HAAS VF1 retrofit

Thank You,
It makes a bit of sense

To set up the carousel as a Axis can I control it with a forward reverse relay or will I need a motor controller?
And the switches used as a encoder would be 12ppr with a index.

I will need to build a few M codes for the outputs.

Most of my electrical parts arrived today, hopefully I get the rest of it by the end of the week.

sspeed33317 wrote: To set up the carousel as a Axis can I control it with a forward reverse relay or will I need a motor controller?

A relay should work. You would probably still use a PID control component like normal, but then use a window-comparator function to activate either one or other direction:
www.linuxcnc.org/docs/html/man/man9/wcomp.9.html
The .under and .over outputs could be used to drive the motor one way or the other, and set the window to do nothing.
You don't actually need to run the carousel as an axis, you could output an analogue value from G-code as the target position. But configuring as an axis makes homing easier, and I think that it also helps with shortest-route motion.

And the switches used as a encoder would be 12ppr with a index.

Yes. Normally that wouldn't really work, but the Geneva mechanism will help a lot.

Amazing you can come up with this stuff so fast.

I am so lost right now, I'll just keep reading until I get it.

Ha , now I know why ... you have been down this road before I found your conversation with the Fadal owner.

I named my inputs and outputs tonight.
I also added a saftey output, for when the orient pin is shot out it sends a stop signal to the VFD directly.
The VFD i can program to send a sinal to the 7i77 for it to know it is stopped also.
I figure I can use this to let the tool changer routine know it is safe to proceed.

I am really understanding this way to do it, I will tackle a full M6 remap some other time.

I will have to write a routine for each tool?

Im not sure you can run the tool carousel as an axis, I have not worked on a Haas, but I suspect it is run by a plain motor and uses a geneva cam like a Fadal.Even if it is run by a servo and has an encoder, you will have to write a function to count angular degrees to get to you intended tool. think, #of tools/encoder count per rev. You would be much wiser to write his in either ladder or as a component. Consider you also have to put the old tool back ,go the shortest route to the next tool,move the head, then do all the things to actually change tools. I think your looking at something more like this.


tool change signal goes hi
stop and brake spindle
orient and lock spin(which requires a set jog speed or spindle speed set)
send carousel forward(making sure the correct pocket is empty for old tool)
make sure carousel is forward
unclamp drawbar
make sure db is in fact unclamped
move head up
move turret to next tool using the shortest route
move head down
clamp drawbar
wait to make sure db is clamped or it drops tools
slide carousel back
make sure it is back
set tool changed flag hi


Each one of these actions has to have a check to make sure it is completed, if not you will need to at least put the machine in feedhold, if not estop. The orient should be a separate program with in/out pins so it can be called by m19 and/or by your tool change code, you will also need an m18 code to unlock the spindle. In addition, as of now EMC has no way of storing what tool is where after you power the machine down, meaning you will have to home the carousel every time you open EMC. You will also want want manual codes or buttons to manipulate the various parts of the tc if it gets out of sequence. You will definitely want a drawbar release button so you can manually put a tool in and out of the spindle and ONLY in manual mode .
Below is the program for the orient on my Brown & Sharpe mill, it uses a shot pin like a Haas, it also uses an encoder, which I dont think your haas does, I think it uses a prox switch. In addition this component shifts gears and runs the spindle from m and s codes. I wrote it in C, cause I hate ladder, but bottom line is, you are going to have to apply the same logic. Your machine may not be as complicated. This works everytime, for every orient, for every gear change.

Is this machine a geared head, hi-low belt drive or single speed belt drive?

Right now it has no spindle encoder but i have one to install as the factory did.
I do have the hi lo gearbox . Spindle is belt driven off the gearbox.
And there is a manual release button on the spindle cover.

I will take a look at your code, thanks

For now i may just use subroutines
If i dont end up using carousel as a axis then i need to figure out some kind of
counter for tool positions using the existing prox switches, homing is a piece of cake
i can turn it until the index tool 1 prox switches and its home.

Its a 20 tool carousel, not 12 like i posted a few back.