scale feedback

[camtd]

I have a Southbend Magnaturn turning center. Can Mach3 be used to control a cnc lathe that uses hydraulic pistons to drive the X and Z axis with scale feedback?

Thank You

[Al_The_Man]

It might depend on wether the cylinders are controlled from Hyd. servo valves.
Some years ago Bosch made a CNC machine with these features, (CNC control).
If common on/off solenoid valves, then may not be too successful.
Al.

[camtd]

Hi Al

They are servo valves.

The machine when it runs repeats within a .0001. The control is no longer supported. I would like to use it in production again.

Would there be a retrofitter to get this machine going? I am looking to spend around $6000.00 to $7000.00 is this a reasonable budjet?

The machine is located in Connecticut.

Thank You

[Al_The_Man]

I know The Galil card will control hydraulic servo's, but about the only CNC style s/w that runs it is Camsoft so the price would be in excess of that.
To run it in just Galil native code, or with the DXF converter would be relatively cheap.
Al.

[CarbideBob]

Hmm, if you used the original amps and something like the pixies on the front end you might be able to get this running under Mach.
But hydraulic servo valves are pretty touchy about their PID loop tuning when you use them for positioning applications.
A dedicated control card like a Galil or Delta-Tau would be a much better choice.
If you brought it to me for a retrofit I'm afraid your budget would be low by at least a factor of 3 or 4. Maybe more depending on how much of the original stuff you could reuse.
Bob

[camtd]

I am on the fence with what to do with this turning center.

I could buy a used Ikegai or Mori Seiki for $9000.00 to $25,000.00 that has service and parts available for the machine and the control as long as I stay with Fanuc 6 or better.

What could I do Bob to prep the job so you could get things running in a day or two? Have you done a Southbend Magnaturn before?

If I go the Camsoft route the package would be around $6,000.00 right?

All the wires run to where they are suppose to go. I do have the schematics.

The control card and Camsoft are part of the project.

But what do I do about connecting the wires to new cards or some type of new interface that would replace the card that are on the machine now?



Thank You

[CarbideBob]

camtd,
I didn't literally mean to bring the machine to me for a retrofit. I was just trying to give you an idea of the price range a retrofitter would charge. I'm much too far away from you to be able to provide timely service and support and I'm sure there must me some guys cheaper than me.
If you want to go the retrofitter route contact some local sources and ask for a quote.

I have never done a Magnaturn before so I don't know the specifics of what can and can't be used from the old machine. My experience has been on hydraulically controlled milling machines

Al knows much more about the Camsoft stuff than I do as I write my own cnc software and have never installed a camsoft system.

Unless someone wants to take it on as a learning project, on small machines like this it's usually better to buy another machine than to spend the time and money on a retrofit. Sometimes people will spring for the retrofit if there is a special feature on the machine that they need.

Bob