Need Help!- Control Solutions Midi Maestro - dead after tool crash!

[simonrafferty]

I have a Bridgeport Interact Mk1 which uses Control Solutions 'Midi Maestro' 140X14/28 servo drives.

Sadly, a tool crash seems to have killed the X axis drive and I'm struggling to find anyone to fix or replace it!

I have sent it to a couple of companies on the web who advertise repairs for a free quotation - but both came back trying to sell me a new drive (which needed extensive modification to the mill) or a whole new mill. I think the web sites offering repairs are just a front for selling new stuff.

Do you have any recommendations on where I can source a used drive or where in Europe ideally I can trust to fix it?

Alternatively, is it possible (or practical) to replace it with a different driver altogether?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Si

[gridley51]

Simon,
is it a Control Solutions or a Control Techniques drive.I seem to remember the Maestro as being Control Techniques.
There are a lot of rip off repair merchants out there.The best but not the cheapest is IES
http://www.industrialelectronicservices.com/
Depending on where you are I might be able to recommend a good service guy.
Mark.

[simonrafferty]

Sorry - it is Control Techniques. Control Solutions was a project I worked on years ago!

Thanks for the info, I'll give them a try. You are right about the number of rip-offs out there! £1200 is the highest I've been quoted for a used one - but they are only £500 new from the manufacturer! £360 is the best I've been quoted for a service exchange from Ali Machine Tools in the UK. I'll keep looking - someone is bound to have one gathering dust somewhere!

Si

[gridley51]

I`ve got two 140 x 8/16 Maestro`s sitting on the shelf.Too small for you though.Have you asked Control Techniques technical support for advice on checking them?They are very helpful people.A manual should be available for download also.

Mark.

Edit:Where are you situated?

[simonrafferty]

I'm in Horsham - near Gatwick Airport.

I have spoken to CT - and they were very helpful.

Regards,

Si

[gridley51]

Simon ,
I`m afraid I don`t know anyone in that area that I could recommend.You obviously don`t have to replace it with the same drive,what servo motors are you running?
Is this a Ser 1 that has been retrofitted or does it have a Control Techniques spindle drive too?
Someone I know who has done a lot of mixing and matching drives and motors is Hood who posts here now and again but posts a lot on the Artsoft forum.He knows the Allan Bradley stuff outside in and it is often cheap on Ebay.He won`t mind if you PM him.
Mark.

[simonrafferty]

Thanks for all your help - I am going to order a repaired drive for £360 with a warranty - hopefully it will be OK!

Si

[simonrafferty]

Sorry to drag this thread up again.
Over the past year I have replaced all three servo drives at £360+Tax each. Last night, half way through a job, there was a pop from inside the control cab - and the X axis servo drive has died again! Having spent £1200 keeping the thing going for a year - I'm not keen on spending another £400 - so maybe the time has come to do something different.

I Mach3 converted my Lathe a couple of years ago - and like it a lot. That's an option. My only concern is that when I need to upgrade it - the market for a TNC370 controlled mill is a lot bigger than an 'amateur' Mach3?

Since it's the servo drives that are the problem, not the TNC - what about retro-fitting newer drives? The MidiMaestros are all a bit analog. There must be a digital equivalent that will do the PID control as well as taking care of the offset & lag without worrying the TNC?

What options are available?


Do you know what the spec of the signals to and from the TNC are - i.e. what each of the lines does? It's not immediately obvious. Clearly it does not use step & direction - so I presume the TNC spits out a voltage where say above a certain value moves one way and below, the other? Then the drive feeds back pulses for the axis movement to drive the DROs?

The connections to the drive are:
The first group all have something connected

Enable
0v
Speed Ref 1
Speed Ref 2
Tacho 1
Tacho 2
Drive Status 1
Drive Status 2

Mot 1
Mot 2
Earth
L1
L2
L3

This group do not connect to anything
IMot
TPRC
I2T
+10v
-10v
Ext DBR

So, my question is - how does the TNC talk to the drive, and what does it say back to update status.

I'd like to have a go at updating the drives before I go down the Mach route if possible.

Thanks in advance,

Si

[simonrafferty]

After a bit of digging, I found the following document:
http://www.apator-control.katowice.p...aximaestro.pdf

Which lists the functions & connections on the Mini Maestro drive.

I'm surprised, it's just an amplifier! I was correct that there is a control voltage applied to pins 9 & 10 which is proportional to the motor speed forwards / backwards. The Tacho input (pins 11 & 12) close the speed control loop - and apart from it reporting status to the TNC, that's all it does.

Si