Dynapath System 10 questions (for sale?)

[ice9er]

I just got an old bridgeport that has a dynapath system 10 controller on it. The controller is in good shape, everything seems to be functioning correctly, and someone at some point had replaced all the membrane switches on the panel with pushbutton switches (which I agree are way better). What is the best source of info for an old controller like this? Trial and error has gotten me pretty far so far, but I don't have any documentation and trying to upload a part program is a little scary. I don't think I need a full manual, but I can't find much discussion of these controllers online. Is it because people that have them know how to use them already, and no one else is having to figure them out because they are so old? If someone has a system 10 and could give me a few pointers, I'd really appreciate it. Another thought I had the other day was to just upgrade to a newer controller and be done with it. I'm not sure if its worth the hassle. So if anyone is interested I'd be willing to sell it. I'd sell the old MSI amplifiers too if you are interested. Let me know. Thanks.

[jbclimbs]

Hello, I am a service tech with years of experience with the Dynapath you mention. and though it is very much antiquated if it's usable it is a great tool. I may have some insight that will be helpful to you, you can contact me with your questions at any time. It basically has little to no retail value other then parts for someone else with desires to continue to use it. And that also depends on what vintage the control is as well. (there were many within the delta 10 models)

John Bartlett

[davidshearer]

ice9er,
Welcome to the world of Dynapath controllers! You are correct, they're quirky by today's standards. But they are a great foundation machine. I own a Dynapath 20 control on a Tree mill. The only difference is that the 20 will allow you to download files (drip feed) and the 10 will not. Neither control has much RAM by today's standards. A great source of information is the original manual, which surprisingly enough is still available from Dynapath for $210.00. Another source of info is Al Strelbicki at Parts and Smarts in Burlington, WI. (sales@partsandsmartsinc.com) Al rebuilt the DC power supply on my control and reset all of the parameters and got it in great working order. I highly recommend him. They might even be willing to pay you something for the boards since they rebuild and sell parts.
Is it worth the hassle versus upgrading to a modern control? Well, that depends on your objectives. I'm a Mastercam X4 user and learning the ins and outs of the Dynapath control has given me a greater appreciation for just how far we've come, and how truly wonderful Mastercam is in spite of it's $5000.00 price tag. And programing the Dynapath tends to be a humbling experience even on a good day. So, when I start "...to get to big for my britches" I head over the the old Tree mill and bring myself back down to earth.
Enough said. I hope it all works out for you. Good luck.
David S. Shearer
Machine Shop Services
Arroyo Grande, CA

[underthetire]

System 10's are getting pretty rare. I think one major difference was the EIA programming available on the Delta controls. Still one of my favorite controls to run. Someone on this board had the old Ellison classroom book on PDF. Thats what I used to teach the class with, and it made things even easier.

The one mill I want for my garage is a Tree J325 with a delta control. (J425 is too tall). Someday......

[ice9er]

Thanks for the responses. What cam packages still have posts for a system 10? I use solidworks for cad so something like solidcam that integrates well would be the best. How hard would it be to go from a generic gcode output to something that the system 10 could understand?