To convert or not, bport series 1 cnc Boss 5

[Mcgyver]

I working on getting a bport series 1 cnc Boss 5 into my garage. I've seen the spindle running but not the axis, vendor says there's a fuse that keeps blowing but that otherwise it works well....the fuse problem seems fairly typical for this machine?

anyway, looking for anecdotes and comments on whether to convert or not - what the main drivers are for those who have converted.

A sister Q to this is, can the boss 5 be made to run reliably.....or is that the primary reason why people convert?

thanks

[machintek]

Bose 5 fuse: 2 highest probability/most common: Bridge rectifier (1 for each axis) or a final drive transistor.
Note this has stepping motors with a resolution of +/- .001 inch with no provision for backlash comp. Old machines have backlash.

George

[gschoep]

I just retrofited a bridgeport 4 with steppers and it was not too hard. I am using EMC2 and Geckodrive G201s. I built a power supply with the T1 transformer in the cabinet, a cap I had on hand and a 5$ bridge rectifier. All I needed was a VFD and I was done.

I am getting 120 ipm on the X and Y and something slower for the Z. I am new to CNC but this was a pretty painless process (if I get my head working correctly).

Cost is pretty low for me since I got the G201s with the mill and EMC2 is free. I had to buy a computer mb for $30 but otherwise I had most of the hardware on hand besides a VFD as I have no three phase in my shop.

I have a bit of documentation on my blog: http://gschoep.blogspot.com