Phone and email support is free with DTM Machine Service. I can be reached by calling (608) 397-9517 or by email at dan@dtmmachine.com.
Here are some tips to quickly find a solution for complex problems:
- Have your machine model and serial number handy. The serial number tells me the model year of the machine, which then gives me a general idea of the machine composition.
- What doesn’t work? What does work? What do you do to recover from the fault?
- How often does it happen: every time, intermittently, only with certain patterns, or in certain places within the pattern?
- What led up to the fault, and for how long has it been occurring? Was there a recent repair or collision in that area of the machine?
- In order to resolve the fault, what have you tried so far and what are the results?
- Does the software show any fault messages? Are there any trip codes shown on the servos and inverters?
- If the fault is electrical / electronic, I will likely need a copy of your schematics. The easiest way to get them to me is via email: dan@dtmmachine.com. When scanning, set the copier to a 95% reduction so the original A4 paper size of the schematic fits fully onto standard 8.5″ x 11″ letter size paper.
- For electronic faults, I may need to know the status of the PLC lights. When getting the lights, it is important that the machine is in the faulty condition. Run the machine until the fault occurs, leave the motors running, do not operate any of the operator controls or make any operational changes in the software, and write down the PLC lights at that point.
- For most GDrive RT-equipped machines, instead of the lights it is normally easier to use the software to capture the instantaneous status of the machine. This is accomplished within the Simulator by opening the Options pull-down menu and selecting “Write Status to Disk”. This creates three status files in plain text format. The three files, found in C:\GDrive, are: SYSTIOL.TXT, SYSTPAD.TXT, and SYSTSTA.TXT These files contain all of the information found within the F5 window of the Simulator, from the instant that you clicked on “Write Status to Disk”.