Wixey missing a trick

[Spectric]

Hi all

Well fitting a Wixey 550 to a Record PT107 has been a saga and all because Wixey have overlooked a simple feature that would solve mine and many others issues when fitting it. First problem with the 107 is that the thicknesser bed does not protrude far out from the main case and so you can only fix to the infeed or outfeed end faces unless you want to dismantle the machine and remove the bed to attach a bracket to the side. The infeed end is rather cluttered with the clutch lever and height adjuster so you need to look at the other end where you have the power cable gland on one side so you are left with fitting to the other corner. On larger machines and ones where the table protrudes further out fitting would be easier. The problem is that it has to be fitted the right way up so in my case the arrow points down, this restricts where and how you can fit it and could be overcome by Wixey just by providing a reverse reading function. This is not complicated, I know because I have spent many years involved with instrumentation and is a common setup function. In firmware it is just a case of increment rather than decrement or vica versa and could be implemented by say holding a button down for x seconds and it switchs, very simple and Wixey have really missed a simple trick which would make installation really simple. In my case it would allow me to fit the sensor onto the rail with the arrow facing up and I could get the cable plugged in, as it is I need to get a new Cat 5e cable with a 90° connector on one end.

 

[Doug71]

Lol, I fitted one one my PT at the weekend, as I didn't really read the instructions I ended up fitting it upside down as that was how it worked best!

When I wound the thicknesser bed up the thickness measurement went up instead of down so I realised my error. I then read the instructions properly to find out how to flip the measurement presuming it would be as you say hold down button A for 5 seconds or something but no I had to take it all apart and work out another way to mount it

 

[Spectric]

Yes it is a design oversight by Wixey, the emphasis should be on making it as adaptable as possible to fit so as you cover all synario's. Making it so as it has to fit in only one plane is so restrictive. I have now had to order a shielded CAT 5 cable at an extra £7 with a 90° up bend so as it clears the casing.

 

[MikeK]

I am still installing the Wixey WR550 on my Holzmann HOB 260NL, which appears to have a similar layout as your RP PT107. I mounted the sensor strip to the edge of the thicknesser table on the outfeed side using an angle bracket I had. I'll mount the sensor to the body of the machine and route the CAT5 cable to the other infeed side of the machine where the display will be mounted.

Here is an image showing the sensor strip mounted. The sensor strip moves up and down with the thicknesser table.

Here is an image showing the sensor attached to the sensor strip, but not yet attached to the machine. The thicknesser table is at the full down position, and the sensor is about where it will be when attached to the machine. When the table is in the full up position, there is plenty of travel left on the sensor strip.

 

[Spectric]

Hi Mike

I think your sensor is upside down, according to the instructions the arrow points down if the table moves. This is where I was going to fit but the cable gland is right in the way so now on rear with rail fixed and the sensor moves with table. Looks similar to this line of P/T's from Axminster, Record etc. Out of curiousity how do your blades adjust, fit because the Record was a right pain and now has a new system fitted that uses 3mm non sharpenable blades that sit in self aligning holders which makes changing easy.

 

[MikeK]

Hi Roy,

I checked it again last night, and it works great. Wixey assumes the sensor strip will be fixed and the sensor will move with the table. As you have discovered, I couldn't think of an easy way to do that, so I made the sensor fixed and have the sensor strip move with the table. It does work, and when I asked Barry Wixey about this, he said all that matters is the relative movement between the sensor and the strip. How that is accomplished is transparent to the electronics.

Ah...the blade adjustment. Yes, it is a pain. I tried the jig that came with the P/T, and that was useless. Then I tied those gauges that look like height gauges, and they were useless. Then I tried putting a sheet of thick glass over the outfeed table and let the springs push the blades to the glass while tightening the gib bolts. That didn't work for me, so I removed the springs and used a pair of welder's magnets to hold the blades just proud of the outfeed table while I snugged up two of the gib bolts. I put a few sheets of paper between the outfeed table and the magnets to ensure the blades were proud of the table. Then I used a dial indicator and piece of wood to gently nudge the blades down to the correct height before tightening the gib bolts. I've done this several times, and it takes me about 15 minutes to set the three blades.

 

[Doug71]

Here you go if we are posting pics of our Wixeys. Mine actually worked ok as I could fasten the sensor to the thicknesser bed. You can just see in the last photo I bought a shorter cable so it's not hanging around waiting to get caught on something.

 

[Spectric]

Hi Mike

I actually read the instruction leaflet which is unusual but overlooked fig 5 which shows the scale attached to the moving table and the arrow upwards ! Mike if you want an easier time with blade changing and cheaper blades take a look at the ESTA knive system. The blades are reversable.

https://www.advancedmachinery.co.uk/machinery/tooling.asp?section=esta-bruck-knife-system-382
Doug, nice when you have a protruding table. Your shorter CAT5 cable, did you use a shielded type as per recomendations or just a std lead. I needed a right angle up type and getting one that was shielded was hard, if yours is not and works then good to know.

 

[Doug71]

I got a shielded cable as recommended.

I recently started using the ESTA knife system myself and am really happy with it..

 

[MikeK]

Mike if you want an easier time with blade changing and cheaper blades take a look at the ESTA knive system. The blades are reversable.

https://www.advancedmachinery.co.uk/machinery/tooling.asp?section=esta-bruck-knife-system-382

Thanks, Roy! I couldn't remember the name of the blades, but I like these.

Doug, nice when you have a protruding table. Your shorter CAT5 cable, did you use a shielded type as per recomendations or just a std lead. I needed a right angle up type and getting one that was shielded was hard, if yours is not and works then good to know.

I asked Barry about the shielded cables, and he told me in most cases the shielding doesn't matter. It's just a precaution in an electrically noisy environment.

 

[Spectric]

Thanks for the info on cables, makes things easier as I have the tools to make CAT5/6/7 cables.

 

[MikeK]

If you start seeing erratic behavior in the display unit, then you will know you need the shielded cable.

 

[Spectric]

Hi Mike

Finally all is working, had to beef up some fittings and tweek others but all ok now, if only there was a simple means to reverse readings then such an easy fit was possible! I think that the LAN cable used is probably more to do with wanting a very cost effective interconnect rather than anything else, the twisted pairs providing sufficient noise attenuation without being fully shielded, personaly I really like the connectors made by LEMO and have used many of them just not cheap at about £35 male/female pair.