How Much to update this mill to run on Mach 3

[777funk]

I am not too familiar but I'm counting costs on parts to upgrade/update this old Mill to run on Mach 3.

Any ideas/pointers on parts etc? I don't want to get in too deep.

[tobyaxis]

If you call Mach they will have a price list for your application. The first thing you need to do is make sure the Mechanics of the Mill are in good working order.

Off the top of my head: 6 to 9 grand to retrofit with Servos, Drivers, Switches and a Control. But that is off the top of my head. You will need to call Mach.

[HimyKabibble]

There is no simple answer to your question. Are you looking to buy a bolt-on kit? Or do you plan to do the conversion yourself? If the former, kits for other mills typically run $5-10K. If the latter, probably $3-4K in parts, and a couple hundred hours of your time should do it. The kind of performance you want to get out of it will also make a big difference. What motors/controllers are already on there is a major factor. If they can be retained, that saves a lot of time and effort. I assume it already has ballscrews, so that's a big savings right there. But if it has the old-style high-voltage steppers, you probably want to swap those out for modern, lower voltage ones, or, better, DC or AC servos. Then you'll need a new power supply. Then the PC interfaces (for motor controllers, spindle controller, toolchanger?).

Regards,
Ray L.

[777funk]

Yeah it's already got the CNC equipment there but seems like there's a software/hardware problem I guess. One of the axis freezes up.

[HimyKabibble]

Originally Posted by 777funk Yeah it's already got the CNC equipment there but seems like there's a software problem I guess. One of the axis freezes up.

*If* the drives work, and *if* they can be easily adapted to PC control, then a conversion should be pretty easy - perhaps as easy as adding a PC, a breakout board, and a few other things. If the drives to not present a standard STEP/DIR interface to the controller, then it gets more complicated, and expensive. In some cases, there are available interfaces (for instance, you can buy an interface to go from STEP/DIR on the PC side to analog servos on the machine side), but you need to know exactly what you have to work with there.

Regards,
Ray L.

[Al_The_Man]

It looks like DC servo's with most likely analogue drives.
You will also need a PLC to redesign the Tool changer control or at least integrate any existing one, these can be a bit tricky, also I believe there are mechanical issues that may have to be addresed on those older BP T.C.
Al.

[Kevin Taylor]

Before you give up on the control You may want to trouble shot the existing control You have DC servos and RS232 com capibilty with this machine Take a look at the BTC Clubhouse in the BPT Fourm If you don't have any manuals for the machine many of us can help geting the power set up wright is inportant to the control working ok and somthing as simple as a limit switch can keep the machine from operating Chime in with your location and contact info and I'm sure that you can get up and runing for less than 6-8K . I and other's have extra part's and tooling to get you going Good luck Kevin Taylor 712-527-4625 ktaylor253@earthlink.net

[777funk]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the great info! Keep it coming. I like options. I'm also an electronics guy so I may be able to troubleshoot minor things like power supplies, bad discrete components (transistors, caps, resistors etc) as long as it doesn't end up being into logic or ICs. Once it gets into the computer/chip level it's a lot more difficult (at least without knowing much about the components).

[Kevin Taylor]

What part of the country are you in ? Board's can be repaired there are a lot of thing's to check first lose wires reseat board's and the key pad has a couple of plugs that can vibrate lose in transit dirty amp plug's on servos have given me trouble before the Y axis get's oil and coolent in it Look's like you are mising some of the trim part's I can fix you up when the time comes Don't give up you have a lot to workwith If the mechinec's of it are in good shape take the time to read all of the BTC Clubhouse post's and you will find that we have a prety good network of owner's out there willing to help Don't give up Kevin

[TOTALLYRC]

Hi 777funk.

Here is what I did to mine but mine had already been partially upgraded.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...t=66994&page=1

By the way, I have a bunch of extra tooling when you get that far.


I would however see if it can be made to run with some tlc before you start cutting into the electronics.


Mike

[777funk]

Originally Posted by TOTALLYRC Hi 777funk. Here is what I did to mine but mine had already been partially upgraded. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...t=66994&page=1 By the way, I have a bunch of extra tooling when you get that far. I would however see if it can be made to run with some tlc before you start cutting into the electronics. Mike

You did a great job! I don't think I could as a CNC/Mill/Bridgeport beginner do anything near that. That's impressive though! I really like it.

I'm sure you've got some good hours and cash into that. It must be rewarding to use a machine that you've restored.

I can't imagine what it would have cost to pay and have that done.

I didn't see in your thread but how'd you remount the motor and spindle assembly (I noticed you mentioned it was over 500 lbs!).

[TOTALLYRC]

Originally Posted by 777funk You did a great job! I don't think I could as a CNC/Mill/Bridgeport beginner do anything near that. That's impressive though! I really like it. I'm sure you've got some good hours and cash into that. It must be rewarding to use a machine that you've restored. I can't imagine what it would have cost to pay and have that done. I didn't see in your thread but how'd you remount the motor and spindle assembly (I noticed you mentioned it was over 500 lbs!).

Thanks for the kind words.
I have a significant amount of time into it. If I had the cash and the space a Haas VF0 or VF1 wold have been a much faster option to making parts but while I was able to make time to do it and really enjoyed doing it, the space and cash were just not there.

I bet a paid for retrofit would have gone $10K.

I think in one of the pictures I used and engine crane. It was a great way to reassemble the machine and has been used for several other things since.

This was my first retrofit and my 3rd CNC machine. #1 was a partially completed router that I picked up on Ebay and finished.
#2 was a Taig mill that was already cnc'ed but the person whom I got it from had no idea what he was doing.
I am lucky in that I have done a lot of electrical wiring and troubleshooting in the past and I can read and follow directions.

The tool changer can be problematic but there are people on the BTC club house who can help with the issues. I have made mine move threw the motions 1 at a time. I will be integrating it to full CNC this winter. Mine was out of oil in the arm flow control circuit so the first time I put air to it the arm came out at warp 9 and scared the crap out of me. Now that it is full of oil and bled it comes out at a nice leisurely pace. I have an original ,manual if you need any info.

If you decide to go the retrofit route and have the room to use the existing cabinets it will go a lot faster than mine did. I basically stripped everything off and started from a basic machine and added back everything that I needed and nothing more.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Mike