2-UVR-C Retrofit

[yoopertool]

I recently bought a Tree 2-UVR-C 2-axis NC mill. I would like to upgrade the control side of the machine. I think that I will try to keep the motors and drives, but replace the controller with a PC. Has anyone done this? Any help would be appreciated as I would really like to make this a more capable mill. Thanks!

[Alaska Bob]

I have a 2UVRC that was NC'd way back by Tektronix. It had a custom Tek controller, NC400 Contrave drives and DC servo motors. I replaced all the motors and drives with Emerson servos/drives that take step direction inputs and control it w/ a PC. My spindle is driven with a VFD.

If your drives take step direction inputs then a PC should work just fine. If they want analog signals I think you run that with EMC and some controller cards off a PC. You can find some info with some searches.

I just recently got my mill running, and it sure is fun! If you have any questions let me know. I'd be happy to help if I can.

--bob

[TOTALLYRC]

Originally Posted by yoopertool I recently bought a Tree 2-UVR-C 2-axis NC mill. I would like to upgrade the control side of the machine. I think that I will try to keep the motors and drives, but replace the controller with a PC. Has anyone done this? Any help would be appreciated as I would really like to make this a more capable mill. Thanks!

If your drives and motors are still good and they take analog input (+-10v) then take a look at the DSPMC/ip from Vital systems. It works with Mach3.
I have used it on my mill and I am putting it on my lathe.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66994

Here is the link to the device it self.

http://www.vitalsystem.com/web/motion/dspmc.php

Mike

[yoopertool]

Thanks for the info. I have been a bit busy lately, so my mill has for the most part been sitting. This weekend I am going to try to take down all the parts numbers and descriptions from all the drive components so I can figure out what direction would be the best to go. The mill has a tape reader/writer on it, so I was hoping that I could just replace that and the control with a PC. I am fairly new to the servo world, so I have a lot to learn. Thanks again for the info and hopefully I will be able to supply some info on the machine soon.

[kerryc]

yoopertool. I was contacted this morning by Bernard who has helped me in the past with a manual for my 2UVR. He is having trouble logging into the Zone for some reason and asked me to post this for him. Would you please contact him via his email at williamsbernard@sbcglobal.net. He is interested in your project and possibly some of the parts you may be disposing of. Thanks.

[yoopertool]

I got some time this weekend to look a bit more into the internals of the cabinet on the mill. The servo system is composed of solid state DC amplifiers and motors made by Control Research Inc. Does anyone know if this company is still in existance? I think that the servo drives are still good, and would like to re-use them. With this type of system, what would be involved in converting to mach 3 control? I am trying to keep cost down (hopefully), so the more I can re-use the better. Thanks for any help you can give!

[Alaska Bob]

Are those drives Contrave drives? If they take digital inputs they will work with Mach3. If they are analog, then you would need a converter that TOTALLYRC listed in his reply.

I have Contrave NC400 drives that I removed from my 2UVRC that take analog inputs. They were made by Control Systems Research inc. I have found manuals for them online as well.

[yoopertool]

I do have Contrave drives, but mine are NC121F drives. I still need to take a better look at them to se what type of input they take, but if they are similar to yours then they probably take an analog input. It that is the case, then I will have to look into some alternatives. If I have to spend a whole bunch of money to get these drives to work, then I might be better off just buying a new system and selling the old stuff. Do you know where I can get some good info on these drives?

[Alaska Bob]

http://www.contraves-drives.com/pdf/M502001_d.pdf
This is where I got my manual.
The root of that will get you to the company website.
www.contraves-drives.com
Not sure if this is the original company or someone who just sells them.

[yoopertool]

I went to that website.......it was all in german. They had an "English" site, but it is still under construction. How did you get a hold of a manual through them? Thanks

[Alaska Bob]

The firt link I had in there *.pdf was a link I found that had the manual for the NC400. I did not contact them , I just found it with a google search. I tried searching for your NC121F drives and couldn't find anything. You might try dropping them an email though.