TCL125 Stepper identification

[30tooo]

Does anybody know what are the size and type of steppers originally fitted to a Boxford TCL125 Lathe ? I have pulled the 2 off and need to get a breakout board to suit , as I want to run the machine off of MACH3 via a pc .

The X axis motor has the letters "WUS" on 1 end and 43/88 on the other . That is all there is . The mounting flange is around 58mm square , with the body being 51mm long x 55mm Dia . The spindle is somewhere between 6mm and 7mm Dia .

The Z axis does not have any distinguishing marks on it . The mounting flange is again 58mm square with the body being 81mm long x 55mm Dia . The spindle again is somewhere between 6mm and 7mm Dia .

The measurements are all approximate as I had to use a steel tape measure .

If not can anyone recommend steppers they have used for the same machine , that would be even better . I know there are different manufacturers out there like Gecko etc , but model numbers would help more than just manufacturers names for the replacements .

Thanks .

[Rob G.]

From memory ...

X about 30 oz-in torque.

Unipolar 12V 6 wire.

Use a continuity meter to check breakout, one wire on each phase is the centre-tap common for +24V on the TCL. The other two wires go to collectors on the power transistor board.

Driven full step resistive on a 24V supply, using step & direction TTL.

200 steps/rev geared 2:1 on a 4cm recirculating ball leadscrew gives 0.01mm steps.

You could replace them with bipolar motors and half step using modern drive boards - however the old board in the lathe is OK and VERY easy to interface to.

As I mentioned, you only need a timer board, 10V DAC, couple of ADC's (motor control feedback & override knob) and it fits up to a PC lovely !

Cheers,

Rob

[30tooo]

If I bought this breakout board , could I connect it straight to the motors or the top pcb in the machine . Or if I took a printer cable straight from the pc , splice it , and then connect up the "appropriate" wires to the existing board . Excuse my ignorance , I do not understand these things to well . If someone gave me a drawing , I could follow it , but that would be it .

[Rob G.]

Hi,

Don't know much about this board, I built & customised everything myself as I used to be an Electronic Engineer.

You will need to use the stepper driver board inside the TCL, just like you will need to use the GE DC motor drive for the lathe spindle.

Also, there are miscellaneous sensor switched (end of travel, interlocks) and you might want to use the manual interface on the lathe (jog keys, spindle control, feedrate override).

If you are not experienced with PC interfacing & control, I suggest maybe enrolling in a local college evening classes and bring the lathe along for your project ???

Check out this thread:

Boxford TCL125 retrofit

Cheers,

Rob

[rdhopkins]

Hi 30tooo,

I am currently converting a TCL125 (the thread that Rob pointed you to above is mine). What is the second photo in your post above? It is not the same breakout board as the first photo. If it is from the stepper controller inside your lathe then it is very different to mine.

If your lathe uses the same drivers as mine then I think you will find that you will not be able to use the breakout board you posted the photo of, at least not without some sort of level conversion. I found that the signal levels within the lathe are 0-10V whereas the PC parallel port uses TTL levels if I remember correctly. I built a circuit using an MC14504 level shifter to provide this interface. I can give you more details if you want.

Roy

[30tooo]

Yes please and thanks RD .
All help is appreciated , especially to an electrical numptey as myself . I use and program fanuc , heidenhein , fagor and anilam at work , but this all leaves me cold .

Anyway , I think some of the confusion maybe that my electronics are different to yours RD. This is what I have .

The spindle motor is made by Lenze as is the motor controller . The first board which sits on top of the other carries the stepper controllers (I think) and has a sticky label saying that apparently in 1989 it was tested fine ! Presumably the bottom board is the computer interface as it has a ribbon cable running to a "D" connector on the back of the machine .

I also would like to keep the manual controls if possible but at the moment I would just like to see it run ! I know it will take a while but I have to say I can't wait .

The second photo from the previous post is the ribbon connection on the top board to the bottom board . The top board being the one with the stepper controllers on it .

[Rob G.]

Looks nothing like my circa 1985 vintage.

Does this one still use the BBC parallel port (the 1MHz bus) ?

Cheers,

Rob

[30tooo]

The bottom board has a date of 1985 , while the sticker on the top board says 1989 .

There is a connector on the back panel . Then there is a ribbon cable from the back of the socket to the bottom board (the 1 with stepper drivers on it). This terminates with a right angle connector (RS components 147-159) , which according to my RS book is a 34 pin right angle connector .

As I said before , the machine came as is , without a computer at all .

I have just had a reply from Boxford saying that they no longer support the machine . In other words I think they mean sling yur ook . I only asked them for a parts layout and electrical schematic .

[30tooo]

I have just spoken to a guy at Boxford and although he cannot help me with info , he did conclude that it is indeed a paralell machine and it has a 37pin connector on the back .

[30tooo]

Just plugged everything back together after stripping it for photos . Unlike before , I now have control over spindle speed , start and stop of spindle , x axis , z axis and the magic turret . All the interlocks work as well . OUTSTANDING !!!!!

Now all I gotta do is get connected somehow to the pc . I wonder if a TCL160 is similar ?

[Rob G.]

Quite often the fault is just a faulty interlock switch.

The lower Z80 board is the local "smart" processor for communicating over the parallel port and doing the low level routines.

Unfortunately this is not compatible with the PC unless you write a BBC emulator package.

MUCH easier to discard this board, and break out all the switches and motor interfaces.

Cheers,

Rob

[rdhopkins]

The photos make things a bit clearer. Your machine is indeed different to mine internally. I have been emailing somebody that seems to have the same internals as yours though. I'll try and dig out the emails to see if there is any useful information there.

I believe that your machine is similar to the TCL160 but not quite the same. It does use the same stepper drivers but the board they are mounted on is different. I have the schematics for the TCL160. I'll PM them to you.

Roy