Standalone feeder testing

[Mike]

There's a handy utility called feedertest.exe in the install directory of the RV software which can be used to test feeders on their own - very handy when doing repairs/maintainance.

You'll need to make up a cable to supply power & connect data from the PC COM port.

Be very careful - there is a mixture of mains and low-voltage on this connector! Your PC will really not like having 240V shoved up its serial port   

(RS sell the connectors, but you have to buy the pins in packs of 50 which makes it rather expensive to buy just one plug. I've just ordered some to make up some new feeder cables, and  will make the left-over pins available at cost+postage - I'll post another thread on this when available.)

Connect Live, neutral and Earth to mains, and the data lines to a D9 female for the PC COM port as follows :

0V : pin 5
Data : pin 3

[SteveW]

Ah, does this mean that feedertest doesn't work on normally connected feeders, and I should stop trying?

[SteveW]

OK, this feeder is indeed bust. I've swapped the controller board for a spiffy new one, and the symptoms are much the same. I get solenoid clicky test noises (one by one, rather than all at once with the old board), then a buzz forever.
If I'm right, the solenoids all sit on a brass? sled that should be moved by the stepper via a little rack & pinion, until it triggers the microswitch.
That sled doesn't move...

[Mike]

Ah, does this mean that feedertest doesn't work on normally connected feeders, and I should stop trying?

It should do - I'm not sure offhand which COM port the one on the DSP carrier board gets allocated to, but if selected in feedertest it should work.

Yes the sled should move (obviously if moving by hand turn power off as the stepper will lock it when powered) - don't recall if it hits the switch each time or only during startup.

My guess is a part has found its way into a gap somewhere and is jamming it, or a pin has bent

I recently stripped a feeder to convert two 12mm lanes into a single 24mm - it is a bit of a PITA to do but it does all come apart and go back together - you need to remove the slide rollers, one of which is on an eccentric shaft for adjustment.   

[SteveW]

Hmm, I'm offered COM1 and COM2 in feedertest. I guess the feeders are somewhere else. No big deal, been messing from within RVPlace.

I unstuck the sled with a bit more brute force - it slammed into the microswitch rather hard, but seems to have survived, and a few dozen slides back and forth and some spray-grease made it feel smooth. I didn't want to take it all apart - although, if the microswitch isn't so critical, I'm not so scared in the future.

Three lanes in this feeder do the push-pull thing on paper tape, but work fine in plastic, but the solenoids feel fine. (The springs don't seem to apply any useful tension, though). The wheel / O-ring sits higher on these three, but I can't see that there's anything I can do to adjust that. No big deal, I'll use plastic in those lanes.

I also milled a load of metal off the stripper plate on an orange-belt feeder, which seems to have made the lane that wouldn't pick, even with merge moves turned off, pick properly. This might rehabilitate the rest of my orange-belt feeders, especially if I can do a hack to hold the cover tapes out of the way.

[phonoplug]

It monitor the switch on every move of the sled by the way. In fact, it monitors it at the start of an index too and moves the sled 'home' before striking the pin if its not home. On a good feeder the sled can be quite loose, so its quite possible that the sled may move slightly if not used for a while (as in for a few parts) so thats why it has to home it before each index, if it determines from the switch its not home before an index.

By the way its also unwise to apply any oil to the pins. While it may sound a sensible thing to do, it only attracts paper dust and dirt eventually making them 'sticky'. I disassembled the whole block on a couple of my feeders and put them in an ultrasonic bath with some soap to de-grease them and they worked great after that.

[spiyda]

Can you run feeder.exe on a different PC to the one with the RV software installed ?

would be much easier to run it from an laptop on the workbench

Chris

[Mike]

Can you run feeder.exe on a different PC to the one with the RV software installed ?

would be much easier to run it from an laptop on the workbench

Chris

Yes, though ISTR it only supports a few low-numbered COM ports (1-2 or 1-4), so may need some fiddling in Device Manager if using USB-serials etc.

[spiyda]

Thanks Mike.