Newbie- New Hurco SM1 Owner

[tall_penguin]

Greetings,

New to the forum (and CNC), and thought I'd introduce myself. Just won a Hurco SM1 on eBay (item 120427066772). Unfortunately, won't have it moved in until early July, so haven't had a chance to play with it yet. I have done some reading (on forums here, and general Internet).

Looks like the machine uses a laptop & "tape emulator" software to get it to boot (via RS-232). Can this method also be used to load machine instructions (G-code or the Hurco equivalent/variant)? While the console/CRT is nice for easy stuff, I imagine it is much more convenient to dump instructions from a CAD program.

I am assured by the current owner that the machine is in operating condition. Let's hope it stays that way after the move! I see a lot of talk about conversion. I assume the main motivation is to replace inoperable electronics. Would you upgrade a working machine? What would it gain?

Looks like I'll need all new tooling (currently own all R8 for manual Millport). I see various kwik switch 200 holders/collets on eBay.

For those curious, other equipment I have stuffed in the basement is 42x9 Millport, 13" Leblond Regal lathe, 12" Sheldon shaper, and an old Norton cylindrical grinder. I'm a embedded software engineer, and just do the machining as a hobby.

Any advice/pointers are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony

[jetski]

Tony, I sell a manual and will give you all the help I can. My manual is just for conversational. Intro and Advanced are $70.00 together as a set. I also do training on site. Let me know if I can help. I will bump my manual and other information to the top of the page here in a few.