Cincinnati Milacron controller parts

[Colin]

We have converted our Cincinnati 10 CV to a CamSoft PC controller and have all the old parts and the Siemens 3 motor driving boards to get rid of. Is anyone interested in them. The controller was an Acromatic 900 MC & 900 TC with version 2 hardware. These parts are in Auckland, New Zealand.
Regards, Colin

[Karl_T]

Ebay seems to be the standard place to market items like this. Your location might make it hard though. Shipping cost is likely more than the value.

There's a great Camsoft section in CNCZone. Come check it out. I've been a Camsoft user for several years now. I'm currently retrofitting my third Camsoft machine.

Karl

[Colin]

Hi Karl
I'm not after selling the parts, I just don't want to dump them, if someone else has use of them. I guess there are a lot of these spares in the US, as they have reached the end of their useful life.

Thanks for the tip on CamSoft, I will go and have a look. It has taken us an age to get our system going and we are still sorting out how to set up tools and offsets. It seems every system is different and our technician who installed it had a lot of trouble.

Regards, Colin

[meckardt55]

How did the conversion go? I have heard that some problems exist with the servo and I/O software. What Problems did you have? Who wrote the interface software???

[Colin]

We have taken a long, long time to get it right, but then it is probably that we did not understand the logic being used and the instruction manual is so general, that one needs to be either on the same wave length, or a genious. It has been frustrating for me as the owner and no time to try to understand how it all works. Our technician who is brilliant at fixing electronic problems on our other machines, just did not seem to be able to come to terms with the Camsoft product.
We have had problems. Our spindle locating device got smashed when the spindle rotated with the hydraulic piston in. The other problems were all sofware related. It took me ages to realise why I was not getting the Z hieght right when programming. The software puts length compensation in the T# M06 command and if it is in the programme as well, it was adding this as well. We work round this now, by editing the programme, before loading it in Camsoft. Now our main problem is getting the motor drivers tuned, so that they don't fault out when changing direction, at high speed. But off this site we have been given the name and address of software that we can put into our machine computer, so as to do this tuning.
The annoying thing with all this was that Camsoft had done an identicle machine to ours, only months before we started, but we were not allowed any of the information from that, we had to start from scratch.
Colin

[meckardt55]

I looked into Camsoft to use on a retrofit and it seemed to me that all they were interested in selling me their control software. Camsoft could not offer me any info on the servo and I/O interface. I am interested in putting together a retrofit package for my customers which will replace the older Cincinnati Milacron controls. I had a great package with the Siemens 2100 control but they do not make this control anymore and Fanuc is to expensive. We did several retrofits with the 2100 which were very successful. I am getting requests from our customers to come up with a new retrofit package using a PC based controller. I am interested in PC control software for a retrofit but I needed the following:

* 3 to 5 axis simultaneous interpolation plus spindle
* + and - 10 vdc reference voltage to the existing axis and spindle
drives
* Resolver feed back with 5 khz reference, or phase
shift differential/ sin-cosin- closed loop
* Tool changer
* 2 speed gear changer for the high/low spindle speed
with direct
rpm input
* Spindle orient using a cam/plunger setup
* many more inputs and outputs then they show
* Engineering support to program the I/O logic

Camsoft could and would not answer any questions on the above topics. We are still looking, and based on your coments, we made the right decision not to use Camsoft.

I need to come up with a price competitive package that I can install on a machines in the Michigan area. I know, from my customers requests, that I can sell several of each model of machines that Cinci made. Look us up on the web at cncmachineservices.com


Mike Eckardt - President - CNC Machine Services, Inc
248-391-2341

[Colin]

Hi Mike

Camsoft professional will do all that you want, it took us two years, because of the fact we were sold it and left to our own devises, the way I see it, to make it work. The manual covers everything, if you can understand it. We could not. I have read of several people who seem to get the logic, but we struggled.

Price wise they seem hard to beat and they seem to have some great hardware to use with it. It just seems they have a dreadful way of dealing with customers. My feeling is they have a network of installers, that they work with and if you are not one of those, perhaps you should hire one.

It cost us twice the purchase price to get our unit working, plus the repairs to the machine, caused by our in-experience. If you have lots of machines to do, then perhaps it is worth your while learning how it all works, hire an installer and make sure you know every stage of what he is doing.

We are now tidying up, while using our machine. We are programming it with mastercam generated code, which we then make slight changes to, for our machine. If we were bright, I suppose we would change the post processor and we probably will, once we are sure we know what we want. I am gradually learning how to set up, prior to machining, getting the Z hieght and feeling confident about it, has been a struggle.

The last thing we are doing is tuning the drivers with the motors. It faults at present, if we try to use the machine at correct feeds, so we are running slow at the moment. We scrapped our old drivers and replaced them with Camsoft supplied ones. We had already spent big money on repairing the old Siemens drivers and they had failed again. The new ones were not expensive, but we now find that we have to buy an extra package, uninstall Camsoft, install the package, re-install Camsoft and tune the drivers. All stuff that should be spelt out, when making the original purchase.

If I were Camsoft I would be selling their product with various sets of software, to cover machines. Like how hard would it be be to do one for Cincinnati Millicron machines? Instead you have to configure your own system and fall into the traps that are waiting for you.

But at the end of the day, I am now machining surfaces and the things that go wrong are the ones I have programmed in by mistake. Bloody hard way of making a living, I say! Roll on the holidays and some sailing and fishing) And a beer and a G&T and some rums LOL

Colin

ps if you really want to go into depth, I will put you in touch with our techo, who we still like and use and is still a mate.

[stevenchan]

Dear Mike:

why you not try use Turbotek..(Korea made)..
it can do what you need.. (PC Based) run under Windows NT
i have retrof my machine with this control.. and it work very well..
the ladder editing like FANUC..
if you want more to know.. i can attach 4 u the software..

Steven Chan (Engineer Division)
Systema Precision PT
Indonesia