs to you, and you alone. It should be kept confidential. To protect you, the password will not appear on the page as you type it, or after it has been entered.
Log into the CNC-7 as follows:
(1) Using the keyboard, type in your name. Press the RETURN key to enter your name.
(2) Using the keyboard, type in your password. Press the RETURN key to enter your password. Once your name and password have been properly entered, the Front page will appear. You are now logged in, and the CNC-7 is ready for your directions.

Home the Worktable

The first step performed after powering up the machine is usually homing the drilling machine's worktable. Until the worktable is homed, many commands will be ignored. When the Front page first appears, a message in the machine status window will tell you that "The worktable must be homed". Perform the following steps:
WARNING: Do not place any part of your body above the granite table while the machine is operating. Stay clear of all moving or rotating parts while performing procedures. Severe injury could occur.
(1) Press the SERVO ON button located on the CNC-7 console. This will activate the worktable's servo system and allow the table to move.
(2) Touch the Home Machine button (orange) on the display page. The Z-axes will home first. Once they are successfully homed, the X and Y axes will be homed. The worktable will move to the center PARK position once all axes have been homed.
NOTE: When the worktable is homed, the Home Machine button will be removed from the display page and replaced with the Park XY button. If you need to home the worktable at a later time, there is a Home Machine button on the Manual Operations page.

Load Boards and Install Tools

WARNING: Do not attempt to load or unload a workpiece on or from a work fixture when the machine is operating. Severe injury could occur. Once the worktable has been homed, you can install the board(s) that will be drilled. To install boards on the outboard stations, it may be useful to move the worktable to the left or right PARK position. This will provide easier access. PARK the worktable as follows:
(1) Touch the Park XY button (blue) on the display page. The XY Park menu will appear.
(2) Touch the Left, Middle or Right park position buttons to park the worktable at the desired position. Pressing the Next Park Position button repeatedly will cause the worktable to go to each of the park positions in sequence.
(3) Ater installing the boards, touch the red header bar at the top of the popup to remove the menu from the screen. Refer to the specific Machine Operation Manual for instructions on loading boards and installing tools into the tool cassette.

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Set Spindles, Part Program, and Tools

This section describes a typical setup of the drilling machine. In this section, a setup procedure is described which is fairly manual. Please note that virtually ALL of this setup can be done automatically from the part program M48 header. For further information, please see the CNC-7 Software Reference Manual, or contact the Excellon Automation Applications group for assistance.

Select and Set Drill Spindles

The next step is the selection of drill spindles. You must decide which spindle, or spindles, will be used during your drill operation. Perform the following steps to select and set the spindles:
(1) Touch the Machine Setup button on the Front page to move to the Machine Setup page.
(2) The Station Select buttons near the middle of the display page are used to select or deselect the machine's drilling spindles. If the station number is dark, the corresponding spindle is deselected. If the station number is displayed in white giving the button a "lit up" appearance, the corresponding spindle is selected, and will operate during the drilling operation.
(3) Touch the Station Select buttons to select the desired spindles. Once the spindles have been selected, perform the following steps to set the drill stroke Upper and Lower limits.
(4) Touch the Upper Limit button located below the Station Select buttons. The keypad will display allowing you to enter the drill stroke Upper limit.
(5) Touch the Lower Limit button to enter the drill stroke's Lower Limit.
(6) Once spindles have been selected and Upper and Lower Limits set, touch the header bar at the top of the page to return to the Front page.

Select a Part Program

After the spindles are selected, it's time to set your part program. To select and load a part program, touch the Machine Setup button on the Front page. This will move you to the Machine Setup page.
To locate and select a program file, perform the following steps:
(1) Touch the Current Job Setup button to display the Job Setup menu, then touch the Set Part Program button. The Input/Output Selection window will appear, allowing you to select the input device and file.
(2) Touch the orange Input Device button to display the File Directory pop-up window. The window will list all devices available to you. Part programs will be located within these devices. Use the UP/DOWN buttons to locate the desired device.
(3) Once the device has been located, touch the SELECT button (orange) to enter that device's directory (if applicable).
(4) If the selected device contains files, the directory now lists all files located on the device. Use the UP/DOWN buttons to locate the desired file.
(5) Touch the SELECT button (orange) to select the file.
(6) The Input/Output Selection window will now re-display with your selections. Touch the Execute button to set the part program. The selected program is displayed next to the Current Job Setup button on the Machine Setup page.

Set the TMS Cassette File

Once the part program has been selected, you must choose the tool cassette file that will be utilized by that drill program. To set the TMS cassette file, perform the following steps:
(1) Touch the Machine Setup button on the Front page to move to the Machine Setup page.
(2) Touch the Cassette File Name button. The File Directory pop-up window will appear on the page. Use the directory to select the TMS cassette file for the part program you will be running.
(3) Touch the SELECT button (orange) to set the file.

Activate the TMS Stations

Once the cassette file has been selected, you'll have to tell the machine which TMS stations will be active during the drill program. The active TMS stations will normally correspond to the active spindles you chose earlier. Activate the TMS stations as follows:
(1) Touch the TMS Current State button on the Machine Setup page (it's located next to the TMS button on the left side of the screen). The pop-up keypad will appear on the page.
(2) Use the keypad to select the TMS stations. For most Excellon machines, you'll have a choice of using any of, or all of the TMS cassette stations. Use the ENTER button to load your selections. Now that the part program has been chosen, tool cassette file selected, and TMS stations set, you may need to clear any old tool information that may be in the CNC-7's memory. You may need to clear the tool crib and reset all the cassettes to reflect all sharp tools. Perform the following steps:
(3) Touch the TMS button to move to the TMS Setup page.
(4) Touch the Reset Cassette Data button. A pop-up window will appear, asking you if you are sure you want to do this. Touch the YES button to reset the TMS cassette to all sharp tools.
(5) The Cassette Graphics button (located on both the TMS Setup and Machine Setup pages) can be used to visually verify that the TMS cassette file matches the physical tool cassette you have loaded into the machine's cassette holder. Touch the header bar at the top of the TMS Setup page to return to the Machine Setup page, or return to the Front Page by touching the grey Return to Front Page buttons located at each end of the bar.

Start the Drill Job

WARNING: Do not place any part of your body above the granite table while the machine is operating. Stay clear of all moving or rotating parts while performing procedures. Severe injury could occur. After performing the previous steps, simply touch the START button (green) on the Front page to begin part program operation. Once activated, the START button will disappear from the display page. The drilling machine will begin executing the program you've chosen. While the machine is running, the Status will read "Program in progress". TOOL will indicate the drilling tool in use. HITS, H/EXP, and H/P will count the number of hits per tool and total for the program. The yellow line will begin to "fill" the job completion bar.
WARNING: If it becomes necessary during the performance of drilling, maintenance, or repair tasks to climb on the drilling machine, particularly the granite table, shut off and lock out the main disconnect switch. Failure to do so could result in severe injury to you, or damage to the equipment.
NOTE: Under certain conditions, the START button will be ignored. If the machine has not been homed, or if a machine sensor is triggered, the START button will not begin the program. An error message will be displayed to direct you to the problem.

Changing Operators - Logging out

To log out, perform the following steps:
NOTE: If the machine is active with a part program running, stop the operation by pressing the STOP button on the display page.
(1) Using the keyboard, type HELLO then press the RETURN key. A pop-up window will appear, asking if you are sure you want to change shifts.
(2) Touch the YES button to tell the machine to go ahead. Once the YES button has been activated, you will be logged out. The next operator must log in by entering his or her name and password.

Power Down

Upon completion of a drill program, and once you've finished with machine operation, the CNC-7 and drilling machine must be shut down. Power down as follows:
(1) Press the SERVO OFF button located on the CNC-7 console. This will deactivate the drilling machine's servo system.
(2) Press the POWER OFF button. This will disconnect electrical power from the machine immediately, and begin the CNC-7's power down chores, saving current status to the hard disk and backing up critical files that have changed to the backup floppy. Once this is complete, the CNC-7 will cut off its own computer power supply.