CNC Bender ProControl 10-20070330

REVISION Information

10-20070330, March 30, 2007

REPAIRED: Pressure Die Boost Issue

The Degrees from Goal value was acting as if it were the Degrees from Start value. This has been repaired.

NEW: Servo Module Programmable Switch Logic is now Controllable

CNC Bender now allows users to enter the User Interface tab menu in the Low Level menu.

The I2T servo cards used on CNC Bender systems have a feature called "Programmable Limit Switch". A programmable limit switch is controlled by two positions along or around an axis. The first position is the LOW and the second position is the HIGH. The low and high values are floating point values. There are eight programmable limit switches per servo axis. The first use of this feature is the Tube-Support Up/Down setting. See the Tube-Support Location section for an example and details for how to use the programmable limit switch values.

NEW: Automatic Shutdown for BENDER SYSTEM

A new Automatic Shutdown process is initiated when a loss of TCP/IP connection to any top hat module around the bender is discovered. This allows for a much-improved and smoother bender shutdown process.

OLD SHUTDOWN PROCESS	The older process required that Windows be turned off using the Start menu. Then the operator opened the back of the operator station to switch the station be opened and the MinuteMan MN350 powered down.
NEW SHUTDOWN PROCESS for CNC BENDER	The shutdown new process is much easier... Press the E-stop on the operator station. Power down the bender. CNC Bender will sense a loss of TCP/IP communication and propose a shutdown in 15 seconds. (This shutdown can be overridden by the operator if he decides to stop the shutdown of CNC Bender.) The CNC Bender UPS (inside the operator station) will initiate Windows shutdown after 60 seconds of loss of power. (This has been verified for both Windows 2000 and Windows XP) The CNC Bender UPS will power down 90 seconds after Windows was shutdown. (Total shutdown time: Approximately 3 minutes)
Replacement of "Auto Heal"	The AUTO HEAL process was designed to attempt to re-connect any lost TCP/IP connection between the operator station and the various modules around the bender. This feature had only limited benefit, so it was replaced by the AUTO SHUTDOWN feature that senses if the bender power has been shutdown at the electronics enclosure.
Setup of MinuteMan PowerCenter Software	RECOMMENDED SETTINGS FOR POWERCENTER Software Shutdown Windows in 60 seconds Begin verbal warning in 30 seconds Repeat verbal warning every 10 seconds

NEW: User Interface SKINS

CNC Bender now allows users to enter the User Interface tab menu in the Low Level menu.

1. Enter the Low Level menu
2. Choose the User Interface menu
3. Choose a skin name from the skin list (Click on the image at the right to see the list of skins)

This shows three examples of different skins in CNC Bender ProControl:

REPAIRED: Pressure Die Boost Inhibit Zones Logic for Multi-Bending

The multi-bending feature allows for retracting the pressure die multiple times during one bend. The pressure die inhibit zone logic would not always work correctly when the multi-bending feature was enabled. This a logic issue has been repaired.

NEW: CNC Bender Speed Control Redesigned

The new CNC Bender speed control is designed to be easier to use than the older spin buttons. This fixes the issue of operators having difficulty pressing the up-down arrows to control the speed.

NEW: Dynamic Options Redraw Redesign

The Dynamic Options controls have been redesigned so that they no longer flash on the screen when moving the option selection up or down in the Dynamic Options list.

REPAIR: Axis Monitor Dialog Display

The Axis Monitor dialog no longer displays and freezes on the screen at CNC Bender startup.

NEW: PreCommands for LOAD or START

These new Dynamic Options allow operators to enable a custom COMDEF (Command Definition) before either the Load Position or the Start Position moves in the Process List for bending. Use this feature to enable/disable actuators just before either of these moves occur in the Process List.

User-Definable and therefore Flexible

Because these reference general COMDEF files (PreCommand_LoadPosition and PreCommand_StartPosition) the motion or action that these PreCommands perform can be adjusted to fit the application by anyone familiar with using the COMDEF.exe and CIO.exe programs.

For example, it would take only a few minutes to reconfigure CNC Bender to actuate several new outputs, then watch for any number of inputs in either of these COMDEF commands. No new programming from Advanced Tubular is required to adjust these commands.

PreCommand Load Position Enable / Disable	Enable this option to insert the PreCommand_LoadPosition COMDEF in the process list immediately before the Feed axis move to Load position command is issued in the list. The PreCommand_LoadPosition command can be modified to activate/deactivate custom actuators immediately before the carriage is moved to the Load position.
PreCommand Start Position Enable / Disable	Enable this option to insert the PreCommand_StartPosition COMDEF in the process list immediately before the Feed axis move to Start position command is issued in the list. The PreCommand_StartPosition command can be modified to activate/deactivate custom actuators immediately before the carriage is moved to the Start position.