To take a Screen Shot Fanuc, you will need to have either a data card installed or a USB
MDI
In MDI I/O channel needs to be set (4) data card or (17) memory stick
Stick the Card in (or the stick)
Press and hold the shift key for about 10 seconds. You will see the clock stop. That’s how you know it worked. Time will stand still at this point and all the people around you will appear static.
Try not to panic, the world didn’t end. Your control just needs to ponder a while and think about what you just did.
Stop The Clock
Once it’s done your clock wil start again (phew).
Then press CARD
Screen will show what is on the data card
The BMP files are your screen shots. You can then view them on your laptop or PC.
Now I know you are saying “what is the fuckin is the use of that”
Well It’s just so that I can show off my knowledge.
Parameter
If this does not work then you may need to alter parameter 3301 bit zero and bit 7 need to be 1
Should look like this to make it work.
Screen Shot Fanuc
A good use is when you are changing parameters. There’s nothing worse than changing a parameter and trashing a £100,000 machine. Help is at hand, luckily you did a screen shot before you changed the parameter and you can view it and change it back.
With this parameter it wont work because you need to switch it on!!!
Good luck with the massive dent in the guarding and the bent tool. No screen shot will fix that.
Over-travel alarm, make this a thing of the past with this parameter
You first need to go to the setting screen in MDI.and put a 1 in the parameter write box.
Today we are going to change the parameter that stops the machine generating an alarm when it gets to the end of travel.
End Of Travel Alarm Fanuc Parameter
Now I need to start by apologising to all the lovely people at Fanuc. All the years I have moaned and moaned about the fact that when you get to the end of the machine stroke on a Fanuc control you get a stupid alarm.
Actually I have been totally wrong and I offer my sincere apologies to all who have been hurt by my nasty comments about this.
If you set parameter 1300 BIT 1 (NAL) to a 1 then you do not get an alarm when you travel to the end of the machine stroke.
This should make it work. If it doesn’t then maybe you should call the Samaritans.
Very solid nice big Hyundai Wia CNC two axis lathe with Guide i, what more could you want?
You know like when you have been on holiday eating loads of fancy food and you get home and all you fancy is a nice simple chips n egg?
Staple diet of my childhood. Anyway that is what this machine is. It’s the chips n egg of the CNC Lathe world.
Having just worked on a Nomura sliding head that’s as complicated as a nuclear reactor (are they complicated, I don’t know?) Anyway it just seems nice to come back to some nice simple stuff.
This is a no messing sturdy beast, none of your namby pamby driven tool shit.
No Y axis, and no stupid sub spindle to mess about with. G12.1 forget it. C axis no way.
Happy days, easy training job simple two axis CNC Lathe with a Fanuc i series control. Oh and it’s got Guide i too. I’m gonna love this.
Hyundai Wia With Guide i
Seem to get loads of these lately an I’m kind of getting to like them mmm maybe not. There’s loads of good stuff mixed in with some bad shit.
Sorry I’m rambling.
Guide i Did You Know?
Well I certainly didn’t. Anyway it’s got this button called alter.
Always wondered what it did so today after some deep breathing exercises I plucked up the courage to press it. Put on a mask, gloves and full PPE.
Ah but wait don’t go off to some other boring stupid website with naked chicks or naked dudes. No no no.
After much deliberation me and my new bestie (James) tried every combination.
Anyway if you highlight an M code and then press the beast. Guess what it comes up with a list of all your M codes, all their meanings and you get to pick one.
Woopee, err, not. Well I suppose it must have a use. If you didn’t know the M code you needed I suppose it could be good.
Now I lost a good 10 minutes of my life trying to sort out what this button did and I’m not impressed.
No matter how totally bladdered my mates are at the pub tonight I wont be able to impress them with this one.
Anyway enough said, I bet someone at Fanuc got promoted after inventing this exceptional, programming aid. A close runner up to the Fanuc PROGRAM RESTART button as another contender for the “this button is fuckin useless” award 2023.
Guide i Did You Know
Honestly this one really is worth reading. When you want to call a sub-program and you are not sure what number it is this one helps.
Press
Then from the screen move over to subprogram.
This takes you into the directory and from here you can select your subprogram. It will insert this into your program complete with the M98. And if you use names for your programs then it puts it in those nice little V shaped brackets. What do you call those funny brackets by the way. Does anyone out there know?
Names For Programs
Using names for programs is cool. When you are an old school pre-septuagenarian git like me it seems real 21st century. Saves on all those shitty four digit numbers and bracketed descriptions.
This is mine above <FACE-GUIDEI>, certainly save on typos. I recon if you get into the habit of using this it could be very useful.
If this sub program call feature is on Trust pilot I will give it 6 out of ten or maybe 7.
So bloody shit-faced convoluted to find. I mean who the fuck would think right I’ll press this button called FIGURE I mean it’s bound to take me somewhere where I can input my sub programs straight from the folder they are in.
Enough said.
The Machine David The Machine
Oh yea, some stuff I like on this machine.
Absolute encoders, no stupid zero return. Switch it on wait a few minutes press the standby button and you are good to go.
No open and close the door shit, no rotate the turret shit no no no just switch the beast on. Lovely.
Clever that is, my tellies at home are the same, can safely say I never had to zero return any of my many 50″ tellies. One in every room by the way except for the shit-house.
No open and close the door shit, no rotate the turret shit no no no just switch the beast on. Lovely.
Gear Change
Now I knew this thing had a gearbox but I couldn’t get the thing to change gear. Well actually you don’t need to. Just select a speed in G97 and it gets the right gear. What’s all the fuss you ask? Well if you are in G96 and it’s in low gear. Imagine you are facing off a part, well it will get to 1000 revs and just stay there.
Anyway the technique is as follow
You will get low gear
G97 S500 M3 G96 S200
You will get high gear
G97 S1200 M3 G96 S200
The G97 will make the machine select the correct gear.
Hand wheel Hyundai Wia
The jog and hand wheel are the same mode just press this button.
When an increment is selected the button will start to flash indicating that You are in hand-wheel mode.
There is a slight delay in starting the jog mode so be patient. A couple of times I thought it wasn’t working and started playing around with other buttons.
Turret Index
Turret will only index in manual mode when the X axis is at zero return. It is probably better to use MDI as it doesn’t mind where it is. Obviously take a good look at the surroundings before pressing cycle start.
Indexing the turret is done with these buttons. Hold in the middle one and press either of the outside ones to move turret clockwise or counter-clockwise. Press and hold for continuous rotation, Top red number is station number.
Don’t forget when you index the turret the tool is not active, the Fanuc control will only display last tool used in MDI or in program.
Start Spindle Hyundai Wia
As with most Fanuc controlled machines you will have to set a speed in MDI before you can start the machine manually. Once the speed is set use these buttons. Press and hold central button and your direction to start spindle manually,
If you press forward or reverse without the central button the machine will jog the axis at the programmed speed. You can also do this with the door open. lucky you.
Rapid does not work at all with the door open.
The jog feed potentiometer will stop all movement in rapid if set to it’s lowest position, It needs just one notch to make rapid work. A little trick, you only make this mistake once. A call to some smart arsed service engineer who says “did you try moving the dial one click?”
Zero Return
Select zero return then press direction key. One press and you don’t need to keep your finger on the button, This machine has a tailstock so keep an eye out for it when referencing the Z axis,
You can set both axis going together.
I like the door locks on this machine because they release on their own, There is no button to open and close, I like that,
A Room With a View
The viewing window is a bit small but I suppose its a good safety thing when you have a big chuck spinning at 3000 RPM.
One very concerning thing is the fact that there is no safety back kick plate on the chuck pedals, This is a 2022 machine so I would have thought it would have one.
It means you can accidentally press the pedal and open the chuck!! Holy fuckin shit.
We decided to put the pedal under the bench so you couldn’t press it by accident.
Guide i Again
Every time I use guide i I find something new that I like about it. Me and Guide i are definitely in a love hate relationship.
This time I found the two things above.
Fixed Forms
I recon with some work using Fixed forms is a good quick way of programming, Given time you could get a really good library of things.
This would make program creation very quick. Multi screen editing is also good on Guide i. You can have several programs open together and switch between them when editing.
This also means no pesky background edit where you get locked in a fuckin time warp and nothing works until you find the escape button (BG END)
Graphics Graphics Sodding Graphics
Graphics are still pretty shitty, When you alter the rotation or size of the part you lose everything and have to start again.
How annoying is that. I mean I should be used to it by now.
Come on Fanuc this is 2024 not 1981. There is no speed control on the graphics either so it’s all over in a flash.
Not sure on this one can somebody explain? Some controls have a speed control on graphics and some don’t!!
Hyundai Wia Tool Measure
Tool measurement with the tool arm uses the hand-wheel to drive tool towards the probe. Never been a great fan of this way of setting tools but I suppose it’s still better than cut and measure.
You can index the turret with the arm down so beware. Jog and rapid don’t work when the arm is down so that’s good.
No lights on the probe! What no lights on the probe, that’s annoying. When you make contact with the probe the axis just stops, There is no light so you are not sure it has stopped.
It does jump to the correct offset for you and it zeros the wear, Good because not all machines do that.
Big Chuck
It is a big 12 station turret but with a large chuck therefore adjacent tools can easily cause a problem so beware.
Take a look below the tool you are using as it approaches the chuck. Better still bring em in manually just to check before running.
I know you are never supposed to have the jaws above the chuck outside but that’s difficult with hard jaws but it’s really important to watch out for this one.
Big Fanuc Guide i Screen
All men love big TV’s, why is that? I know I do.
Anyway this machine a has a big “fuck off” screen. Big screen means more keys are visible happy days.
Means you don’t have to keep using arrow keys to find butttons.
QWERTY keyboard too, What utter luxury.
Hyundai Wia Easy to Use
All in all I liked the interface on this Hyundai Wia machine, Pretty easy to get it to do most things. Not too many frustrations. Apart from the slight delay on some buttons like the jog, I’d prefer to be able to index the turret anywhere and I don’t like using the Hand-Wheel to measure tools. A light to indicate when you are touching the probe wouldn’t go a miss either.
Tool Change Position
This Hyundai Wia has G30 P2 which you can set a position in parameter 1241 and have a second Zero Return position (G30 P2 U0 w0)
Personally I wouldn’t use it. You will need loads of different tool change positions on a machine this big. Otherwise you’ll be travelling a mile to get to small jobs.
I set it up to use local sub routines. This means I can call program 500 in any program and it can be a unique tool change position. Read this.
My tool change position is local to this program so you can change it for every job.
A visit to Halesowen to train on this beast. Nice simple two axis Colchester Tornado 90, this guys got six, mmmm.
This one has the following:
12 station turret, just about enough.
Fanuc 21i T and it’s got Macro too, lovely.
Absolute encoders, useful no zero return required
4000rpm spindle with a collet chuck
Bar-feeder (hydrafeed)
VDI turret these are great for accurately and quickly changing tools
This particular machine has a 42mm bar capacity.
Available from Fortis Tools
VDI
No it’s not a sexually transmitted disease, it’s that funny round thing with a pattern on at the back of the tool.
If you have this you’ll love it because it means you can quickly change a complete tool holder and it repeats really accurately.
Halesowen West Midlands
I’ve not been to Halesowen since 1974 I actually worked as a singer in a nightclub there. The band was “Sweet Rain” I wouldn’t google that one if I was you, if you don’t want to see some dodgy porn movie.
There was certainly no sexual innuendo intended back in 1970 when that name was conceived.
That’s me back then
These dates are not accurate but the price of oil quadrupled in 1974 and there was a shortage. I remember there was a 50mph speed limit on the motorway meaning the 50 mile journey took much longer.
It takes even longer today but that’s another grumble for a different post from me.
I’m a bit bored with 70’s music now but it was great at the time. I remember what it was like to be a tall man, my platforms adding over a foot to my total height. Us little guys were very reluctant to let the platforms go.
I still wear mine on occasions where I want to impress, especially with my mates all being taller than me.
Colchester Tornado
I remember years ago trying to set up a CNC Machine shop on a budget and it was almost impossible. The cost of machines being massive and the second hand market almost non existent. I ended up buying a Beaver, stop sniggering you infantile.
I know it’s now a euphemism but this was 1981 and Beavers were known for their hard work and making dams.
Sorry am I digging myself deeper into this?
Anyway if there had have been good CNC machines around then at the right price I’d now be sunning myself on a Caribbean island instead of writing this gratuitous shit that nobody reads.
Don’t know what gratuitous means but it sounds impressive in that sentence you must admit.
These machines can certainly deliver, now they are not exactly the Carlos Alcaraz in terms of looks but unless you’re a CNC geek like me you wont be taking selfies with one of these to impress your mates with the company you keep.
They ooze pragmatism, much like my wife they get things done, she can plough a large field in an afternoon on a good day.
My Colchester Tornado doesn’t have a tool presetting arm like this one.
That really is a crying shame but let’s not get too upset
Here’s a nice video on how to use cut and measure.
Definitely more time consuming than if you have a measurement arm. So it’s something to look out for if you are buying one of these machines.
Calibration of these arms is not too difficult either. I would suggest you get some one like me or a service engineer to do it for you the first time and watch carefully. You should be able to do it yourself next time.
There is no separate rapid override on this Colchester Tornado. It’s just one control. A bit strange and scarry in equal measures until you get used to it.
I actually got to like it in the end.
No markings at all on ours, welcome to the world of old machines. Anyway it overrides your rapid and your feed rate all in one dial.
Just reember to leave it at 12 o’clock.
Absolute Encoders
Cool, very cool. When you switch this beast on you don’t need to zero return it. Just straight on with business.
What’s An Absolute Encoder David?
I haven’t had an alcoholic drink for nearly 20 years, that’s another story for another time. Anyway I still go out with my mates and they still get absolutely blind, dogshit, pissed.
Come 2am I am the only one who knows exactly where I am, in fact I know where I am at all times.
Well I’m the one with the absolute encoder.
Absolute encoders know where they are even when you switch off your machine. Therefore no need to zero return the axis.
New Shit (Colchester Tornado)
Yes always something new, I must admit it is amazing now a days how you can use shit in almost any context. In my days it was something confined to a toilet, but now it can mean whatever you want.
I personally use it everywhere but I have always loved swearing. My mum used to say “it’s not clever to swear”. Now listen kids I admit to not being clever but I must tell you swearing is great fun, long may it live.
Anyway “new shit” I learn something new on every machine I work on.
M51 means that M30 no longer stops and rewinds. M30 just rewinds and the machine will carry on.
It now thinks it’s an M99.
M52, you guessed it switches the M30 back to it’s normal self.
(Never seen that before, probably made up by Mr Colchester)
No G53….. What?
Not sure if this is an option but most newer machines I work on have it.
Fuck, this ain’t got it. Shame. Can I live without it?
Probably not, watch this space.
What is G53? You mean you don’t know? Shame on you.
No Copy n Paste
Editing is really painful on this beast as you can’t copy n paste at all and using brackets for comments is a mind numbing painful experience to be avoided at all cost. It does tend to piss one off but work with what you got boys.
Editing
So if you are buying a Colchester Tornado be prepared to take a trip back in time when it comes to the editing process.
Check what spec the control is. Not sure how you do this but I recon you just have to try these G codes to see if they work.
If you know a more scientific way then please let me know. Anyway if this was my machine I would definitely be doing my major program surgery offline.
Nice touch
It has the normal feed-hold but it also has cycle hold.
This means you can halt the program and stop spindle then open the door and have a look around. Then when you close the door you can carry on. Great. The luxury.
How Simple.
You would be forgiven for thinking all CNC’s would do this, take it from me, and I’m old enough to remember when we had fish in the rivers instead of tampons and human excrement, they fuckin don’t.
Stuff I like on Colchester Tornado
Second hand these machines are great value.
Most of em have VDI turrets. (Look out for it)
Cycle hold can stop program for inspection .
If you press F2 you can rotate the turret in reverse to quickly get your tool.
Absolute encoders (no need to zero return)
Loads of em about so therefore easy to get fixed.
Easy to fix yourself.
4000rpm spindle.
Fanuc control, and yes I slagged it but everyone knows it, so if you buy one of these and you advertise for someone to use it they will flood your inbox.
Stuff I Don’t Like on Colchester Tornado
Fanuc control, shit to edit.
Rapid override scare the living bollocks out of me.
Buttons tend to wear down, might be worth investing in new ones.
Tend to be dirty but you can always clean it.
Old Fanuc controls have very small memories.
No tool arm, it’s an option so check if you have one.
Conclusion
This machine is not super precision, it’s not super fast although definitely not slow.
To make a car analogy it’s like buying an old ford car. You know you won’t need a second charge on your house in order to get it fixed and there are loads of em about.
Parked on the drive it might look a bit shit but never mind. My mate once said to me, sat behind the wheel of his new Mercedes “you still driving that old wardrobe”
No-one gets to insult my V70 Volvo. “Yes” was my reply “and when it breaks down I’ll put it in my wheelie bin with the rubbish and buy another one for one months payment on that Mercedes”
Because the Colchester Tornado is common there is plenty of knowledge and bits out there.
Old Fanuc Control? Well that means it’s easy to find someone to work it.
Easy to get training (just come to me)
The price means you can almost have one in the garage. My wife said no but you might have more luck.
Background edit, I only really get to hear about background edit when people get stuck in it. It’s a bit like being accidentally locked in a toilet you feel a bit of a twat and very embarrassed in equal measures.
This button is your closest friend
Now I made it real big because one day it will save your life.
You know when you play Monopoly and you get one of those cards that says “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE”
If you get sent to jail you just present this card and your sentence is immediately quashed it’s a bit like having Donald Trump as a mate.
It doesn’t work for shop lifting by the way I tried it as a child when I nicked a tin of Spam from the Coop. Fortunately in those days the police were never involved as they knew your parents would beat you to within an inch of your life at the slightest hint of petty larceny.
Anyway press this button all your woes will cease.
And if that doesn’t work this one is the nuclear option.
The first one is for the program you’re actually background editing. Don’t forget you can have more than one program that you are background editing, more on this later.
Anyway this button stops them all, a clean sheet as it were.
Oh Dear
The reason people get into such a mess with this is because you can actually get into background editing by accident it’s easy.
If you are in a folder and you press INPUT then whatever program your cursor is on immediately comes up for background editing.
If you do this a few times then you can have several programs on the screen to edit.
You can switch between these programs and edit any one. You can copy and paste between them which makes writing programs from templates really easy.
Use the FORWARD and BACKWARD softkeys to switch between programs
To escape this lot you need the help of this key
This will end it all.
Background Edit is Amazing
Yes background edit is really useful, maybe amazing is stretching it a bit, but it does have many uses. Editing a few programs together is the bit I like.
If you want to edit whilst you are running a program then that’s also useful.
Background edit Warning
Don’t hit the fuckin reset button!!!!
Obviously this will stop everything so why would you do it?
Well maybe you are one of those very naughty boys who uses it to get to the head of the program when editing.
When in background edit it’s easy to press reset except this time you just stopped everything because your program is running.
Change Your Habits
Use rewind, some controls have a rewind button
use this to get to the head of the program.
On other controls it’s LINE SEARCH then press TOP or BOTTOM
This will take you directly to the head of your program or the end of your program.
Nothing is stopped and no one is harmed.
Why I Hate Background Edit
It’s an absolute pain in the bollocks mainly because it is so easy to accidentally get into background edit and not even realise.
You keep pressing the MDI button and the screen just wont change. If you have Guide i then you will get a warning when you switch over and you can’t do anything until you end it.
To be honest I don’t hate it at all. You just need to be aware that you need to come out of it to do various other things.
Another Useful Feature
If you want to use a program for reference. In other words you want to look at what’s in it but you need to be careful not to alter it.
Press BG EDIT then type in your program number
Press REF EXEC
Your program will appear in green meaning it is “read only” so you can’t accidentally alter it.
What’s Running in The Background?
You can also call your running program in background edit. This will also appear in green and be read only.
use this to get to the head of the program.
then press TOP or BOTTOM 
then type in your program number