OMAX:Troubleshooting

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• When I try to cut with the waterjet, no water comes out. Pause or stop the waterjet. Make sure that the precharge pump is on. Look at the little computer screen on the pump. There is a column of buttons, one of which has a diagonal slash on it. Press that button (the reset button) and try again. This will usually fix the problem.

• The garnet (abrasive) feed line is clogged. Remove the feed line and blow it out with the air gun. Be sure to close your eyes when you do this, because that sand will get everywhere. If the clog has reached the valve on the garnet hopper, you need to remove the valve, blow it dry, and re-assemble it. This should have been part of your training; if you forgot, call somebody who can show you.

• When I click Path, I don't see a start point to select. Be sure to check the OMAX:Startup page. You probably forgot to add lead-ins and lead-outs.

• When adding a path onto my drawing, some crazy crap happens. In Layout, click the "Clean" button on the right hand side. This will fix most problems that cause the path to be drawn incorrectly.

• The nozzle broke off. Don't panic; this happens. Find Steve in the HEPL machine shop. If you like to tinker, replacing the nozzle is fairly simple. The instructions are in the white OMAX binders, and the replacement nozzles are in one of the drawers. If you use the last spare nozzle, jewel, or any other part, be sure that you or someone else orders a replacement!

• The program is cutting the outside of interior holes instead of the inside. First try cleaning the part and re-drawing the lead in-outs. If it is still doing this, right click on "Lead i/o", go to "Autopath (Advanced and Configure)", then make sure that the "External Direction" and "Internal Direction" both "Offset to the left". If it is still drawing the cuts incorrectly, you might have to manually add the cutting path. Ask someone who knows how to do this, or just fiddle with it; start by right-clicking "Path" and selecting "custom tool path," and tell the machine to ask you about each cut.

• The machine is spewing water everywhere, and not cutting through the plate. Pause the waterjet. Check to make sure that the sand feed hose is still in. Pull out the part of the sand feed line that plugs into the sand hopper and blow it out. This problem can be caused by crap (i.e. pieces of plastic from the sand bags) clogging up the sand line, because someone forgot to filter the sand before loading it up! Filter the sand before you fill up the hopper, to make sure you don't cause this problem. Another common cause is that the valve that feeds the garnet from the hopper is crooked, so be sure that it is straight up and not at an angle.

• The water level doesn't go up/down. If the water level won't go up, you will just have to wait for it to fill back up! If the water level won't go down, lower the drain in the rear corner of the basin below the water level and it will drain out in a few minutes. Remember that the water level will never go higher than the drain in the rear, so be sure to set the height accordingly.

If you are really stuck, try calling someone. However, never leave the machine in a non-functioning state!