I have some doubts about a bridgeport hardinge from 80´s

[wech]

Hi everybody, I am new in a company ,at the moment I only make planes for the workshop,but I know how to operate cnc which controllers are fanuc,my boss told me ,he asked for 2 bridgeport cnc´s from 80´s ,and I asked him which controller they have it,the only word I could understand was (hardinge) ,I have never hear about it,so,my question is,what I have to learn about this machines,are they easy,aside of mastercam and ports between computer and cnc,what other software will I need?

by the way,where can i find some manuals about this machines,the thing is I wanna be prepared when the machines arrive at my country.


Thank you very much.

I from Dominican Republic

[gus]

there are no bridgeport hardinge machines from the 80's, since hardinge did not buy the name until much later. We will need more info

[wech]

Originally Posted by gus there are no bridgeport hardinge machines from the 80's, since hardinge did not buy the name until much later. We will need more info

So,which series of bridgeport from 1980 to 1990 can be fit in that period of time,an dwhich are the more common upgrade to convert to cnc mills?

thanks again

[ichudov]

Originally Posted by wech So,which series of bridgeport from 1980 to 1990 can be fit in that period of time,an dwhich are the more common upgrade to convert to cnc mills? thanks again

I have a Bridgeport milling machine from 1980s, and it had a Heidenhain controller. It is called "Bridgeport Series II Interact 2".

i

[wech]

Originally Posted by ichudov I have a Bridgeport milling machine from 1980s, and it had a Heidenhain controller. It is called "Bridgeport Series II Interact 2". i

Yeah!! Heidenhain!,I think is the word he said sounds like that,then what i have to know about this machines?,what will i need?,cause the only machines that I operate when I was in a institute were (victor cnc vmc), I can wait until machine get here,but I wanna be clear.

see you

[ichudov]

Originally Posted by wech Yeah!! Heidenhain!,I think is the word he said sounds like that,then what i have to know about this machines?,what will i need?,cause the only machines that I operate when I was in a institute were (victor cnc vmc), I can wait until machine get here,but I wanna be clear. see you

I do not know much about Heidenhain controls. The mill that I purchased had a dead control. Instead of fixing it for big bucks, I ripped the control out, sold it with disclosure, and upgraded the mill to use EMC2 and Linux.

I would think that any CNC control of that age is going to have reliability issues due to parts (capacitors) aging. Plus they are all obsolete.

I really like the "iron" of my mill, however.


i

[wech]

Originally Posted by ichudov I do not know much about Heidenhain controls. The mill that I purchased had a dead control. Instead of fixing it for big bucks, I ripped the control out, sold it with disclosure, and upgraded the mill to use EMC2 and Linux. I would think that any CNC control of that age is going to have reliability issues due to parts (capacitors) aging. Plus they are all obsolete. I really like the "iron" of my mill, however. i

I can not understand something,at the moment which control do you have?

to use EMC2 and linux what control is available,is a good choice?

[ichudov]

What I had to to use EMC2 on my mill, was

1) Throw out my Heidenhain control and most relays and such in the cabinet
2) Get a PC with Linux
3) Purchase a interface device that connects to encoders, servo drives, and buttons of the mill
4) Set it up so that the CNC software EMC can properly react to buttons and execute G code.

If your mill has a working original control, you do not need to do any of the above, just use the Heidenhain control according to its documentation.

[wech]

Originally Posted by ichudov What I had to to use EMC2 on my mill, was 1) Throw out my Heidenhain control and most relays and such in the cabinet 2) Get a PC with Linux 3) Purchase a interface device that connects to encoders, servo drives, and buttons of the mill 4) Set it up so that the CNC software EMC can properly react to buttons and execute G code. If your mill has a working original control, you do not need to do any of the above, just use the Heidenhain control according to its documentation.

Ok,you mean that as you remove the control from mill,Automatically emc2 with linuxcnc and some new stuff like interface devices become in the new control?

[ichudov]

Nothing is automatic, I need to work on using original devices to talk to the PC. But if your mill is working, then you just need to use it.

[wech]

Originally Posted by ichudov Nothing is automatic, I need to work on using original devices to talk to the PC. But if your mill is working, then you just need to use it.

Jizz,I hope that the actual control is in good conditions,as I said the mill is for my company not for me,haha but we have to care own bosses to make the things cheaper.