Light Machine Corp. Benchman XTr (retrofit)

Sorry, I do not know the pump model #.
Perhaps a call to Intelitek?
It is most likely that the pump used 10+ years ago is no longer available and you may need to determine the best option.

Hey Guys,

I just looked through the photos on my phone because I had taken a picture of my coolant pump at one point but I wasn't able to find the photo. I can take my pump out next weekend when I'm back home and share a picture if you're still curious at that point.

The issue that I've run on my quest to add a touch-off probe has got me stumped again. I started by downloading the Benchman software off their website which seemed to include the software for a probe but it seemed like it required was looking for me to run in Windows NT instead of the Windows 98 that I had installed with the machine. With another $30 bucks on ebay, I was able to purchase a boot disk and a service pack disk and install the older OS on my machine. But after booting in OS with the Nextmove card and machine connected there seems to be an issue with the cpu communicating with the machine.

It seems like some of the functionality is there because the ATC works but I'm unable to power up the spindle or jog any of the servos for moving the table. When I select the "spindle on" or jog buttons I can hear a relay activate, which I'm guessing is the safety circuit for the door, but then the machine pauses for a minute and finally returns an error that "Amps could not be enabled."

Do you know why this might be? In bouncing a few of the engineers that I work with it they seemed to think that there might be a parameter setting that's machine specific that needs to be changed. I can see that there's a parameters menu inside the software but I'm not totally sure what these values do or what they should be so I don't dare change anything that could harm the system.

Thanks Guys!

SOS,
Typically, if the amps cannot be enabled, it is because the machine does not think the door is closed. Check J521-1 or TP4 and it should toggle with the door. (0-24VDC)
Other possible reasons:
1) The high voltage servo power supply isn't working (Check for 50-65VDC on J166-3(+) to J166-2(-), and J123-3(+) to J123-2(-).
2) Motor encoder connections are crossed. Check that the X, Y, and Z encoder connections (J510, J511, & J512) go to the correct motor boxes.
It is most likely one of these 3 issues.

Coolant pump.

I am about to consign a benchman XT to the junkyard. I will have limited access to it. Before you get too excited, the controller was removed and replaced by a kannalog/kflop controller. I MIGHT be able to get parts off it but it may go as a complete unit to the mill graveyard. Anyone have any interested in this thing for spare parts? Unfortunately it weight 900-1000lbs so that's a consideration. anyway holler if you have a need.

Steve

Man, you spent so much time on that machine! Sorry to hear it didn't work out. I'm definitely interested in the coolant pump and (I can't remember if you had the ATC) the ATC board. Where is the machine located now?

OOPS... Picture file is too big!

label info:

CAT. 527016
Model NK-2
230VAC 50/60 Hz
0.9/0.7 A 1 Phase
Thermally Protected
Little Giant Pump Company
Oklahoma City, OK
73112-2995 U.S.A.

A subsidiary of
Tecumesh Products co.

Naw the boards were stripped to make room for the KFLOP since I couldn't get that goofy interface board to communicate. I had it working and I hate to lose it. I was getting .001 accuracy but the school no longer needs it and I don;t have 220 in my garage. It's here in Dallas, Texas. I can't get to it right now... the tornado went right through my neighborhood and my house is pretty beat up. I might be able to get to the pump in a week or so.

SOS,
My XT didn't come with the original PC or Nextmove card but I was able to track down an old PC with an ISA slot and eventually also found a nextmove card. I first installed Windows 2000 but was never able to get that to work properly with the Benchman software; I got the same error messages about the Amps not being enabled. Then someone in this thread mentioned that Windows NT was the only OS that worked with the Light Machines software. Once I installed NT I was good. So I'm surprised that you were using Windows 98 to begin with. You might want to check the DIP switch settings on the Nextmove card and make sure they match the settings in the software, since you had to reinstall it. Also, remember that the ATC connects to the PC via a serial cable, and doesn't use the Nextmove card (unless it's getting info from the card that determines the position of the ATC). Could this be a Nextmove communications issue?

Wow. Sorry to hear about your house, Steve. I'll think about what other parts I might need in the future and post back here in a few days.
Good Luck.

SOS,

If you're trying to run on WIN98, that will not work.
It must be NT.