Bendix dynapath 10AM, What have I gotten myself into?

[karbunkle1952]

I have a friend who has purchased a bridgeport style mill with a Bendix Dynapath 10am controller with a rs232 and ear jack, circa 1983. Now....between the two of us we know just enough to be dangerous and not enough to fire up the machine. We are prototype Modelmakers, we'll build anything for our clients. Up to now everything has been done manually on a Bridgeport. With this machine we've brought ourselves up to 1983 technology. Now we want to enter the new century.
Here's the question....We work in Cadkey for drafting, what do we need to do to utilize the rs232 port with CAM software?

1. Can this contoller be fed large 3d g-code surfacing files?
2. What CAM software would be best for this type of prototyping work?
3. Can we draft in Cadkey and send it to the above CAM software.
4. Have we bought something that is better suited for manual programming and forgo even trying to retrofit the software. (Which would be nuts, because from reading what the members of this forum have accomplished nothing is outdated or useless.)

How did my buddy get this machine, you are asking, and why?

The fella who did his CNC work went out of business and sold it to him. Existing files were still able to be run and he got a deal and a half.

Why don't we ask the former owner about the machine?....Why do you think he went out of business.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[fastolds]

you have the better of the 2 Delta 10's available. The other one doesn't have the rs232 port on it. You can drip feed any program to it when setup. I have a Delta 20 which is the next step up from the 10 but with a better proccesor.

[karbunkle1952]

Well, I've been doing some on and off reseach. Using the info I've found on these forums I've come across OneCNCxp.
I emailed them on the program and this is the response I received from Mr. Grzesek:
MeshCAM will only post out a complete file to a disk. It doesn't support direct feeding of a machine. The output format is configurable to whatever you need if you have another way to feed the machine.
So now my question is...How do I drip feed into the Dynapath 10AM. Am I even able to do such a process?

Here is the answer I recieved from the Dynapath folks regarding my control. Have a look at it and please let me know if there is a work-around for the memory/drip feed issue.

I’m sorry to inform you but you are limited on what you can do as far as downloading large files on this generation control. In the operators manual it explains uploading and down loading via the RS-232. The memory is small on this control and will only accept a file equal to or smaller than the memory size. Newer generation controls have what is called buffer input that can accept larger files and drip feed the program as you run the machine.
As far as look ahead and buffer it has neither. This was the first generation control we produced. Replacement parts are limited if available at all. The only thing I can offer you is a control upgrade. You can trade the old control in for a credit and get the newest Delta 2000 that has all the features needed This will cost in the neighborhood of $10,000.Sorry for the bad news but the technology has changed quite a bit in the last 22 years

[miljnor]

You should ask if the control was taken offline could you feed the drivers with the appropriate signal (ie. +-10v or step and direction or PWM) if so you can use the existing power supply and servos and rewire the drivers directly to a PC through a breakout board and use EMC, MachX, or turbo cnc to run the machine..

You might end up having to replace the whole control with aftermarket stuff listed on this sight in various forms. But I can assure you that it will cost FAR LESS than 10k dollars. Although It has a learning curve to it.

But hey its either time or money! you get to decide which.

Just a thought. good luck and

[MetLHead]

If I remember right, the buffered input (DNC) option didn't become available until the Delta 20's came out. So you're pretty much limited to the size of the controls memory. You could look around for a newer, used Dynapath control, but you would need someone to install and set it up for you. You could retrofit it with some other control, the Dynapath takes quaderature encoder feedback and outputs +/-10v dc for the servo control. Shouldn't be too hard to find another control that can work with this. I'm afraid there isn't a work around that would let you do this on your control.

Regards,
Scott

[miljnor]

rutex makes a board that outputs a +-10v signal and excepts the quadrature feed back. I would check them out. Tom is very helpfull with answering questions.

Rutex.com

[midget-1010]

hi
i just noticed this thread and thought i would tell you that i had a patriot mill several years ago that said it was a delta10 it was my first mill so i read the book and started playing with the controller and much to my suprise when i typed in RS232C in the catAlog and went back to mode select i discovered that it was a delta 20 but with the wrong marking on the front?? and it would drip feed. at that time i used bobcad and was able to get itto work nicely.
i now have a lagunmatic 3516 also with a 20 and i love the control for it ease of use. it is a dam nice controll to use easy to learn and run compared to a fanuc they are just to damm expensive to repair and up grade.
midget

[fastolds]

The later Delta 10 had the capabilty to drip feed. I also have a 1991 lagunmatic 3516. It had 10,800 hours on it when I bought it. It's now at 11,000 and something. I have had to tear the tool changer cylinders apart, replace a board and a few other things. I will in the future have to repair the tool clamp cylinder as the seals are bad in it from the previous owner not keeping up on the machine. The spindle is irratic at times and haven't found the problem yet. I have been running Dynapath for the last 5 years and agree on the ease of use. I would like to upgrade mine to a newer controller but not sure yet.

[mjm]

I also have a machine with an early Dynapath System 10. For the cost it's not worth keeping the old hardware. I am going to use Rutex drives as they have the right voltage/current capability for the servomotors. It will be 1/10th the cost to upgrade and that incudes software(mach3).

Mark

[karbunkle1952]

Well my Associate is going to stay with the Dynapath controller. He's going to use Sheetcam software.
Now the question is...How do I get the toolpath to the Dynapath 10AM?

I have the page from the Manual that addresses the issue of uploading the information as far as the controller is concerned and I am attaching it.

How do I get the code into a language the contoller understands? Can I sent it through the parallel or serial port? How do I accomplish that?
I am new to this all and soon to become an expert I suppose.

Thanks for the help

[Steve A.]

Can anyone help with Hurco BMC20 with Dynapath Delta control?

[widgits]

Wondering what the initial header looks like as it is totally different from anything I have yet seen
Tried loading programs using Mastercam but I just keep gettin a LOAD ERROR
So I believe the computer and machine are handshaking but why the error?
Any good suggestions and can I get a sample program to check out to make sure all my stuff is right
Baud rate, parity etc.
Any other software work better for doing this?
Thanks in advance
Widgits