Rapid-Air CUT-TO-LENGTH WITH MULTI-STROKE User Manual

CUT-TO-LENGTH

WITH MULTI-STROKE

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

RAPID-AIR CORPORATION

4601 KISHWAUKEE ST. • ROCKFORD, IL 61109-2925

Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • Web Site: www.rapidair.com

Cut to Length with Multi Stroke Program

Cut to Length with Multi Stroke Program

The standard multi-stroke program is a multiple feed length program within a
specified job number. The different programmed feed lengths will be referred
to as sequences. Each sequence can be repeated many times with 0 being
entered for no repeats. Although this is the standard program, Rapid Air can
program other configurations in any combination to meet the customer’s
requirements.

The standard multi-stroke program has 10 jobs with 10 programmable
sequences per job. Each sequence can be a different feed length which can
be repeated multiple times. The following chart depicts the previous write-up.

GAG FEED

TOTAL JOBS 10

TOTAL SEQUENCES 10

TOTAL REPEATS 10

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The job, sequence and repeats are software programmable.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHARTS AND DRAWINGS DIRECTORY pg. 4

INTRODUCTION pg. 5

INTERFACING FEED WITH CUTTER pg. 6

ELECTRICAL CABLES AND AIR LINE pg. 7

INTERFACING SERVO FEED WITH CUTTER pg. 8

PRETEST WRITE UP pg. 9

LOADING MATERIAL pg. 10

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SERVO INTERFACING EXPLANATION pg. 11

PROGRAMMING PROCEDURE pg. 15

DRIVE ROLL PARALLELISM ADJ. pg. 23

TROUBLESHOOTING pg. 24

OPERATIONAL MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES pg. 26

PRECAUTIONS AND SAFETY pg. 30

WARRANTY pg. 31

LISTING OF CHARTS AND DRAWINGS

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time, are all that is required for a new setup. Routine jobs can be stored,
recalled, changed, saved or run with a simple 2 digit job number entry. Up to
10 jobs may be stored and recalled at will.

A resolver, direct coupled to the servo drive motor for precise digital position
feedback, enable roll positioning accuracy to +/-.0025 for any programmed
feed length or speed.

Operator can program feed lengths, up to 999.999 inches and % max speed
selection along with full jog features on a pendant unit. Allow the operator to
thread the material and inch it into position. The inch feature enables the
operator to jog the servo feed forward or reverse at a slow rate. The operator
can select jog to length or jog continuous to aid in threading up material.

The Rapid-Air Servo Roll Feed has been designed to mount on a free
standing table as close as possible to the cutter.

The precision mechanical roll feed unit has been designed for compactness
and ease of setup and installation. Three cables with twist lock connectors,
two cables for the servo and one connected to the cutter including one air line
are the only external connections required. The electrical controls are housed
in a small cabinet which have been mounted close to the working area. The
operator keypad and display are mounted on top of the control cabinet.

INSTALLATION AND MECHANICAL SETUP OF SERVO AND CUTTER

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drive will give the number of the control also check the disconnect fuses for
the correct fuse size.

460 VAC INPUT
If your plant has only 460 Vac power then a step down transformer is needed

in order to run the servo feed. If you purchased the transformer from Rapid­Air then it is required to connect and wire the 460 volt line to the enclosure. If
you did not purchase a transformer from Rapid-Air then a 3 KVA, 460/230
VAC 3PH, 60HZ step down transformer is needed before proceeding with the
electrical portion of the installation.

The electrical control enclosure is shipped completely ready to be connected
to the mechanical feed. Connected to the bottom of the enclosure are (2)
cables with keyed screw type connectors for connection to the motor. The
third connector is used to interface the cutter to the controls.

Position the electrical enclosure at a convenient location near the mechanical
feed and attach the cables. The motor cables are easily identifiable by the
amount of pins in the plugs.

An air line must be connected from the shop air to the air inlet of the servo
feed. The air should be at least 80 PSI continuous and should be dry filtered
and lightly lubricated for the best operation of the servo feed. The air inlet on
the servo feed is a 3/8-18 NPT pipe tap. The minimum air line size
requirement is 1/2” ID hose. - (2 CFM)

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INTERFACING SERVO FEED WITH A CUTTER

The servo drive unit is programmed to feed each time a signal is received
from the cutter switch. The servo will feed one progression and wait for the
next signal before it will feed again in automatic mode.

The command is in the form of a normally open contact from a proximity
switch located on the cutter and is activated when the cutter is returned.

If the feed/cutter was purchased complete then the interfacing was done for
you. If not then Rapid-Air has provided wiring to a terminal block for
interconnection purposes. The interface schematic provides the wire numbers
and how to connect the cutter to the feed.

This completes the initial setup of the servo feed to the cutter or other device.
The servo is now ready to run as intended.

If more complete interfacing is needed, please refer to the section (interfacing)
in this manual for an explanation of inputs and outputs available.

PRETEST FOR SERVO FEED AND CUTTER WITHOUT MATERIAL

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Once the servo/cutter combination is in place and the cables have been
attached, you can proceed with testing the unit. The first step is to turn on the
main disconnect switch on the electrical enclosure. Next, at the operator’s
console, pull the power on-off button to the on position. The button should
illuminate to indicate that there is power to the system.

The Pacific Scientific drive performs an initiate sequence to check it’s internal
program. At this time the display should show the Rapid-Air screen for 5
seconds before starting the main setup program. If you are comfortable with
programming a job then continue, it not, please refer to the “Programming
Procedure” located in this manual.

Follow the programming sequence for the operators terminal to input
parameters into job storage. Your servo feed has been fully tested before it
was shipped to your facility and this procedure is merely a test to insure that
all functions are still functional and the cables are properly seated.

Once you have programmed the required parameters, select the manual
mode of operation. If the option of air regulated upper feed roll was
purchased, check that the main air is at least 80psi and check that the roll
pressure gage is functional by adjusting the pressure up and down. This is
accomplished by turning the pressure adjust knob. If you did not purchase the
air regulated roll option then check that you have enough tension on the
material to avoid slipping during feeding. Open and close the feed and anti­backup rolls electrically or manually. Visually inspect that the rolls open and
close as you press the appropriate keys on the keypad or when using the
manual levers.

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Select the “inch” function (F2 on keypad) on the manual mode screen.
Visually check that the rolls rotate both forward and reverse with the
corresponding key. The speed is preset to creep the rolls at a slow speed for
manual positioning of the material.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to place your fingers or any foreign material into
the rolls. Injury to the operator or damage to the servo rolls could result.

After you have verified that the rolls and air logic are operational, you can
experiment with the single cycle moves. The procedure is outlined in the
programming section of this manual.

After all the checks have been made and you feel comfortable with the
programming of the servo controller, place the servo in automatic mode. The
servo will feed and when done the cutter will cycle. This will verify that the unit
is working correctly.

LOADING MATERIAL INTO THE SERVO FEED

Upon the satisfactory completion of all the tests, you should be ready to load a
strip of material into the servo feed/cutter combination.

Step number one is to select the manual mode of operation on the operators
console. If you purchased the series 100 servo and added the air operated
roll release option then choose “Operate Rolls”. This will allow you to open

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the feed rolls and anti-backup rolls to accept the material. You could also
open the rolls manually by lifting the lever mounted on the side of the servo
feed. Position the leading edge of the material near the center of the entry
rolls and adjust the edge guides on the cascade rolls to the proper width
setting. Open the feed rolls and anti-backup rolls. Hand feed the material into
the servo unit until it protrudes out of the feed rolls and starts into the guide on
the cutter. Close the feed rolls to capture the material.

Check the roller force pressure to be sure that there is enough pressure to
prevent slippage but not too much to induce camber into the material. The
pressure setting is the amount of force necessary to move the material into
the press at the speed and feed programmed. You may find it necessary to
readjust the force as you finalize the setup procedure. The amount of force
needed will vary depending on the width and type of material being fed. Make
a note of the final setting to aid in the setup of the servo feed the next time the
same material is run.

You are now ready to begin testing the complete system under power. To
check the progression, cycle the feed and then cut or use single cycle mode.
If the progression is correct, no further adjustments are necessary. If the
progression is either short or long, go to the troubleshooting chart and perform
the sequences described there for inaccurate feeding, once the feed
progression has been accurately set and the repeatability is satisfactory, you
are ready for full automatic mode.

SERVO INTERFACING EXPLANATION

A. TAUT STOCK INPUT (J52)TB1-6)

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This is a normally open contact from a switch or device that monitors the loop
of material prior to the servo feed. When the material reaches a point that it
trips the switch, a taut stock has been reached. This input, when received,
immediately drops the automatic which stops the feed in progress. The
material should be repositioned in the die before restarting the automatic
sequence, as the progression was lost when the taut stock occurred.

This input also could be used as a “No Stock” switch that would monitor
whether or not there is material available to feed.

B. ANTI-BACKUP INPUT (J52)TB1-8)
Whether the anti-backup rolls where purchased with the unit or came on the

unit standard, they can be activated to raise in the automatic cycle. The anti­backup rolls, by design, keep the material from sliding back during the pilot
operation. They can become a hindrance if the material tend to walk to one
side or the other during the feed cycle.

The anti-backup switch was designed in for this program. If this problem is
being experienced then a switch or a cam switch with a normally open contact
can be wired in from the press. Usually this switch is activated when the
press is at 180 degrees or when the die is closed to be sure that the material
is being held in position. The rolls will raise for the amount of degrees that the
switch is activated, letting the material reposition itself in line with the die. It is
crucial that this switch is not activated for too long a time because when the
die releases the material, the material will slide back which will cause a
misfeed. This feature has to be used in conjunction with the main rolls being
raised or it will not give the desired results as one of the rolls will be holding
the material from moving.

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C. ENABLE INPUT (J4)Pin 5 & 6)
The enable input is shipped from the factory, jumpered, so that the Pac-Sci

unit is ready to work after the initialization procedure is complete.

If it is desired that the servo controls are not functional until other equipment
or safety source is activated before this unit can function then a normally open
contact can be interfaced to this input. If at any time during the feed cycle the
input changes state then the feed will stop at this position. If feeding stock,
the reference will be lost and the stock will have to be manually repositioned
to the correct location. The automatic cycle will be dropped and have to be
restarted.

D. ENABLE OUTPUT (J52)TB2-15)
This output must be tied to a solid state relay to interface to the outside world.

The solid state relay must have a D.C. coil and should have a rating of 3-30
VDC. The Rapid-Air #69100165 is recommended for this application. This
output is high whenever the enabled input is activated.

E. CUTTER OUTPUT (J52)TB2-13)
This output must be tied to a solid state relay to interface to the outside world.

The solid state relay must have a D.C. coil and should have a rating of 3-30
VDC. The Rapid-Air #69100165 is recommended for this application. This
output goes high at the end of every feed and stays high for the amount of
time programmed by the operator when the job number was programmed.

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F. AUTOMATIC OUTPUT (J52)TB2-11)
This output must be tied to a solid state relay to interface to the outside world.

The solid state relay must have a D.C. coil and should have a rating of 3-30
VDC. The Rapid-Air #69100165 is recommended for this application. This
output goes high whenever automatic is selected on the program panel. Any
faults will cause the automatic output to go low.

G. KEYPAD AND DISPLAY INTERFACE (RS232 PORT)
The keypad/display is the interface between the operator and the resident

program. The Pacific Scientific drive is purchased with a great many
capabilities, none of which can be used unless a program is written to utilize
these capabilities. Rapid-Air put a great deal of time making a program that is
user friendly and yet gets the job done efficiently. We took all the questions
and constructive criticism and came up with a program that would cover all the
applications, yet be easy to interface and program by a customer.

H. STANDARD PROGRAM-INSTRUMENTS INTERFACE (J52)TB1-14)
With the jumper in place, the standard program is active. Remove jumper,

recycle power and the Data Instruments is active. Only the manual mode will
work with the keys at this time.

If an operator reads the programming procedure in this manual and then
reads the screen parameters listed as they are displayed and acts on them by
inputting data as needed, the servo can be up and running in a very short
time.

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1. Select a job number.

2. Input or review parameter for that job number.

3. Thread up material in manual mode.

4. If properly interfaced, go into automatic mode.

RESET JOB PARAMETERS
The reset job parameters routing should be used with special caution. We

incorporated it as a user function for two reasons.

The first reason is if a problem caused the displayed parameters to be garbled
because of a program glitch, then by resetting the job parameters the problem
could be cleared.

The second reason is if there were a number of different jobs in memory that
were no longer required, then by resetting the job parameters, all the job
numbers would be reset to their default values, which includes putting all
zeros in the feed length and strokes per minute area of the program.

CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION!
Keep a hard copy record of program numbers and data associated with them

for reference if needed. If this function is used in a way other than what it was
designed for then all previous data is lost and cannot be recovered.

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