Hurco Tm-5 retrofit??

[pimpbike]

Hi guys, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my Tm-5 Hurco mill. The machine's memory board won't hold the executive and looses memory at any point even if the machine is just sitting idle. I looked into getting a new memory board but they go for $1000usd. I don't like the control on this machine either. I hate conversational programming. The Rs232 port board was missing also when I got the machine. The machine is in excellent condition mechancally seems a shame to scrap it. I've found a company (Centriod) that sells retro fits but are kinda pricey. The machine is 3 phase and I only have single phase in my new shop and can't get 3 phase other than running a phase converter. I'm just wondering if I can get people's recomendations on what they would do to put a new control in this. I really would like this machine to run Mach software rather than some DOS 1980s software..... I also have all shematics for this machine. I'm in Peterborough Ontario Canada If anyone is Local that has experience in retrofitting I'd Be interested in talking to you!

Thanks!
Dan

[Al_The_Man]

Probabally the only thing three phase is the spindle motor? If so, if it is 5HP or under, you could maybe look at a 1phase in-3 phase out using a VFD, and have spindle control from the VFD.
The rest is probabally 1 phase, including probabally the servo's.
Al.

[pimpbike]

Are there any servo drives out there that could run the large motors on this machine. 120v dc 15 amp. I'd like to use mach software on this machine, but I can't find the drives that would be compatible. Only thing I found was Rutex but I spoke to the US distributor and he can't get a hold of the Australian main office.....weird. Or is there a way to tap in to the existing hardware?
Any comments will be helpful

Thanks
Dan

[Preston E]

Dan, If your servo drives are still good, why not use them and let Mach3 be the control???

I also looked as Centroid and Ajax...same thing but a bit cheaper, I think...main problem other than original cost is then they want more $$$ for each additional option...like $6000 for digitizing...

I may be wrong, but Mach seems to do almost everything that Centroid offers and more...for a bargain price

I'm going through a similar problem with my 1999 Hurco 500 except that 2 of my servos were damaged beyond repair by the frieght company tipping the machine over in the trailer...

Thus, I'm looking to replace the very pricey SEM servos with something more reasonable and then control it with Mach...

Also going to the CNC Workshop June 10-17th...timing could not be any better for me...hopefully I'll be much more informed after the experiance.

Good Luck,

Preston

Originally Posted by pimpbike Are there any servo drives out there that could run the large motors on this machine. 120v dc 15 amp. I'd like to use mach software on this machine, but I can't find the drives that would be compatible. Only thing I found was Rutex but I spoke to the US distributor and he can't get a hold of the Australian main office.....weird. Or is there a way to tap in to the existing hardware? Any comments will be helpful Thanks Dan

[sbalder]

I restored my Bridgeport from a much worse condition and am now in the process of restoring a Milltronics Partner machine which is in the same size range as your Hurco. Here are a few thoughts on my approach-

1)Trash as much of the old stuff as possible except the motors and anything like individual components that you need for your refit. Sell these parts off on Ebay and put the money toward the stuff you will need to buy.

2)Use a VFD on the spindle. I only have 220 single phase in my shop and have had good luck with the Hitachi NFU-series drives.

3)I am literally in the middle of testing a set of Larken Viper servo drives for the 140V-11Amp servos on the Milltronics Mill. This is my first venture with servos so take my advice for what it is worth. The servo motors were tested with straight DC power. Brushes are replaced. One encoder was shot so I have replaced all the encoders with new ones from US Digital. The power supply was salvaged from the mill with a large transformer, rectifier and cap. I have 86 volts to power the motors, which should give me a speed of up to 260IPM (YIKES!!!). I'll be posting my experiences with the Viper drives on this site as I learn more.

4)Software is funny. I actually prefer the simplicity of DOS-based TurboCNC. It is cheap (I registered my copy finally), runs on a trashbin pc, and works very well. My attitude is that the original controls on most of these machines were limited in their interface, so a dedicated DOS-based control is a step up. Someone else may want their CAD/CAM/CNC all on one machine. I design on one pc and transfer the programs to each of my dedicated machines.

Let us know how your project goes!

[pimpbike]

The more I search the web the more hope I gain with this project. I found this website yesterday http://www.skyko.com/products/ Has any one used this product before? Seems too good to be true. I have to dig through my Hurco manuals to see if this is possible.
Dan

[Preston E]

Hi Dan, I thought I'd seen someone talking about them also...

Use the Search feature at the top and chose "Show Post" there are 4 pages of things regarding Pixie

Regards,

Preston

Originally Posted by pimpbike The more I search the web the more hope I gain with this project. I found this website yesterday http://www.skyko.com/products/ Has any one used this product before? Seems too good to be true. I have to dig through my Hurco manuals to see if this is possible. Dan

[pimpbike]

This Skyko pixie seems to be an awesome product. I did search this site but I was amazed I only saw a few pages about it. Seems to have good reviews though. I think this is the only company that makes a product like this, at least I haven't found a competitor yet. I wonder why it really hasn't taken off? Industrial servo drives are a dime a dozen on Ebay, way cheaper than buying a gecko drive with way more power.

Dan

[pimpbike]

**update**
Called Hurco and spoke to their head tech guy that has been apparently there for 30 years. Any how he gave me bad news. Told me whatever I do don't reuse the spindle drive (apparently a huge fire hazzard) And couldn't provide me any schematics on the servo drives.

Thanks to this forum I met someone to do this retrofit for me.

Parts ordered:
Mpg wheel
3 larken 200 drives (took forever to get!!)
break out boards from cnc4pc (1) C11 Multifunction board and one (1) C10 Bidirectional board
4000VA Medical Isolation Transformer
10hp leeson vector drive (was told to double hp for my single phase only supply)
ultimarc I-PAC4 Board
Misc buttons and switches
New computer

Next update I'll post photos of the electronics all wired up (can't wait!)

Dan

[sbalder]

Thanks for the update- let us know how things are working out as the project progresses. I have finished the mechanical restoration on my Milltronics and have to finish building the electronics and all the details. There's a real satisfaction in seeing a machine come to life for the first time!

[gdphelps]

Originally Posted by pimpbike The more I search the web the more hope I gain with this project. I found this website yesterday http://www.skyko.com/products/ Has any one used this product before? Seems too good to be true. I have to dig through my Hurco manuals to see if this is possible. Dan

Rick at skyko seems to be really knowledgeable, make sure you have all documention on your drives and servo controller before starting.

[pimpbike]

The guy that's retrofitting my machine has purchased 3 pixies from Skyko for his own project. Apparently he couldn't get any email responses from them but just went ahead and bought them from the website. Apparently he got them in the other day.

There is nothing more frustrating then trying to deal with companies that have so poor customer service. I won't deal with any company that can't answer simple email questions within a few days. Obviously these companies don't feel my business is of any value to them.

Dan