VAST Gold freezes at changing

[[Th...]]

Hello community,

since about three weeks one of our VAST Gold has problems with changing the probes:
Sometimes it freezes after unloading up to 35 seconds; then it continues as usual. But rarely it also freezes around 5 to 10 seconds when it should pick up the probe inside of the magazine. This behaviour is not concentrated on specific probes.
The machine uses Calypso 6.0.28 with firmware version 33.17.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[[Da...]]

Which machine? And filters on controller box are new, right?

[[Th...]]

Dear Dane,

thanks for your answer. The machine type is CenterMax. So I took a look at the filters and there are none to renew.
Instead of filters the controller box is fitted with two working climate boxes at the rear.

[[No...]]

Does it make sounds or vibrates during the freeze? Then it might be a taring problem, often an early symptom of a failing head.

[[Th...]]

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I think that my english isn't good enough to explain this problem further, so I will describe it also in German. This could be easier for most readers.

EN:
No sounds, no vibrating. Looks like a totally shutdown of the head - but after some time it continues as intended.
The controlling devices' display also does not show at this time
probes or the taring symbol.
It could be an overheating problem, so we decided to turn the machine time to time off.

DE:
Keine Geräusche, keine Vibrationen. Sieht aus, als wäre der Messkopf abgeschaltet - aber nach einiger Zeit läuft es weiter wie vorgesehen.
Das Display am Bedienpult zeigt in dieser Zeit auch keine Tastkugeln an, das Tariersymbol fehlt.
Zur Sicherheit haben wir uns entschieden, die Maschine zeitweise abzuschalten, falls es ein Überhitzungsproblem sein sollte.

[[Th...]]

EN: With help of the instructions I created a picture of the BP26SE's display. This is what I see when it freezes.
DE: Mit Hilfe der Bedienungsanleitung habe ich die entsprechende Anzeige am Bedienpult zusammengebastelt. So sieht es aus, wenn es einfriert.

[[Ri...]]

We have similar issues on a couple Contura G2's
6.4.24 and 6.4.28

[[Ma...]]

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That image you posted is extremely helpful! The question mark beside the spring is telling us that the head cannot balance the stylus. As someone else mentioned, i suspect the head is wearing out. It would be best to schedule a service technician to come and they will be able to run some tests and determine if the head can be re-tuned or would need to be replaced

[[Th...]]

Thank you for your answer. (Due to the Corona shutdown I'm answering very late.)

Unfortunately, the technician did not find any issues. But since the Calypso update to 6.8 (2019) the problem reduced.

[[Ri...]]

We have a Contura with a Vast XT, it does a similar thing.
We had tech out and they believe the head is on the end of its life.

[[Th...]]

Thanks for your answer. Last month the technician told us, the head is nearly new. By the way, it clicks two times when it loads. We're unsure about this.

[[No...]]

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Did he/she also read out the collisions? New or not, a few heavy collisions (I know, nobody ever did it 😃 ) can kill a VAST head. A VAST XT is more vulnerable than a VAST, but I guess they both don't like that. On a XT it doesn't take much to wear the damping. Then the head needs longer and longer to settle after stylus change and taration (is this the right word?), causing the behavior you describe. We had many non-gold XT heads over the years and the worst ones died after 6 months.

Are the clicks coming from the head or from the controller? Two clicks from the controller are normal during taration.