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Haas VF-2 Spindle Gearbox Solenoid running hot

martin_05

Hot Rolled
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Location
Valencia, CA, USA
I noticed that my compressor has been cycling more frequently than usual. I finally got fed-up and went looking for a leak. I discovered it was coming out of the VF-2's side cabinet.

Long story short, I had a look with a thermal camera and found the solenoid is constantly at 111 to 115 deg F. Nothing else in there is that hot, at all.

I contacted the HFO and they tell me they run hot. They also want $1,500 to come replace it (the full solenoid+valve assembly is $80 to $100 from the manufacturer's distrubutors).

I have a problem with the idea that it is normal for this valve to run hot. This is the first time I look at it, so I don't know. This is a double-solenoid valve. You turn on one side to move the plunger, turn it off and the valve stays there. To switch it to the other side you turn on the other solenoid, again, for probably less than a second. As far as I know, there is no need to keep either solenoid energized.

Does Haas keep one side of this solenoid energized 100% of the time just to be paranoid about gear-shifting?

The tech suggested I write a program that goes between high and low speeds repeatedly to test. My concern there is that if this solenoid is on its way out such a test could cause expensive damage to the gearbox.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,


-Martin



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Finally got feedback from Haas on this. It's normal. The advice was to consider adding a fan if I want the solenoids to run cooler. I am surprised their design did not include any form or thermal management.

Here's a video:

 








 
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