I am new to this forum and am even newer to the cnc world. I now have a BP Series 1 cnc and have no idea what vintage it is. It does have a tape reader and a fixed head. How do I determine which controler and what machine I have? Are there serial numbers on the machine somewhere? I have read many posts and most refer to cnc machine terms I do not yet understand. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks
AJA

It depend if it has stepper motors or servo motors, then it depends on the boards inside.
IE: A LSI, ZDI, NTP, ZCK, and ERS means a BOSS 6 and it has steppers.
EMC, FMDC is a BOSS 8. Servo motors
BSP, FMDC is a Boss 9. Servo motors.
LSI, ERS, CPL, is a BOSS 7 AKA BTC1 and has servo motors.
OLDER BOSS machines are determined by the part number of the ERS. They have a LSI, RCK, XDI, ERS and steppers.
Then there are the V2XT, EZTRAK, V2E3, etc.
ETC.

George

AJA,
Post a picture of the mill & I am sure someone will be able to help. Does the machine power up? If so the controller may display the boss version it is, if it is a boss. There should be a serial # on the y axis, if you move the table all the way to the rear and slide the way cover back it should be there. That should help identify it.
Cutmore

Thanks for the info. According to that info. I have an older Boss machine see attached pictures. Does this vintage of the Boss determine which system I buy for an upgrade?
AJA

Thanks Cutmore, the machine does run. I have not found any numbers on the readout which indicate what Boss it is.
AJA

Looks like a BOSS 3 through 5.
Part number of ERS would nail it.

George

As far as what system to buy for a retrofit, Even when you know what model boss you have there will still be options.
Best for you to decide what you want out of your mill, how much you want to spend, and go from there. With steppers you can use Mach3, a breakout board from Hillbilly(or others) stepperdrives, connect it up and run.
Or if the mill runs now, just use it until the control dies(maybe never) and have fun.
my .02
Cutmore

More pictures of ES board and serial #/part #.
Table speed pot does not change table speed and zero in all axis cannot be changed.
Any ideas why the K10 has been disconnect on the ES board ?
I would like to be able to machine 3 axis at the same time, would this limit my options for the retrofit?
AJA

Per the ERS part number it is a BOSS 5.
The K10 connector is pulled to allow RS232 communications.

George

Those electrical parts look brand new and the machine looks in pretty good condition from the photo, makes mine look a right mess.

I've converted my Boss using hillbillys board, it's easy to do and makes the machine so much easier to use.

Chris

Can a Mach3 system provide the accuracy the machine is capable of and will it accept dwg. files? From what I read on their web site the system is more for art work?
AJA

Mach3 makes no difference to the accuracy of the machine and it will accept dwg files but it isn't meant to be a cam program, it's better to get a proper CAM program and generate a G code program to run in mach, like you would have to do with the Boss control.

Chris

Chris,
This is my first experience with CNC.
I do not understand how to generate the G codes. I cannot transfer a dwg. file into Mach3 and have it write the G code? What CAM program would you sugest?

AJ

Our company, Ai Control Systems, converted a Bridgeport Series I to PC control. We replaced the servo and spinal drives. We used Cam Soft/Galil for the CNC motion control. We have updated and the original drawings for the machine. If you interested in upgrading the machine maybe we could help.

(610)921-9670

There is a very basic cam program that comes free with mach3 called lazycam, that will probably be good for you as a first experience.

Chris

Thanks for the offer, but I would like to try the upgrade myself.
AJA

That look like a BTC1. Did you keep the tool changer? The ability to switch between high and low gear?

George