Bridgeport Boss 6

[dmschell]

I have recently acquired a Bridgeport Boss6 cnc mill. I was wondering if anyone knows if I could run the mill directly off of a VFD since I do not have access to a 3 phase source?

Thanks

[polaraligned]

Will NOT run off of a VFD.
You need a rotary converter. May not be worth investing in one as most of those old BOSS controls are junk.

[tpmx57]

I have a series II that I run off a rotary phase converter
My control worked but was a pita to use.
I bought a bob off a guy on here that wires into the mill and i run mach 3 on mine
now its great to use

[dmschell]

Yeah I just decided to get a phase converter and its working great. The control is a big pain, especially not being able to do any edits or see any of the coding on the control. This "bob" you speak of. Is it some sort of chip device that allows an interface with mach and the machines drivers? Did you have to do any conversions or does it still run off the original steppers?

[fredhh47]

Originally Posted by dmschell Yeah I just decided to get a phase converter and its working great. The control is a big pain, especially not being able to do any edits or see any of the coding on the control. This "bob" you speak of. Is it some sort of chip device that allows an interface with mach and the machines drivers? Did you have to do any conversions or does it still run off the original steppers?

Be very careful to make sure that the wild leg from the 3-phase is NOT wired to your CNC Control circuitry, only the motor. Make sure that the two 120 volt lines from your single phase 220 are attached to the left and middle entrance fuse in the back cabinet (L1 and L2) and the wild leg, which can be quite high, is attached to the right fuse (L3).

MachineMaster (www.machinemaster.com) makes a board that replaces most of the Bridgeport logic boards, and interfaces to a "real" computer with standard keyboard and a real monitor. It keeps all of the Bridgeport hardware, including the infamous transistor modules, and steppers. It is not the most feature rich conversion, but it is about the least expensive, costing only about $2k or so, plus the computer. You have to be able to do some electronic wiring and re-wiring, especially of the home/limit switches, but it is not super hard. Read the information available on their website. If you decide to buy the conversion, read the installation instructions through several times, look at the Bridgeport circuitry as you do, and familiarize yourself with everything you are going to do. Set aside a full day to work on it un-interrupted. There will be wires to cut and new wires to run. Pay attention and take your time. Once the wiring is complete, there is software to install in your computer, some settings to make, and testing to do. Rest before tackling that part, especially if the wiring took longer than you expected. The settings are not complicated, but ARE important, as is the testing. Expect the unexpected, like going the wrong way to home, etc. The operating system software may take some getting used to, as a lot of functions are initiated with a keypress, or combination (like ctrl-c to copy a file). It can be frustrating, but what you gain is realtime information about the running program, on-screen editing, UNLIMITED file size (an original Boss 6 handles a program of about 10k bytes maximum), instant access to any program stored on the computer hard drive, and much more that a B'port only wished it had. You also get support for a period of time from Machinemaster, and can subscribe to unlimited support for an annual fee. Based on the low cost, the trade-offs were acceptable for me.
The next step up is a full on gut-out, replacing all the control circuitry, but leaving the steppers, or you can go even further and replace the steppers with servos. The cost goes up by magnitudes. A full Centroid retrofit can cost $20k-$25k or more.
Fred

[polaraligned]

Spending $2k is throwing good money after bad on this machine.
You can get a Centroid for $10k. That said, I would never spend that kind of money on this old iron.
You can get an AJAX controller for$4k or less depending on what you supply.
If you supply the servos you and computer you can get the Mach version for $1295. Keep in mind that AJAX IS Centroid. Exact same hardware. You even get a trial copy of the Centroid software with the AJAX setup. If you like it, $500 gets you a license for it. So you can get a Centroid set up for far less than $10k with a little DIY. You can do a Mach 3 setup for less than the AJAX, maybe $2k.
Keep in mind that depending on how worn your iron is, it may not be worth investing any money into it.
I have seen real machining centers, with low hours, sell for $5k.
Their performance will blow away anything you can put on this knee mill.