Milltronics Partner III / Centurion IV

[JoshuaJ]

I've found this mill at a local equipment sales/salvage/scrap type place. The box on the RH of the table that holds the end of the lead screw has been knocked off somehow. The screws that held it on are still attached to the table, and the box is hanging loose. I don't think it would be a big deal to fix, but I'm concerned whatever crash/transport accident that caused it would have damaged other parts. Does anyone know of a way to tell without being able to turn it on?

Also, during transport the wiring bundle attached to the quill drive was torn away from the motor. The ways have a nice cake of warehouse dust on them, so I wasn't able to inspect them closely. The sales guy says it was running when removed from service and the controller works. He said they'd take $1700 for it if I got it this week (before Christmas). It seems like a couple simple fixes if everything else is in pretty good shape.

What do you guys think? Is that a decent price, or what would be a good offer? From what I've been able to find about the machine, it looks like it would do what I'm wanting it for.

[thebodger]

I used to be a milltronics service rep in Canada many years ago (15 years ago).
These were not bad units from what I recall. The price seems good. Look at the bedways carefuly, if modest wear, good. If I recall they had a hand lube pump, so if the operator used it, the wear may be negligible. As far as the control, this is as simple as it gets. It's an old DOS based thingy. Check if it has the original disk with it. The original PC was probably a X286 motherboard, so if it's dead, it may not be that big an issue to find something that will run DOS. Other than that, Milltronics is still kicking, and they used to be very helpful. They probably still are. I would make sure that any damaged or suspected wiring is corrected before you power that thing.
BTW tons of milltronics guys on this forum to help.

[sportybob]

Thebodger: PLease be aware that Milltronics does not offer any support on the C4 controls. This control is NOT a PC based control. So replacement parts are going to be what you find where ever you find them.
The C4 control was not a bad control in it's day. But there are a lot of chips on the boards that are no longer made and like replacments are not made. This is why Milltronics stopped thier support on the C4 control.

If the Control boots up and will home and jog around you could "take a chance".

As there is also other damage to the machine $1700 is way to much, IMO.
Concider the rigging costs and repair time involved as well as potential headachs and you might offer $500.00. Their only other optionis to strip the machine and "E-bay" the control and other parts, (if it is operational)

$1700.00 would go a long way to finding a Milltronics with a newer control in it. When buying a Milltronics look for C-5 control with at lease a "-B" control. They are very servicable and updatable. Look on the bottom of the "black" box for the control serial #, You want a 4 digit S/N with a -B. (ie: 1234-B)

These machines come up on E-Bay and other used machine sales regularly. Most of the machines currently on E-bay are way over priced.

C5 controls with a 3 digits and -A control S/N's are much harder to service and are not updateable. See some of my other posts as to why.

Sportybob

[JoshuaJ]

They also scrap machines there. He told me they could get a grand or more for a Bridgeport just in scrap (not sure how believable that is), so I'm thinking they will probably scoff at a $500 offer.

Here's my problem... I'm visiting family in Wichita and plan to take a machine back to MS with me. I have a 2500HD and an equipment trailer with me, so I'm not too worried rigging cost on this end or being able to get it home. There are VERY few options for getting stuff like this down there, and this is the best deal I've found so far here, or on my route home. (I was looking for a machine with a bad controller to retrofit when I came across this one). Honestly, the damage to the machine scares me more than the controller. I can retrofit a new control, but if something is bent or broken beyond repair, I've just hauled 6000 lbs of scrap metal a long way.

[JoshuaJ]

I got him down to $1250... it's pretty tempting.

[ZZZZ]

I think I would pass on this one. That is a LOT of money for a 20-25 year old machine that you know little about its history and has condition problems.

IF there is no damage to the end of the ballscrew, the axis motor, or the wiring, you still have to repair/replace the brackets to hold the motor.

IF there is no damage to the wiring, the motor, or the encoder, you still have to repair all the connections correctly.

It may be difficult to finish all the repairs if there are also any control issues which make it impossible for you to do the testing.

Does this machine have an inverter drive for controlling the spindle speed? Some machines had a "S Word" card which powered a DC motor on the Reeves Drive and some only had a manually operated handwheel.

There are a lot of Cent4 machines out there, but I agree with Bob, you should be able to find a newer Milltronics for not much more money.

PM me your e-mail address if you would like a scan of the original sales sheet on this machine.

[ZZZZ]

Something I forgot - can you get the manuals/wiring diagrams with the machine? Not having them makes any repair a lot harder.

[JoshuaJ]

I think I remember it having a hand wheel. I didn't see any manuals, and he didn't mention any.

I get what you are saying, but it seems like a few hundred over scrap value may be worth taking the risk. I don't feel like I will be able to find much near home as the closest industrial city is many hundreds of miles away. Im going back and forth on it, but I still have a bit to consider it. I appreciate all the input so far.

[JoshuaJ]

I decided to follow your guys' advice and not get this one... thanks for all the input!