Originally Posted by metlmunchr However, for general machine work, a full blown turnkey retrofit on a 15 year old VMC purchased in good mechanical condition will push the investment close to the cost of a new mill. From what I've seen, the bad results outnumber the good by an easy 3 or 4 to 1 margin. |
So not true!
IMO, cost of the decent CNC mill: 20k + 30k (for an excellent PC based Retrofit)=50k for a CNC that is more accurate, less expensive to maintain, faster and therefore more productive than a new CNC machine you choose which one. I'd compare the performance of any new machine tool builder with the performance of an excellent PC based control retrofit any day. Price to performance ratio is unsurpassed. I don't know who you're talking about when you say:
Originally Posted by metlmunchr From what I've seen, the bad results outnumber the good by an easy 3 or 4 to 1 margin.. |
We have a retrofit PC based control retrofitted to a 10 year old VMC. This machine has old DC current drives (old school). If one axis motor goes bad, we could replace just one axis servomotor with a new AC drive and the control can be configured for this odd motor and the CNC would be just as good. Try this with a proprietary control (mix and match DC / AC servo motors). Add control memory in a proprietary control at today’s PC hard drive prices:
Fanuc memory .5 Meg = $1,000
Old Fadal control memory 8 Meg = $1,000
PC hard drive 20 Gigabytes = $200
Which would you like to pay?