need advice on KBC-40VS cnc mill/control

[speedcult]

Today I looked at a mid 90's KBC (Thai) Vertical mill 5 h,p variable speed
head with a Centroid model 15-7 3 axis control. I called Centroid and they told me that if anything happened to that model 15 I would SOL as far as parts and although the servo motors are usuable I would need a new control. ($8,000 + labor). My question is, If the control does take a crap ,how hard would it be to turn it back into a manual mill ? The X and Y still have their handles but the quill lever is non existant. The Z axis motor and its shrouds
are covering everything up so I can't even see what was even removed for the retrofit. It appears to be a stout machine otherwise. Opinions? I can pick it up for $3500.

[Bigbloke]

I have just bought a similar setup, mid 90s taiwanese machine with an Anilam controller so I had similar thoughts around what if...

If the controller does die, you could probably find spare boards etc on ebay or similar.

If that doesnt appeal, you could probably convert to Mach controller, you already have servos, screws etc, so would need a PC, the Mach software, servo controllers and a breakout board.

Not completely straightforward but Mach has been used to control anything from sewing machines to massive gantry mills.

I am new to this myself but hope this helps.