Bridgeport Boss 6 Possible Retrofit

[rocknrolljunky]

Hello all. I've been running a Bridgeport Boss 6 for the last year, and aside from a few minor Z axis problems, it will plow through anything. I'm looking into doing a retrofit, but I have a question before I dig any deeper. The control on the head has a forward/reverse switch, spindle speed switch, etc. Is there a way to hook a speed control board to it to make it run by a new controller or am I stuck with setting the speed and turning it on/off manually?

Thanks in advance

[craig96us]

I set speed on my series 2 retrofit manually. I am looking at ways to automate it using EMC2. The tricky part is the spindle encoder. There is one machine I am aware of that is using a proximity sensor to sense teeth on the bull gear for tach input.

[NBRANCHGRIMES]

IF YOUR MACHINE IS ANYTHING LIKE THE ONE I HAVE YOU CAN SET THE MACHINE TO TURN SPINDLE ON AND OFF WITH A FOWARD AND REVERSING STARTER USING AN IO FROM YOUR CONTROLLER BUT MINE HAS AN AIR MOTOR TO MANUALLY CHANGE THE SPINDLE SPEED AFTER STARTING THE MOTOR. I RETROFITTED WITH A CENTROID STEPPER MOTOR CONTROL BACK IN THE MID TO LATE 80'S AND PROBABLE SAVED 50-75 DOLLARS A MONTH IN ELECTRICITY BECAUSE I GOT RID OF ALL THAT HEAT GENERATING JUNK BRIDGEPORT CALLED A CONTROL. GOOD LUCK
MIKE

[rocknrolljunky]

This has me a little confused.

Centroid BOSS Retrofit

I saw this Centriod retro kit for the BOSS, and the before picture looks just like the machine I have with the switch for spindle on/off and direction along with the buttons for the brake and spindle speed. Now the after picture has that whole panel covered up. I've looked through the how-to's on their site, and it doesn't mention anything about a new spindle motor, so I'm guessing they found a way to get around all that. Unless, they put um-teen thousand dollars into that one and didn't mention all the expensive extras that they added aside from their kit.

Has anyone bought/installed one of these kits or any of the other kits designed for the BOSS?

Thanks

[123CNC]

you might want to look at ajax controls, the do-it-yourself version of Centroid http://www.ajaxcnc.com/bport_kits.htm

[cncsnw]

The pneumatics are still there and functional (look at the head), but the controls for them move into the Centroid jog panel (or hand pendant, if an M39 control). Thus there is no further need for the buttons and switches on the front of the head.

The 12-hour figure (for installing the retrofit) would be wildly optimistic for any end user (and anyone else who hasn't installed at least a dozen just like it). 3 to 4 days is pretty realistic, though.

[colin1544]

Hello I have a Ajax CNC control on my Boss 5 (Centroid DIY system) I have had it about 4 years now it has been very reliable, to get switchable motor and programmable speed control you need the Spindle S function $325.00 plus a VFD motor control capable of 3HP 2.2KW output. With this fitted Ajax supply the switch on code for it so that it is programmable in the Itercon program, as long as you set the parameter for the High and Low speed in the setup for using the High and Low gear ratios on the machine and set the speed at about 3,000 RPM or put solid bushes between the pulley sheaves and lock the speed. I hope this gives you some insight to your problem Cheers Colin