Dual Lane Gas Fill Press Troubleshooting

Common Problems

Last Updated: Friday, October 7, 2022

CAUTION: DISABLE ALL MACHINE POWER AND OBSERVE LOCKOUT PROCEDURES PRIOR TO MAKING ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE MACHINE. FAILURE TO DO SO COULD RESULT IN SEVERE EMBARRASSMENT, INJURY OR DEATH.

PROBLEM: POWER ON LAMP won't illuminate.
SOLUTION: 1. Check E-STOP.
2. Ensure gates are closed and main power is on. The touch screen message banner will display the current status.
3. Check HMI display and see of Power Off message is displayed. If not, replace indicator light.
PROBLEM: Machine won't go into AUTO or STEP cycles.
SOLUTION: 1. Machine is in an error condition; check display for error, reset
2. Control power is not on; see above.
PROBLEM: Glass seems to move around, fall over or lose position.
SOLUTION: 1. Vacuum cups are dirty or damaged. Check; clean; replace as necessary.
Vacuum Cups damaged. Check and replace as needed.
Vacuum cups blocked of choked down by debris. Clean. Use warm soapy water to clean vacuum cups; do NOT use alcohol, which will dry the cups out.
Vacuum filters need to be replace. Check and replace as necessary.
Incoming air pressure low. Check main FRL.
PROBLEM: Glass sandwich does not line up.
SOLUTION: Power lost mid cycle, causing the vacuums to turn off and the glass to then come together. This can be the result of opening one of the yellow guarding doors. Don't do this before glass has been pressed together when avoidable.
Part Present / Decel sensor out of adjustment or seeing debris. This fiber optic sensor is imbedded into the press plates and may over time build up debris, fuzz or dust and may stop working effectively. Clean out and try to prevent further buildup.
See also vacuum issues.
PROBLEM: Gas Fill Partition Extend Error
SOLUTION: Check partition extended proxes.
Check for free movement of partitions with the conveyor up and down.
Make sure that the correct glass data is entered.
PROBLEM: (if applicable) Spacer double sided tape up against glass is not getting 'wet-out' or 'sugared.'
SOLUTION: Spacer reel may be expired, old or left-over. Switch to a fresh reel.
Incorrect glass data entered. Check and adjust.
Incorrect spacer used in spacer applicator. Check and adjust.
Mylar tape on flexible spacer poorly put on by manufacture, wraps too far around. Switch to a fresh reel.
Debris building up on platen press faces causing inconsistent pressure.
Press plates deformed or damage. Check and replace if necessary.
Press Squish Offset parameter too slight. Increase.
Press Squish Torque Limit parameter too small. Increase.
PROBLEM: Glass will not transfer into or out of any station.
SOLUTION: Data missing. Check "Line Data" status.
This station, proceeding or following stations are not in auto mode or are in cycle stop mode. Make sure all stations are actively in auto mode to continue.
PROBLEM: Press asks for recovery but fails to start properly.
SOLUTION: The machine keeps track of the sequence. If the machine is stopped partway through cycle, it can try to recover when starting again.
This may not be desired. To disable the recovery feature, clear the data from the Line Status screen on the operator interface. You may use the "Last" feature to pull the data back if so desired.
PROBLEM: Argon readings of gas-filled units too low.
SOLUTION: Spacer start/stop corner not well closed; Check and adjust spacer applicator. Install mylar tape when bad corners are not preventable.
Filled IG unit sitting to long on outfeed before secondary seal. Get moving. Move it or lose it (your argon). Measure argon rating as it comes out of press and compare with final values.
Later equipment is squeezing out argon when it gets / clamps glass in following station. Reduce side vacuum extend pressures or otherwise adjust accordingly. Measure argon rating as it comes out of press and compare with final values.
Argon tester is out of calibration. Check and adjust.
Vacuum blow-off pressure in gas-fill press a little too aggressive. Decrease pressure at regulator near outfeed conveyor.
Argon air knife seal not well made. Check cylinder movement and seal material.
Gas-Fill Press conveyor not fully extending, making good seal. Check and adjust.
Incorrect glass data used. Check and adjust.
Press plate gas-fill position incorrect. Check and adjust.
Nozzle gas-fill position incorrect. Check and adjust.
Press slide plate home positions out adjustment. Check and adjust as needed.
Nozzle home positions out adjustment. Check and adjust as needed.
Argon Air Knife blocked, bent or damaged. Check and adjust.
Argon flow rates or percentages out of adjustment. Check and adjust after checking all of the above.
Smaller glass (Partition #1) should generally have slower fill rates than larger glass. As the argon is blown in, a faster rate will create more turbulence which will keep the ambient air from being smoothly displaced. This is more noticeable and critical on smaller units.
See also vacuum issues.
PROBLEM: VFD / Blower / Conveyor doesn't run.
SOLUTION: 1. Check function by manually jogging conveyor from HMI after resetting.
2. Cycle e-stop power.
3. Check for missing data, glass.
4. Check part present sensors.
5. Check fuses
6. Check ethernet cable connections and routers.
7. On recently replaced hardware, confirm all parameters are correctly entered and the IP address is correct and not overlapping existing active addresses. Check data link parameters (Powerflex 525s: C153-C160)
PROBLEM: Axes seem to jerk from position to position.
SOLUTION: 1. Check AXIS SPEED, ACCEL or DECEL PARAMETERS, may be too high.
PROBLEM: Servo Communication Error
SOLUTION: 1. Normal on power-up. Home.
2. During regular operation, check logic voltage connections.
3. Check ethernet connections, try different patch cables. Look for IO faults on PLC's LED indicators.
4. Make sure that all servo drives controlled by PLC are powered on. Note some servo drives may be in the cabinet of other machines.
PROBLEM: Frequent Servo Errors.
SOLUTION: 1. Normal on main cabinet power-up. Home.
2. During regular operation, reset. If the problem persists, see below.
PROBLEM: Frequent Servo Errors. Position Error:
SOLUTION: 1. Position error tolerance set too low; see plc program.
2. Axis Torque Limit set too high; check & adjust - note: if the torque limit is set beneath a certain point (determined by the friction & inertia of the mechanical power-train) the motor will not be able to move.
3. Axis Accel / Decel / Speed set too high, check & adjust.
4. Poor Servo Cable connections; check motor cable connections at both the motor and drive sides.
5. Servo cable failure. Check & replace.
PROBLEM: Frequent Servo Errors. Position Error:
SOLUTION: 1. Position error tolerance set too low; see plc program.
2. Axis Accel / Decel / Speed set too high, check & adjust.
3. Poor Servo Cable connections; check motor cable connections at both the motor and drive sides.
4. Servo cable failure. Check & replace (if replacing, consider using 'high flex' cables).
5. Mechanical binding; check & clear.
PROBLEM: Frequent Servo Errors. Feedback Error; Encoder Fault.
SOLUTION: 1. Poor Servo Cable connections; check cable connections at both the motor and drive sides.
2. Servo feedback cable failure. Check & replace (if replacing, consider using 'high flex' cables which are rated by millions of bend cycles.).
PROBLEM: Frequent Servo Errors. Hall Effect Error
SOLUTION: 1. Poor Servo Cable connections; check feedback cable connections at both the motor and drive sides.
2. Servo feedback cable failure. Check & replace (if replacing, consider using 'high flex' cables).
PROBLEM: Frequent Servo Errors. IPM Motor Fault / Over Temp / Over Current Fault
SOLUTION: 1. Poor Servo Cable connections; check motor cable connections at both the motor and drive sides.
2. Servo cable failure; check & replace (if replacing, consider using 'high flex' cables).
3. Drive failure; check and replace.
4. Stray wires shorting out terminals on drive; check and fix as necessary.
5. Binding or interference during homing; check and clear any binding / blockages. Note: a servo axis must NEVER be able to move so that the home sensor is on the "wrong" side of the home flag.
PROBLEM: Servo Error: Duplicate address found.
SOLUTION: Another device has been added to the network with the same IP address. Check for recent additions. Isolate and track down using "ping" and other computer tools. Cycle power.
PROBLEM: Anything you can't figure out.
SOLUTION: CALL ERDMAN AUTOMATION AT 763-389-9475