[Piobaire]

Hi there!
I'm just in an early stage of rebuilding an 1985 Harrison M400 CNC (8"x60") with a new PC-based controller from Ajax CNC. The old Anilam Crusader IIL have done its job a long time a go, that's why I got it quite cheap. A 4-position tool changer also came in the deal.

First of all, the cross slide table where worn as lack of lip seals. I'll make a new table and also increase the ball screw height in the slide to fit in a standard sized ball nut and better bearings. The servo is originally fitted in front resulting in that the operator is placed too far from the machine. I'll also change the x-axis servo to fit in the opposite side to earn space.

The servo for the z-axis is a bit in the way for the slide so the travel length in z-axis becomes a bit limited. Hopefully I'll come up with a nice idea to move that to, avoiding the two servos to collide.

Then I plan to build a new controller box a bit like the new Harrison Alpha series that could slide on the front with two hand wheels to run the machine in manual mode. I already got a 15Hp frequency inverter to control spindle speed.

Send rough pictures of "before" and "after" very fast sketched in SolidWorks.

Is there anyone with experiances regarding DC servos, DC servo drives, Ajax CNC, rotary encoder placement, lathe design for best performance and accuracy etc. pleas feel free to email me.

Best regards
/Thomas (Sweden)