Spindle safety feature question

[Tonty]

I recently upgraded from SB PRS Alpha and am very happy. But I nearly did something the other day that made me miss the SB safety features.

First thing in the day, I warmed up the spindle and started to think about putting in a bit. But for some reason I went back to the console and noticed that the warm up routine hadn't finished, it was only pausing. I nearly (only nearly) tried to put a bit in when it was about to start up. The old SB setup had a physical key that would have prevented this happening.

Is there something missing from my set up? I'm now double/triple checking the status before changing a bit.

[ShawnM]

What brand of spindle do you have? Does it require a pause during the warm up? My Weeke machine has a Homag/SKF air cooled spindle and the warm up procedure that takes 8 minutes does not have any pauses between speed changes as it increases the RPM. My last two machines had HSD spindles and I also did not have a pause in the warm up procedure.

What macro do you use? Does it display anything during the warm up procedure? Mine is custom and shows the RPM and the time it spins at that RPM. If you have no messages on the screen during the spindle warm up you could edit the warm up macro to display a message on the screen. You just have to remember to look at the screen to see the status.

I also have my spindle move to the center of the table BEFORE it starts the warm up procedure so there's no chance I do anything stupid while it's warming up. You could add this move to your macro as well.

[Sword]

The default spindle warm up macro has several pauses to, as I believe it states in the macro, allow for heat soak. I always replace it with mine that has no pauses as well.

If you're going to stick to the default one, maybe a warning light would be a good idea. Stays on until the end of the macro.

[Tonty]

I have an HSD MT1073-140 and I'm using the default warm up routine.

Moving to the centre of the table seems very sensible, I will make that edit. Without this edit, I feel the default one is dangerous.

[ShawnM]

The default spindle warm up macro has several pauses to, as I believe it states in the macro, allow for heat soak. I always replace it with mine that has no pauses as well.

If you're going to stick to the default one, maybe a warning light would be a good idea. Stays on until the end of the macro.

Thanks Scott, I never looked at the default macro and was unaware of the pauses. I also have not seen where HSD (or others) suggest a pause in the warm up procedure.

Cut and pasted straight out of a HSD manual: (no pause here)

The following cycle is recommended, without machining operations:
50 % of the maximum rated speed for 2 minutes.
75 % of the maximum rated speed for 2 minutes.
100 % of the maximum rated speed for 1 minute.
The preheating cycle should also be performed every time that the machine is inoperative long
enough for the electrospindle to cool down to room temperature.

Mine are a bit more gradual with no pauses and the move to the center of the table to avoid problems like the OP had.

[ShawnM]

I have an HSD MT1073-140 and I'm using the default warm up routine.

Moving to the centre of the table seems very sensible, I will make that edit. Without this edit, I feel the default one is dangerous.

There's your problem right there, the default macro.

Remove the pauses and add the move so you can't reach it and do something stupid (or dangerous). When the warm up is finished it'll move back and let you change the tool to start your day.

[Tonty]

Thanks all. Any comment from someone at Centroid?

[Tonty]

I've edited the default macro so it now

1 - Moves the centre of the table
2 - Instead of stopping, it just drops it's spin rate to 0.05 of max. Any value below that doesn't turn the spindle.

[ShawnM]

I've edited the default macro so it now

1 - Moves the centre of the table
2 - Instead of stopping, it just drops it's spin rate to 0.05 of max. Any value below that doesn't turn the spindle.

Why not set the warm up cycle per he HSD manual? There is no pause at all between speeds.

[ShawnM]

Here's a pic of my initial message when pressing the "spindle warmup" button:

After I press cycle start the dust boot lowers and it moves to the center of the table and begins. Here's the first message and it stays on the screen until the warmup is complete. The message changes for each speed increase.