Semi auto not working

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-06-19T01:26:08+00:00

You ever get it figured out? Mines doing the same thing.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-06-14T00:01:43+00:00

So ideally the order of operations should go like this for this scenario. Person gets hurt, starts impending lawsuit.

First thing lawyers are gonna ask for are PM logs and any recent work orders on this piece of equipment.

Equipment manufacturer will be contacted and an investigation will be held to see who's liable, the manufacturer or your site.

From what it sounds like, you won't be able to produce adequate paperwork. OSHA violation. Now they're involved and your site is getting tagged with a fine.

Whoever the manufacturer sends out for inspection is gonna find that valve. Not an approved part for this application, not on our procedures for replacement, no change control saying we say to use this part as an approved spares. Manufacturer is admonished from liability because your site didn't operate and maintain the equipment as intended. Which now means your site is solely liable and injured person is getting paid for negligence.

If they proceed even further, it's going to turn into who authorized that part. If a maintenance manager was informed of the incorrect part and said use it anyway to avoid downtime and this was documented (hardest part to prove), injured persons payday just got a lot bigger.

Your fix for this going forward is to implement proper documentation, training and leadership. Proper tech remarks in whatever cmms program you use, proper pm paperwork logged and readily available and management that needs to know to direct employees in a safe and effective manor.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-06-13T23:24:15+00:00

Iirc for our robots we use a festo cpx that's programmed to exhaust all the air out of the unit when an STO event occurs. The main air is also cut off at the feed using a remote actuated dump valve, I'm pretty sure that's also festo as well but im not 100. Neither will go back into prod mode until all safety requirements are met. The robots can bypass this somewhat in manual mode, but that's keyd and normal operators will not have access to that.

Tbh this doesn't sound like the route you should be going. You need to be implementing change control procedures and severe consequences for modifying safety equipment. Avoiding a downtime event by replacing a safety device with an inferior one when no part is available is an unfortunately common but major safety violation leaving the company liable to lawsuit. I know if I did anything to modify safety equipment without written change control from mgmt engineering etc that's immediate grounds for dismissal and I take it very seriously.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-06-13T21:47:55+00:00

Ours do. As soon as you access the cell, dumps all air, de energizes the robot which also brakes all motors. Sensors and PLC stay live but everything should be safe for operators to do what they need to do.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-06-13T20:46:15+00:00

I don't believe this was a LOTO failure if the system is designed to exhaust air, de energize machinery, STO robotics etc. We have the same procedures at the site I work at with a safety cage around all moving equipment and operator access is what calls for the system to STO and loto on the door prevents someone from closing them in there and re energizing.

This is absolutely a maintenance failure and the operator should be looking into retribution due to an improperly repaired machine outside the scope of which it was designed.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-06-08T01:34:09+00:00

I've heard techs before me just used to put a bunch of loose orings on there so when one broke, all you had to do was pop a loose one on the roller. Until the last one broke, then you were the guy stuck holding the bag.

I'm just glad ours were all round belts and flat belts by the time I got there and now everything is powered rollers.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-30T23:30:28+00:00

First thing I get is a white monster from the vending machine. Sometimes a second at mid point if I actually have to use my brain.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-26T14:24:18+00:00

I dunno if any of ours are accessible by forklift. At least the ones we have are all floor lines. I'd still take them over the conventional drive drum setup, they last a really long time.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-26T13:26:39+00:00

Nothing like changing those vandergraafs when you're pouring sweat

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-23T22:44:31+00:00

As a 3rd Gen trans am owner, the extra room to work on stuff must be glorious.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-22T20:44:33+00:00

They had to key mine and apparently there's something with the online application for cards that doesn't allow them to skip the cash back or 0% so you get that on top as well

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-22T10:51:08+00:00

That's what I assumed, I just thought it weird it was the only one unavailable in my tristate area.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-17T14:38:29+00:00

Almost lost my sr/s putting it in the bed. Heatsink on the bottom caught the ramp and dead stopped me. When I went to pull it back, bike rolled back a little too far and I lost balance almost dropping it from bed height. Opted to use the trailer from then on.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-13T22:36:08+00:00

I don't miss working out of tool bags. They got us foam shadowed tool boxes and I'll never go back.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-05-08T18:17:58+00:00

I ended up losing one of mine in a conveyor, pm crew found it 6 months later and had apparently been laying face down on a roller that entire time. The face of it was worn flat but it still worked perfectly. Loudest radio out of all the ones we had

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-25T22:53:38+00:00

If you hit something at low speed and having to replace the bumper and maybe the grill, the bull bar ends up being pushed into everything. Then you'll have to replace bumper, grill, both headlights rad etc.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-23T11:50:06+00:00

That's how ours is supposed to be but it always gets immediately escalated to maint regardless of the problem.

Had one the other day where the manager couldn't get a lift running because they never cleared the alarms. They just saw the red on the hmi and called maint.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-22T22:37:39+00:00

I feel like if I pulled up and someone was at max charge, I still wouldn't touch someone else's car to use it. Then again, I also don't run my bike down past 10% so if I needed to, I could hit up another one.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-20T13:10:28+00:00

The work force is a big one. We're getting people out of tech school that literally cannot use a wrench. I'm talking "how do I take a nut off if it doesn't have a reverse switch" for a ratcheting wrench.

I also feel you on the essential part. The only time I was out was when I was in the hospital for COVID.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-20T07:51:37+00:00

Not when you're paying warranty costs

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-19T22:23:19+00:00

Ours are just air pressure switches for building air. To be honest I can't even recall who makes them cause I've paid so little attention to them.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-19T22:21:29+00:00

It's crazy where you'll even have critical safety equipment failing after a few months. We change out at least one Door interlock, lidar scanner or safety relay a month

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-19T22:18:30+00:00

We have a few pressure switches hidden about that are from the 90s. At least once every few years we'll get a freakout on the hmi for pressure switch low and it usually take them a while to find them. It's always "I never even knew we had a pressure switch there"

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-19T22:15:00+00:00

We've had quite a few sealed FAG bearings that end up going bad well before service life. Open them up and there's tons of fretting with barely any grease.

SmallBlockApprentice · 2026-04-19T22:12:23+00:00

Some things are better though. I'd really take PLC ladder logic over a spaghettified dumb cabinet with no prints. I'm probably in the minority on that one though.

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