I have a 1978 Excello with the GE 1050 3axis control and would like to upgrade the machine to a new control. I would like suggestions on whose control to use for this upgrade. I have seen a Chinese control for $1500 that looks as good as anything I had ever run in industry, (but 32 bit controls were new then). I was very interested in the PC driven units as well. They seem to be more inexpensive and just as or even more capable, since I could use one computer to do the CAD and CAM work as well as run the machine. I would like to retain my servos and drives.

Since the tape reader doesn't work and the previous owner wasted several dollars trying to get the comm port to work, I feel that the best option to ever really be able to use the machine well, is a new control. I for years had manually input every line by hand and paid for the machine many times over, but it was more trouble than it was worth for most things. Hand written code is quite prohibitive to type into the machine on the shop floor. I would really like to get a CAM software to do this work and am willing and able to throw a few dollars at such good machine.

It was running when I stored it 3 years ago, but guessing by the number of dead mice I see around, that is unlikely to be the case when I move it to my new shop this summer. Most of my work will be hobby type work, but I have made a good secondary income from this shop as well. I have had to move twice as shops I rented were sold and my equipment is now stored without power. I am building my own building now and have just about finished paying off the 3 Phase line extension ($6K and it was only three poles).