Anyone here with a Boss 5 Bridgeport retro fitted with..

[l u k e]

a Centroid control? I'm considering this setup as my first CNC mill and would like some feedback.

If you do, and had to do it again, would you make the same choice or would you consider a different machine all together?

Elrod Machine is about an hour away from my home town, so shipping wouldn't be too bad. I've done a ton of research for the past two years and everything leads me back to a Centroid control.

Any and all advice is welcomed.

[colin1544]

HeIlo yes I have retrofitted my boss 5 with a Ajax system which is the DIY version of Centroid worked great straight out of the box and yes I would do the same again only quibble is that you have to make sure you think about what features you need as the standard control is just that, all the other bits are extra, such as an MPG control, the seperate hand control panel rather than the keyboard, engraving facility is extra as a software, 4th axis is an extra. these all mount up to about $3000.00 so what starts off a reasonable retrofit can get top heavy. Having said all of this it is easy to use and makes an old machine accurate again. Best of luck with your choice Colin.

[l u k e]

Are you happy with the Bridgeport?

[colin1544]

Hello Luke yes I am satisfied with my Bridgeport it is very well made and shows only minute amounts of wear even though it is nearly 30 years old, the only other extra that I added was the option for 0 to 10 volt anolouge out put from the Ajax system which allows me to control the spindle motor speed on the fly and programmable as well from a VFD inverter this also allows me to run the whole machine from single phase power . cheers Colin

[l u k e]

I have an opportunity to pick up a stripped Boss 5. I haven't seen it yet, but i hear it is "rough" in appearance. The price is $1750. One of my concerns is evaluating if it is worth purchasing. Any advice what to look for? I would hate to buy a lemon.

[jerrelmm]

I have one for sale in Salt Lake City for $1000,00 jerrelmm@aol.com

[l u k e]

Sent you a PM..

[Dennis Storzek]

I’ve been running a B’port BOSS 6 on two different Centroid controls for the past ten or twelve years. The machine originally came to us already converted with a Centroid control (I forget the model number) that made use of the original stepper motors, and which needed a separate computer. The control was functional and robust (don’t ever remember having a problem with it) but limited. So about eight or nine years ago we upgraded the machine with the then current M-15 control, and their servo motor conversion kit. The conversion was easy, taking two of us a day or so, and has worked well. At the time I wasn’t aware of Ajax, and anyway, Centroid bought our older control back. The M-15 has held up well, but we did lose the mother board during a storm a couple years ago, which Centroid was able to replace, for a fee of course. We’ve also lost a disk drive or two, but these are standard, and we’ve replaced them ourselves.

I just took a look at both the Ajax and Centroid web sites. It appears that the Centroid controls all come with the computer built in, while Ajax keeps their price down by making controls that run off a separate computer. If I were to do it again, I’d probably go for the separate computer. An “industrial hardened” computer would seem to have the advantage of a better survival rate in the shop environment, but experience has shown that they can fail too. For what we paid for the custom Centroid motherboard, we could have bought about six or eight motherboards from Tiger Direct, or a new laptop. The advantage of buying a new computer a couple years down the road is you get all the new technologies, such as a USB buss, that weren’t even thought of when the control was originally built. However, such is life. What I have has served us well enough.

I second the comment about being sure you specify all the features you want at the time you order, and everything you add jacks the price up. In addition, I recall that Centroid shipped the control with some features enabled on thirty day trial; you get used to using them and it really sucks when they turn off, and you find that you have to pay more to get the codes to turn them back on.

Dennis

[l u k e]

Thanks Denis, sounds like Centroid is making steady advances with their control...

Still interested in more reviews.

[luiguicam]

Hello,
I bought this Eagle machine (Bridgeport Clon) with an 1991 Anilam Crusader control. It worked fine for a couple of months until it got a burned board. After several repair attempts I decided to buy an Ajax Control. I installed myself within a week (working at nights after regular work). I spent about $4000.00 in the control and a computer (I put it inside of an electronic cabinet).
I have been working with the new system for about a year. I bought a few months ago the pendant control for $634.00.
I can tell that this is one of best decision that I have made. It never fails. I even have experimented strong power failure( the power is not too good over here in Puerto Rico). This control is high speed machining capable so I can work with 3D shapes at 200 ipm.
I strongly recommend this Ajax Control.

Regards,
Luiguicam