Mazatrol CAM M2 Memory Upgrade

[PrecisionD]

MAZAK GURUS,

I have an old mazak VMC with the CAM M2 control and if you have any experience eith them you should know the size of the internal memory is tiny (28k). I have attempted to DNC or drip feed to the control via the RS232 port but I was told by mazak that my control is version B and DNC is not supported until C. Would anyone have some suggestions on what to do to increase my program capabilities with either memory or a DNC upgrade.

Thanks,

Brandon

[nlh]

Brandon,

I feel your pain. I have a VQC-20/40B w/ M2 control. I believe the internal memory is actually 24K. My firmware is Version E and still I have no dripfeed. Dripfeed can be started by pressing both the "AUTO" and "F2" softkeys. If you have dripfeed option installed, the F2 key should stay lit, and the work no. at the top of your screen should show *****.

Now onto memory, you will need a bubble memory card. If you call Mazak they will tell you that there are 2 options, 124K or 1MB. The kicker is 124K will cost ~$5000, 1MB will be ~$20,000. Keep in mind these prices and options were quoted to me about 2 years ago so they have probably gone up a bit since then. The other option is to find a bubble memory card on e-bay or a junk machine and hopefully the owner doesn't know what they have, you may get lucky and find something for $300-$1000. I have kept a pretty close eye on e-bay and only found 1 in about 2 years.

With a referal from your Mazak dealer to Mits, you should be able to get your firmware upgraded to a version that supports dripfeed, however I'm not sure of the cost, expect at least $1000-$1500 and according to Mits, it doesn't always work well. In other words they aren't going to want to warranty it if it doesn't work. This is the story a Mits tech told me over the phone, if you talk to someone else they may tell it different. I have attempted to copy the chips from a machine supporting dripfeed but didn't have much luck, I may have it figured out at this point but it will take unsoldering of aprox 30 chips from 1 board to verify.

Hope this helps, if you need more information I have many documents I have collected over the past few years. Also, MrMazak, is very, very knowledgeable on the subject, and I have a few other contacts I can get help from.

Good Luck!

[mte.jalal]

Dear nlh,

I have recently bought Mazak with following details:

Mazak VQC30/50B 3-axis Double Column Vertical Machining Centre with Mazatrol CAM M2 Control. Table 1740 x 750mm, X=1500mm, Y=760mm, Z=508mm, CAT50, 3150rpm, 24-station toolchanger.


But the problem is here I have No MANUALs for that the seller have lost all of them

would you help me on this ? I would be so thankful

Regards,

Jalal

[Loco112]

Brandon, how didi this work out for you?

I'm looking at buying an older Mazak with the M-2 control and so I'm also looking through these old posts to see what kinds of issue everyone is/was having. Please post to this and let us know how or if you resolved this.

Loco112

Originally Posted by PrecisionD MAZAK GURUS, I have an old mazak VMC with the CAM M2 control and if you have any experience eith them you should know the size of the internal memory is tiny (28k). I have attempted to DNC or drip feed to the control via the RS232 port but I was told by mazak that my control is version B and DNC is not supported until C. Would anyone have some suggestions on what to do to increase my program capabilities with either memory or a DNC upgrade. Thanks, Brandon

[PrecisionD]

The machine is a work horse but I was not able to resolve the memory issue. It was just to expensive to get the memory upgraded and it still wouldn't be enough to do the surfacing programs that I write. My advice is to check the firmware version to verify it has drip feed capability ( I believe it is version C, I have B) double check that with MAZAK. I use it for basic components that need 2D machining and it runs great but I do wish I could expand its use to some more complicated parts.

Brandon

[MAZAKMAN21]

hey guys, i have a mazak v-15 n with a cam m-2 control on it. I am trying to figure how to get programs on to the machine but it keeps saying that there is a cmt error. i can get the programs of the machine and everything but everytime i try to put them on it it says this error (cmt error 448). I dont know if there is some kind of trick to do this or what all i have been doing is pressing load and telling it what work # to go into. I am really getting aggravated with this machine i have spent $700 on a usb to r232 cable adapter the helps drip feed. just want to figure this out, thanks.