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Thread: Which controller ?

  1. #1
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    Default Which controller ?

    Hello everyone,

    I am retrofitting a lathe that has Siemens 840DI controller,
    Sauter turret, GEC analog drives, DC servo and spindle motors, 2 gears on spindle, hydraulic chuck.
    The controller died 2 weeks ago just after i bought it from Scotland ( i am in Iceland).
    It is a 17 year old controller so i think it will be a endles battle to keep it going.
    I think it would be wise to retrofitt.
    This machine will be used for profesional machining in my garage.
    My plan is to have a new controller soon and change the motors and drive later to AC servo
    because it has been hard to find DC-servo drives for high voltage (140v) and high ampers 40A+ peak current.
    A controller with many options for control signals is what i am looking for, to have choices for drive brands.
    I have been looking at Galil and DSPMC they seem to be fine controllers with many options.
    It would be greatly appreciated if you can adwise me on which controller is best for this project.

    Regards,
    Hrafn

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  2. #2
    Community Moderator Jim Dawson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which controller ?

    I think the decision would be made by what CNC software is compatible with the Galil or DSPMC controllers. Mach3 seems to be compatible with both. I am using Galil products on 2 mills and a router and am happy with the result. I know nothing about the DSPMC units. The Galil units are easy to program for PLC type functions, and have 40 to 80 uncommitted I/O depending on the model. The Galil units will operate your servos just fine.



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    Default Re: Which controller ?

    Consider Linuxcnc and also consider asking your question again on the Linux CNC forum. Someone will help. There is a reason why several commercial companies have migrated to Linuxcnc.

    The Mesa cards compatible with LCNC will certainly control most servo drives and can be expanded to handle virtually unlimited inputs and outputs. For example the Mesa 7i76e ethernet stepper unit I'm using has 5 stepgens, 1 spindle controller, 2 MPG inputs, 32 inputs, 16 outputs plus a smart serial rs422 expansion port that accepts various addon cards and the ability to add two more daughter cards which each could repeat the same again. That is not the right card for you but they also cover the servos very well. The have an agent in Europe EUSurplus e-Shop

    Rod Webster
    www.vmn.com.au


  4. #4
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    Default Re: Which controller ?

    Thanks Jim and Rod for your good advise, appreciate it.

    Regards,
    Hrafn



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Which controller ?

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