Centroid Community CNC Support Forum

Hello,

My name is Mike and I purchased a CNC milling machine with an Acorn Pro control board back in May of 2019. When I brought the machine home and re-set everything up, it worked fine. I could home the machine, jog all of the axes and input MDI commands. The original owner, who is a PE and worked in the automation field, did a beautiful job retrofitting the machine with the Centroid Acorn controller. The machine originally had a German language software and he had difficulty selling the machine, so he retrofitted it. I had to wait for some new bellows type way covers before I actually made chips with the mill from the German manufacturer which took four months to receive.

In September of 2019, with the machine now mechanically ready to use, I started everything up and successfully homed the machine. I was able to jog the X and Y axes after homing, but when I tried to jog the Z axis in the (-) direction away from the home position, I received a 907 'Z axis travel exceeded' error. I can jog the Z axis in the Z + direction, but not in the Z - direction. I also tried to move the Z axis with a MDI command and was unsuccessful.

I tried searching the forum, but didn't see anything relevant. This still has the original Acorn Pro v4.12 software installed because it worked fine originally and I didn't want to update the software until I found out why this is happening.

I am not very up to date with computers and think I am in way over my head here. Have been a machinist and toolmaker for 40 years doing mostly manual machining. Have used CNC machines in the past like a Maho Toolroom Mill and wrote the short programs manually or used MDI. This was back in the late 1980's and 90's when the programs were typed line by line into the control, we didn't even have a pc in the shop. Bought this CNC milling machine to make master cams for a cam grinder and other parts for models. As it sits in my shop waiting for me to find a solution, I have just continued on with other projects. Hopefully, there is a simple solution to this problem and someone has run into it before.

I made a report file and will attach it.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Kind regards,
Mike

hello!
likely this is something very simple.
but before we begin, please update the system to the current version of Acorn CNC12 software.
free factory tech support for versions older than v4.64 has ended.
here is the free download.
https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... loads.html

1.) Make screen shots of each Wizard menu so you have a visual record of the current Wizard settings. (Store copies of the report and screen shots in a safe place (even on another computer as an extra precaution would be a good idea as well)). Windows “Snipping Tool” is very handy for this. To find this program type in “snip” in the Windows search bar.

2.) Download and unzip the CNC12 zip file,

EXTRACT the zip file, open extracted folder and with the Acorn up and running with a heartbeat, Double click on setup.exe and follow the instructions to install CNC12.

You may run into this Windows notification: Click “More Info” then click “Run Anyway” to continue. The CNC12 installer will now make a copy of any existing CNCM or CNCT directories, preserving the existing installation.

3.) With the Acorn up and running with a heartbeat double click on the CNC12 Icon to start CNC12. CNC12 will update the firmware on the Acorn BBG. Follow the instructions on the screen.

4.) Install the Acorn License file from the Acorn Utility menu, “Options” button.

5.) Open the Wizard and re-enter the information and settings from the screen shots made in step one.

and press “Write settings to CNC control” and follow the instructions on the screen.

Note: The “Restore Report” feature may only be used on the same version of CNC12 software. Do not used the “Restore Report” feature when updating from one version of CNC12 to another.


6.) If desired. copy over any custom macros, VCP files, Tool libraries, etc from the running older install. note: custom PLC programs in general should not be copied over but instead edit v4.64 generated PLC program with you custom plc mods and recompile.

You have a Z+ axis travel limit set to +300mm and you're homing in the Z+ direction and 0 in the Z- travel. You'll never be able to move in the Z- direction after homing. You almost certainly wan to set the Z+ travel limit to 0 and the z- travel limit to -300

Thank you both for the replies!

I will try to find the page with the travel limits.

Once I confirm that, I will update to the latest software.

This will probably take me a while to figure out how to do. Will let you know how I made out sometime tomorrow.

Thanks again!

Regards,
Mike

You can do it from the wizard

Thank you so very much for your help!

Changing the travel limits worked. I can now jog the Z in the minus direction after homing.

What puzzles me is that I never changed any of the original settings from the time I received the machine. Never even opened the Wizard.

I figured out how to save the six configuration pages and will install the latest software next. Have some reading to do and some videos to watch.

Thank so much for your help! I really appreciate it.

Kind regards,
Mike