Name that machine

[Brog]

Greetings all.
Long time listener, first time caller...

I have saved a small CNC router from the scrap heap as it was sent down from a closed sister company and not a sole here knew what to do with it.
Being the generous sole that I am, I offered to give it a good home and put it all back together. About the only info that I have on it can seen in the pictures. My questions are;
1) Is it a commercial machine?
2) Are these stepper motors overkill for such a small machine (15"x9"x4")?
3) AA has the control software on their site which I downloaded and ran a few lines of code from a dxf. Seems okay but has little control. Could I run a controller like this with something like Mach3?
4) How would I find a post processor for a machine as simple as this?

Thanks for your time,
Brog

I'm a ME with years of Autocad and Solidworks experience but a newbie to CNC. I'm dabbling in Mastercam X on the side which I would like to start using to produce the 3D code for this machine.

[milhead]

Wow! What a find...

"Steppers Too Big?"... Unless they are NEMA-42, It's not really possible.

No idea if it's commercial or not but I'm sure that with a few Geckos and Mach or EMC you could get it running well as long as it's straight and slides.

The controller looks kind of intimidating.. If the controller will take the standard Dir/Step signals than it's a breeze and no Geckos required.

Do you have or can you find any info on the controller?

Mil

[eded59]

I agree what a find, it looks like a PCB router we have a work. it looks like the Anahiem website has the info and software you need.

http://www.anaheimautomation.com

[Brog]

Thanks..
" I agree what a find, it looks like a PCB router we have a work. "
That's funny one of my first projects will most likely be a PCB and an acrylic enclosure for the Arduino that my friend is getting me hooked on.

I've loaded the software got it all setup.
The software is pretty basic..allows for a .dxf import, jogging.
I imported a .nc file from Mastercam but it had several codes that it did not recognize so of course it did not run.

I did however import a simple .dxf file and was able to cut a piece of mdf with it. (Simple square, nothing fancy)

My next step is to either try to work with MasterCam and the post processor to get it in the format that the AA software wants.(There is a huge learning curve on doing this it seems) or download and start messing with something like Mach 3 which I hope will be a bit quicker to figure out...

What are your thoughts?

[ger21]

That software appears to be a modified version of Flashcut.
http://www.flashcutcnc.com/popup/flashcutScreen.php

I don't believe you'll be able to control that with Mach3 unless you bypass it and go directly to the drives, if you can.

[Jason Marsha]

Wow, what a great find!
Check out the thread pitch on the lead screws, looks like one rotation may move the axis an entire inch.

Jason

[Brog]

Hmmm. It does look like Flashcut which is more functional and may actually control my controller. Worth a try anyway. (Demo)

Thanks for all of the input...
Michael

[zephyr9900]

Brog, the hardware itself looks very much like a Series I Techno-Isel gantry (but with multi-start trapezoid screws replacing the ballscrews). I have a small page on my former T-I gantry.

Randy

[Brog]

GER21- Thanks for that input about it being similar to flashcut.
Mastercam has a flashcut machine definition and post on their site which I downloaded and works.


Zephyr9900
Couldn't get the page to come up...It did have a small cover plate that said iso-mech-tech I believe.