Mazak (MAZATROL SmoothAi) Alarms & Parameters
On a MAZATROL SmoothAi control an alarm number is a triage tool before it is a lookup key — the range tells you which subsystem is complaining (drive, NC, PLC, screen, program), and three single-letter codes next to each entry tell you what kind of fault it is, whether the machine stopped, and what it takes to clear it. This page decodes that scheme, curates the alarms a programmer or operator actually hits, and explains the user-vs-machine parameter split — the line you do not want to cross without Mazak on the phone. For the control layout and MAZATROL vs. EIA/ISO basics, see the Mazak Control Guide.
How Alarm Numbers Are Organized
SmoothAi groups alarms into number bands by the subsystem that raised them. Each subsystem generally owns two bands — a low one and a "+1000" one — because the second band is the same class of fault detected in a different processing context. Learn the ranges and you can tell a program bug from a machine fault without opening the manual.
| Number range | Class | What lives here |
|---|---|---|
| Machine & control faults | ||
| 1–99, 1000–1099 | System / Drive error | Emergency stop, servo/spindle amplifier and detector faults, memory/hardware errors — mostly "contact Mazak" territory |
| 100–199, 1100–1199 | CNC machine control error | Overtravel, interlock axes, spindle-won't-rotate, synchronous-tap and magazine-position faults |
| 200–399, 1200–1399, 2400–2599 | PLC machine control error | Doors, covers, coolant, ATC arm, clamp/unclamp sensors — raised by the machine's ladder (these entries carry a PLC signal Address) |
| 400–499, 1400–1499 | CNC screen operation error | Bad key presses and setup-screen mistakes: illegal tool number, no tool in spindle, wrong tool mounted |
| 500–599, 1500–1599 | I/O error | External I/O unit, data input/output device faults |
| Program errors | ||
| 600–699, 1600–1699 | MAZATROL program error | Conversational-program data problems: missing tool sequences, unset cutting speed, tool not registered |
| 700–799, 1700–1799 | MAZATROL program error | Continuation of the MAZATROL program-error class |
| 800–899, 1800–1899 | EIA/ISO program error | Your G-code: format, illegal G, feedrate zero, arc data, cutter-comp intersection, macro syntax |
| 900–999, 1900–1999 | EIA/ISO program error | Continuation of the EIA/ISO program-error class |
| Setup, interference & screen | ||
| 2000–2099 | 3D setup error | Workpiece-setup / measurement (3D) errors |
| 2100–2199 | Interference error | Interference-check / collision-avoidance faults |
| 2200–2299 | CAM data output error | CAM / data-output faults |
| 2600–2699 | CNC screen operation error | Additional screen-operation errors |
On the screen an alarm shows as a number, a message, and a parenthesized location:
650 CHAMFERING IMPOSSIBLE
(1234, 56, 78)
└ work number, unit/sequence number, tool-seq/block numberFor a program-related alarm the parentheses point straight at the offending block. The codes inside mean: WNo. work number, UNo. unit number and SNo. tool sequence number for MAZATROL programs; NNo. sequence number and BNo. block number for EIA/ISO programs. A blank position is just an internal processing code, not a place you can go look.
Reading and Clearing an Alarm
Every entry in the alarm list carries three single-letter codes after the message: a type (what kind of fault), a stopped status (what the machine did), and a clearing procedure (what it takes to get moving again). Read them in that order and you know the severity and the cost of recovery before you read the cause text.
| Type of error | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A — Operation | A wrong key was pressed or the machine was operated incorrectly — your action, not a fault |
| B — Registered data | The program or tool data contains an error, or there is data to be checked |
| C — Servo | Servo control mechanism malfunction |
| D — Spindle | Spindle control mechanism malfunction |
| E — NC equipment | System hardware/software error — almost always a call to Mazak |
| F — Machine (PLC) | Machine failure reported by the ladder |
| G — External I/O unit | External I/O unit malfunction |
| Stopped status | Clearing procedure |
|---|---|
| H Emergency stop | M Power off → eliminate cause → power back on |
| I Reset stop | N Eliminate cause → power off → power back on |
| J Single-block stop | O Eliminate cause → press the RESET key |
| K Feed stop (hold) | P Press the RESET key |
| L Operation continued | Q Eliminate cause → tap the alarm-clear button |
| S Tap the alarm-clear button |
The practical read: a P or S clears with a button once you have fixed the situation; an O or Q means fix the cause first, then the button works; an M or N needs a full power cycle. The color shown on screen tracks severity too — red for stop-the-machine, blue for a warning you can work around, yellow/white for informational. Two notes worth remembering: some alarms show a different stop/clear behavior in parentheses when the program is running in the background (selected on the PROGRAM display) versus the foreground (selected on POSITION); and the PLC machine-control class (200–399, etc.) uses a slightly different table format that also prints the ladder signal Address.
Common Alarms
These are the alarms that actually stop work on the floor, curated from the SmoothAi ALARM LIST. Deliberately left out: the large body of System/Drive faults (servo overcurrent/overheat, amplifier and detector malfunctions, memory/ECC errors) whose remedy is "contact the nearest Mazak Technical Center" — there is nothing to fix at the keyboard — plus the machine-model-specific ATC/pallet and optional-function alarms that vary from machine to machine. Codes shown are type / stop / clear.
| No. | Message | Codes | Cause → fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overtravel, interlocks & spindle (CNC machine control, 100–199) | |||
| 3 | EMERGENCY STOP | A / H / M | The E-stop button on the operating panel was pressed → release it and reset the NC to its initial state |
| 113 | OVER TRAVEL | A / K / P | The tool tip reached the stroke limit on the named axis → jog the tool tip away from the end in manual mode |
| 128 | OUTSIDE INTERLOCK AXIS | A / K / P | An axis is interlocked because the interlock input signal turned off → clear the active interlock condition |
| 133 | STOP SPINDLE | D / K / N | Spindle did not start when commanded during automatic operation → check program/tool-data conditions for spindle start; if the amp/encoder is suspect, call Mazak |
| 134 | SPINDLE ROTATION EXCEEDED | D / K / N | Commanded speed exceeded the spindle-speed limit → reduce the spindle speed |
| 180 | SYNCHRO TAP ILLEGAL COMMAND | B / I / P | An orient command was issued during synchronous tapping → correct the program |
| 193 | NO TOOL IN MAGAZINE | B / I / P | No tool data registered for the pocket numbers shown under "TNo." on the POSITION display → register the tool data |
| Doors, coolant & ATC (PLC machine control, 200–399) | |||
| 232 | MACHINE DOOR INTERLOCK | A / K / Q | The machine was operated with the door open → close the machine door before operating |
| 233 | MAGAZINE DOOR INTERLOCK | A / K / Q | Magazine door opened during a magazine-rotation command, or the manual-interrupt key was left ON → close the door / set the manual-interrupt key OFF |
| 237 | MAGAZINE DOOR OPENED | A / L / S | Magazine door open in automatic mode (warning) → close the magazine door for automatic operation |
| 344 | COOLANT STOP!! | F / L / — | Automatic operation was started with coolant stopped → press the COOLANT key to turn coolant on |
| 345 | COOLANT TEMP. CONTROLLER ALARM | F / K / O | Fault on the coolant temperature-control unit → read the alarm on that unit (ladder Address X1303) |
| Setup / screen operation (400–499) | |||
| 432 | ILLEGAL TOOL No. | A / L / S | A nonexistent tool number was designated → designate a valid tool number |
| 456 | NO TOOL IN SPINDLE | A / L / S | The operation needs a tool but the spindle is empty → mount a tool and repeat the operation |
| 484 | INCORRECT SPINDLE TOOL | A / L / S | LENG-OFS TEACH tapped with a tool that has no Length Offset item (e.g. a turning tool) in the spindle → check the mounted tool |
| MAZATROL program errors (600–799) | |||
| 605 | NO TOOL DATA IN PROGRAM | B / I(L) / O(S) | A point/line/face (incl. 3-D) unit contains no tool sequences → add the necessary tool sequences to the unit |
| 620 | CUTTING SPEED ZERO | B / I(L) / O(S) | Surface speed (C-SP) in a tool sequence is unset or 0 → set the desired surface speed |
| 626 | DESIGNATED TOOL NOT FOUND | B / I(L) / O(S) | A tool called by the program is not registered in the tool data → lay out and register the tool on the TOOL DATA display |
| EIA/ISO program errors (800–999) — fix the G-code | |||
| 807 | ILLEGAL FORMAT | B / I(L) / O(S) | Block format is wrong (or an axis address outside the controlled axes was used under tip-point control / placement-error correction) → correct the block |
| 808 | MIS-SET G CODE | B / I(L) / O(S) | A G code was set that is not valid here → correct the G command (check the option spec) |
| 816 | FEEDRATE ZERO | B / I(L) / O(S) | No F commanded — G01 is modal at power-on, so a bare move alarms → add an F to the move |
| 817 | INCORRECT ARC DATA | B / I(L) / O(S) | Start/end points and arc center disagree → correct the start/end/center values and their signs |
| 836 | NO INTERSECTION | B / I(L) / O(S) | Cutter comp (G41/G42) can't compute an intersection after skipping an interference block → correct the toolpath |
| 842 | SUB PROGRAM NESTING EXCEEDED | B / I(L) / O(S) | More than 8 levels of subprogram / simple-macro nesting (also fires on some direct-operation M99 setups) → flatten the call structure to 8 or fewer |
| 844 | PROGRAM No. NOT FOUND | B / I(L) / O(S) | A called subprogram is not registered → register the subprogram |
| 861 | DIVISION BY ZERO | B / I(L) / O(S) | The denominator of a macro division is zero → guard the divisor in the expression |
The I(L) / O(S) pairs on the program errors are the foreground/background split: I reset-stop and O reset-clear when the program is running, the parenthesized L/S when it is only selected for editing in the background.
How Parameters Are Organized
SmoothAi divides every parameter into three types by what it governs and which screen edits it. The dividing line matters: one type is yours to tune, one belongs to Mazak and the machine builder, and one only matters when you are moving data on and off the machine.
| Type | Edited on | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| User parameters | USER PARAMETER display | Data for point/line/plane, turning, and EIA/ISO machining — cycle behavior, allowances, soft limits. Meant to be changed as required. |
| Machine parameters | MACHINE PARAMETER display | Constants for the servomotors and spindle motor, machine-status data, barriers, machine structure. Set by Mazak/the builder. |
| Data I/O parameters | DATA I/O PARAMETER display | Settings for connecting external units — CMT, tape, DNC, other ports. |
Mazatrol parameter "numbers" are a letter group + index, e.g. I2 or F10 — the letter names the group, the number is the entry within it. The groups:
| Type | Group (code) | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| User parameters — yours to touch | ||
| User | POINT (D) | Point-machining (drill/tap/bore/spot) cycle settings, dwell, allowances, hole-diameter limits |
| User | LINE/FACE/3D (E) | Line, face and 3-D machining settings |
| User | EIA/ISO (F) | EIA/ISO-program machining: high-speed smoothing/corner-decel coefficients, deep-hole return amounts, 3-D comp |
| User | SOFT LIMIT (I) | User soft-limits, unidirectional-positioning shift, G0-speed variable-override settings |
| User | SYSTEM (SU) | Plane-selection axis assignments and system-level machining settings |
| User | TURNING (TC) | Turning-machining settings (INTEGREX / mill-turn) |
| User | SOLID (SD) | Solid / model-based machining settings |
| User | DISPLAY STRUCTURE (US) | Display-layout / structure settings |
| Machine parameters — builder territory, do not change | ||
| Machine | CALL MACRO (J) | Machine-side macro-call assignments |
| Machine | MEASURE (K) | Measurement / probing constants, controlled-axis assignments |
| Machine | TABLE (L) | Table / index constants |
| Machine | FEED VEL. (M) | Feed-velocity constants |
| Machine | TIME CONST. (N) | Acceleration/deceleration time constants |
| Machine | ANOTHER (S) | Miscellaneous machine constants |
| Machine | SPINDLE (SA) | Spindle-drive constants |
| Machine | BARRIER (BA) | Stroke-barrier / no-entry zone geometry |
| Machine | MACHINE STRUCTURE (MS) | Kinematic machine-structure constants |
| Data I/O parameters | ||
| Data I/O | CMT / TAPE (TAP) / DNC (DNC) / OTHER (IOP,DPR,IDD) | External-device port settings for data input/output |
Not in either list: PLC parameters. The manual is explicit that the ladder's own parameters live in the machine's ELECTRIC WIRING DIAGRAM as a separate PLC Parameter List — keep relays and PLC constants are the machine builder's domain, not something you set from the USER PARAMETER screen.
User Parameters Worth Knowing
A short, verified sample of user parameters a programmer might legitimately reach for — the soft-limit and cycle settings that answer real questions on the floor. Change these on the USER PARAMETER display, and record the old and new values before you do.
| Parameter | Group | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Soft limits (I) | ||
| I2 | SOFT LIMIT | Upper (plus-direction) user soft-limit |
| I3 | SOFT LIMIT | Lower (minus-direction) user soft-limit |
| I1 | SOFT LIMIT | Shift amount of unidirectional positioning (G60) |
| I12 | SOFT LIMIT | Clamping value for the amount of handle (handwheel) interruption |
| EIA/ISO machining (F) | ||
| F1 | EIA/ISO | G61.1 corner-deceleration coefficient (%) |
| F10 | EIA/ISO | Return amount in the high-speed deep-hole tapping cycle |
| F12 | EIA/ISO | Return (pecking) amount in the drill high-speed deep-hole cycle / G73 |
| F13 | EIA/ISO | Allowance for rapid-feed stop in deep-hole drilling |
| Point machining cycles (D) | ||
| D22 | POINT | Tapping-cycle dwell time |
| D19 | POINT | Revolutions of dwell at hole bottom for end milling |
| D11 | POINT | Through-hole / tap-prehole machining overshoot |
| D8–D10 | POINT | Maximum hole diameter machinable on one / two / three drills |
These letter+index addresses are from the VARIAXIS C-600 SmoothAi list; the exact entries can differ by machine model, options and NC-software version, so verify against the parameter data sheet shipped in your machine's electrical cabinet before changing anything.
Diagnostics on the Control
SmoothAi puts the diagnostic screens under two menus — DIAGNOSIS (USER) for the operator, DIAGNOSIS (MAKER) for Mazak — plus a MAINTENANCE menu. When an alarm has you stuck, these are where you go.
| Screen | Menu | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| ALARM display | DIAGNOSIS (USER) | The alarms active right now, with number, message and the (work, unit, sequence) location. More than one alarm can be up at once — this is the screen to call up first. |
| ALARM HISTORY display | DIAGNOSIS (USER) | Every alarm that has occurred, newest first, with No., ALARM MESSAGE, location, DATE, TIME and TYPE (source). Invaluable for intermittent faults that clear before you reach the screen. Stores up to 10,000 entries and can dump them to a text file. |
| PLC SIGNAL display | DIAGNOSIS (USER) | Live ON/OFF (1/0) status of machine signals, and for each one the conditions that turn it on — written with &, I and ! for AND, OR and NOT. This is how you trace an interlock or door alarm to the input that is actually low. |
| MAINTENANCE display | MAINTENANCE | Periodic / long-term check items with target vs. elapsed times, plus CHECK EXHAUSTION and UNIT WORKLOG. A [PICK UP] function highlights the three items closest to their due time. |
| DIAGNOSIS MONITOR | DIAGNOSIS (MAKER) | Deeper NC/drive monitoring intended for Mazak service — look, don't change. |
The workflow for a stubborn interlock or ATC fault: read the alarm number to get the class, note the ladder Address printed with PLC-class alarms, then open PLC SIGNAL and walk the ON-conditions of that signal until you find the input that is off. Ladder and I/O diagnostics beyond this — the full sequence program — live with the machine builder's electrical documentation, not the NC alarm list.
Gotchas
| Trap | What to know |
|---|---|
| Numbering is generation-specific | The number bands and A–G/H–S code scheme here are the Smooth series (SmoothAi / SmoothG). Older Mazak controls (Matrix, Fusion 640, and earlier) use different alarm numbering and messages — don't map a Smooth alarm number onto an older machine. |
| Many entries won't apply to your machine | The alarm and parameter lists include model-dependent and optional-function items. An alarm or parameter existing in the manual does not mean it exists on your specific machine and NC-software version. |
| Machine parameters can be dangerous | Servo/spindle constants, BARRIER geometry and MACHINE STRUCTURE are set by Mazak and the builder. Changing them can crash the machine or void behavior a field-proven program relied on — if you can't clearly state what a parameter does, call Mazak first, and always log old/new values. |
| PLC / keep-relay parameters are off-limits | Ladder parameters and keep relays live in the ELECTRIC WIRING DIAGRAM as a separate PLC Parameter List, not the USER PARAMETER screen. They are builder territory. |
| Battery-down corrupts parameters | If the machine sits unused long enough for the parameter-memory battery to run down, parameters can be corrupted (battery alarm). After such an event, check the live parameters against the shipped data sheet before running. |
| "Contact Mazak" means it | The whole System/Drive class and most E-type (NC equipment) alarms have no field fix — capture the number, message and history, and call the Technical Center rather than power-cycling in hope. |
References
- Yamazaki Mazak, PARAMETER LIST / ALARM LIST / M-CODE LIST (VARIAXIS C-600, NC: MAZATROL SmoothAi), Manual No. HD28HA0010E — alarm classes, type/stop/clear codes, alarm entries, and parameter groups.
- Yamazaki Mazak, OPERATING MANUAL — Operating NC Unit and Preparation for Automatic Operation (MAZATROL SmoothAi), Manual No. H747S31000E — DIAGNOSIS (USER), ALARM HISTORY, PLC SIGNAL and MAINTENANCE displays.
- Yamazaki Mazak, MAINTENANCE MANUAL (VARIAXIS C-600, NC: MAZATROL SmoothAi), Manual No. HD28MA0012E.
- Equivalent MAZATROL SmoothG document for HCN-series machines: PARAMETER LIST / ALARM LIST / M-CODE LIST, Manual No. HE00HA0066E.
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