Amada alarm 4063 FO-3015 Fanuc AF4000A

[R4725]

I am new to using a laser and still getting the bugs worked out of a new to me Machine, 2000 model FO-3015 Amada 4000W. I had Amada service come out and do the setup and get things working. It has been a battle thought getting little things worked out. First thing he couldn't get it to make power after checking the resonator out and whatever else he did. Replaced all the internal optics and different things then swapped the laser gas bottle and that seemed to take care of that. After another fashion we got to cutting have been cutting quite a lot of 1/4 and 3/8 plate it does small parts fine when it gets to a long cut then part way through the cut is throws a 4063 alarm R/F POWER SUPPLY and drops high power. This happened a couple times, then I changed laser gas again thinking that could be it, but no luck after cutting for a couple hours lighter 10 gauge material then going to 3/8 last night it threw 4063 code and also 4090 alarm LASER NOT GENERATE so I shut the machine down for the night, and started it this morning purged the laser gas three times and now finished cutting my 3/8 plate that I was part way though, as I type this it is still working first thing it cut was 4 parts that last night it cut one of them and about 3/4 of the second one when the alarm occurred. There is one more even larger part to cut yet on this program. Any thoughts on this. I am starting to think that something in the system is gradually building heat the more hours of operation go on then when it is worked to the max after this heat has been built up some. A little more history on the machine I bought it is had 500 hours on a rebuilt turbo blower, tubes and optics. the setup tech said it didn't look like any of it had been done, found out Amada recommended them be replaced but Amada or Fanuc didn't do it so tracked down and an aftermarket company had work order papers showing it was done. Machine sat in a warehouse for about a year unused it seems before I got it. Any ideas on what to check would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a million

 

[R4725]

I should have waited a few seconds longer, the alarm came up and shut down high power when it was cutting the large part, this particular part I have tried cutting 3 or 4 times and the machine stops in almost the exact spot every time.
Thanks again

 

[Foostrap]

Very first thing to do would be an internal and external leak test. Make sure there are no leaks. Contact Amada or Fanuc for procedure on your particular machine; recent resonators (4000iB or 4000iC) have an automatic leak check procedure.

Does it seem to cut fine for a certain time (like 20min), and then you have those alarms coming up? If so, the laser gas flow rate may not be adjusted high enough.

When you get the 4063 alarm, check your chiller water temperature right away; if the temp is too high (or too low, but that is rare), it could explain the alarms.

Also find out what power supply is giving you the alarm (check diagnostic 974; the PSU giving the alarm will be on 1. First value on the right being for PSU1).
If it is always the same power supply tripping out, there may be something wrong with that power supply or the matching box. A commong problem on older 4000 resonators are the matching box fans going bad. Sometimes it could be as simple as a bad fan.
If it is different power supply each time, then I would suspect a laser gas issue; either the laser gas specs (make sure bottle is certified); cooling or some type of gas circulation issue (bad blower?; is it a Fanuc rebuild blower or some third party rebuild?).

 

[R4725]

The service tech did a leak check when he was initially having trouble and said there was none if I shut the gas off over night it doesn't show any sign of a leak on the gauge. I have cut a ton of 1/4,3/8 and even 1/2 plate as long as they are small parts it works great cut real well but if it makes a long cut if I calculate by the feed rate 3.5-4 min long cut in 3/8 material is when it stopped. I will try to keep an eye on it so I can check the chiller temp right away.

My Chiller has two separate AC systems in it and one got a leak while shipping a piece of sheet metal came loose and rubbed a hole in a condenser tube. The tech said we will be able to cut with it running half capacity so, well it didn't he was running it and it cut out high temp two or three times and then he called someone more familiar and said no way you need all that things capacity. So I got a little more excited with the HVAC guy to come and get that thing fix right away (I had been waiting a month) I guess what I am getting at is would that have possible done damage or can we assume that it shut down soon enough to prevent damage?

I will get the problem to occur and check the diag address and see which power supply. Am I going to hurt anything working this machine if it is going to be dropping high power like this?

The blower was rebuild by a third party, I assume it is a fanuc blower though??? Laser gas is set at 22 psi my regulator doesn't have a flow meter on it though. There was a mark on the gauge at 22 when the machine got here so that's what I have been running.
Thanks a lot for the help

 

[SGAFFNEY]

Something else you might want to look at for a machine that sat that long is water flow. If the water was not drained properly when the machine was taken out of service then that can cause problems with build up. Were any of the waterline replaced at start up, if any of the lines are opaque shine a bright flashlight thru them to see if you can see any buildup especially at the low points where water might settle. If the flow is restricted thru one of the power supplies I could see that causing a overtemp without giving a flow alarm. If I am not mistaken there are a series of leds on each power supply. If you can safely look at the power supplies after the fault which led(s) are lit can tell you what type of fault occurred. You would need to talk to a service tech or have the Fanuc manuals to look this up but it might lead you in the right direction.

 

[R4725]

No none of the water lines were replaced. I broke my nozzle on a tip up last nigh and didn't get to cut anything that tripped the alarm. I did cut about 3 hours on 1/4 plate with out any trouble other than the broken nozzle there was three larger parts that I figured one of them would surely trip out on I watched the water temp on the chiller and it would climb to 26C then then the refrigeration would kick in and cool to just under 25C but if the lines are coated then that doesn't tell us much about it possible running hot. I'm trying a 2.0 nozzle today when I should be using a 1.4 so far it looks acceptable so I'm going to keep cutting and hopefully will see if I can answer some of the questions you guys asked. Thanks a lot

 

[R4725]

I have an update but I don't think its very helpful, I finally got the part cut that keeps tripping the alarm the thing is a tip up broke my 1.4 nozzle Thursday night, I had more on order but they won't be here till Monday so I have been using a 2.0 nozzle to cut 1/4 and 3/8 and I had to almost double the feed rate to get the cut quality up to where it should be, so assuming I got by because it just didn't take as long to cut the part, but I have been running the machine for quite a few hours steady today first cutting half inch for an hour or so then 1/4 inch for about an hour is all then now cutting 3/8 for a little other an hour with no trouble. Will try Monday with 1.4 nozzle and see if I can figure out which power supply unit is causing the alarm. While I was cutting the half inch I was using WACS 3.8 with the water off it cut fine for a while but then toward the end it the head would start riding up and obviously once it got so far away from the plate it wouldn't cut anymore. I run the HS98 regulation program to calibrate height and it did the same thing. The nozzle tip seemed clean, any thoughts on that?

 

[Foostrap]

I'm not familiar with the Amada tracing system. But I would suggest you post in a new thread for that new issue.

 

[R4725]

Amada service is here and ran a test and got the code 4063 to alarm power unit #3, it was a test that ramped up the power 75% then 85% then 95% and showed actual power at each percentage. Then he said he had the machine running at full power for 20 min while using a heat gun monitor temps inlet and outlet of each power unit and seemed to be fine so he blew out the coolers and stuff with air hose all fans appear to be operating correctly. Then I loaded a program 3/8 material and cut same thing happened alarmed out about 3/4 of the way through the large part I have been having trouble with. LED OH light up on the power unit both times 4063 came on, we checked temps again as fast as he could get the cover opened up and temps seemed fine and similar to the power unit next to it. I showed him address 975 to find out what unit caused the alarm, not saying he didn't know about it for sure but he didn't think to look there anyhow.

 

[R4725]

The program had one more large part to cut on it, we had one cover off the back of the resonator and checked temps all the power supply temps were about equal while cutting this part and it never tripped the alarm possibly because the center cover was off so there was more air flow??? There is some Fanuc Retrofit for the power supply cooling fans he is suggesting we try any thoughts?

 

[Foostrap]

OH (OverHeat) is usually caused by either a water cooling issue or a bad fan (matching box most likely, but could also be on power supply side). Have the tech check each matching box fan with a small plastic zip tie. Just looking at the fan to see if it rotates is not enough (it may turn due to airflow caused by other fans). Some matching boxes may also have 2 fans; make sure both are checked. Your cover removed story would also indicate an airflow issue (fan).

For older 4000W resonator, Fanuc does indeed have a retrofit; they basically flip the direction of the airflow (flip the fan), and move the temp sensor. That seems to increase the lifetime of the matching box fans. But if you have a bad fan, it won't fix the issue. If he is going to perform that retrofit, I would recommend to replace all the fans at the same time. Fans are cheap; and that way you're good to go for another 24,000 + hours.

 

[R4725]

Thanks for the help. Tech did check with a cable tie and said fans were turning. The retro fit kit you talk about is the same as what he is talking about. I will do them all. Thank again.

 

[JeanFreli]

First thanks for existing. I was looking for a site like that for so long. I work on a fiber laser ermaksan 2 kw for now two months and I never produce a piece without dross. But that I think with reading your comments I should do. But right now I have a problem with the cut. It start not to bad and more it go worst it is, to the point that it even don,t go through the materiel.Stainless 200 series .125....I try different power (1700 to 2000) and the same, just matter of time. They suggest around 200 inches per minute and 18 bar of n2 but It is not long and don't go through the materiel. My last speed 80. We change the focla lens last week (2000dollars) and I produce all the week with dross.Now the same problem came back. I read somewhere on this site that three things might be....Firts the aligment of the lens, the coolant and the output outlet.What is the output and where it is. I can cut a first piece not too bad and stop and ok. I do that a couple of time start and stop to adjust and when I let it go for a long rub (mean 6 or 7 seven pieces about one square feet) the dross appear bigger and bigger to the point that it don't go through. Can someone give me a clu. I'm learning all alone and doing a lot of hours on that. Sorry for my writting mistakes in english, it is not my first language.