Looking at buying 1985 Fadal 904-1 with cnc88 control for garage shop.

[rodney247]

The Best LOW Maintenance Fadal Garage Machines that commonly come with Rigid tapping and 4th axis pre-wire are the VMC15 & 15XT (base and Column Steel weldment) and the 2216L and 3016L(L models are same as 15 and 15XT except the Base and Column are Cast Iron). These are all Linear machines (Low maintenance very accurate)(standard 7500rpm good power using the Wye/Delta shifting)

Most likely will not have the transformer that has the Single phase option.

[Brandocnc]

The Best LOW Maintenance Fadal Garage Machines that commonly come with Rigid tapping and 4th axis pre-wire are the VMC15 & 15XT (base and Column Steel weldment) and the 2216L and 3016L(L models are same as 15 and 15XT except the Base and Column are Cast Iron). These are all Linear machines (Low maintenance very accurate)(standard 7500rpm good power using the Wye/Delta shifting)

Most likely will not have the transformer that has the Single phase option.

Rodney247, thanks for all the info. I havent completely disregarded this old fadal but im also looking into available vmc15xt's for sale in the Los Angeles Region.
I was trying to look up information on that early spindle design that has to have the belt manually moved for changing speed ranges but i couldnt find anything about it in my searches. Can you explain how it works? If i have a program that is requiring a wide range of spindle speeds for the different tools im using does the control prompt the operator to change the belt location? How hard is it to move the belts? Also, what is required for upgrading that spindle to the more modern style? Do you have to replace everything or just some internal parts?

[rodney247]

Brandon,

First off i wasn't really trying to discourage you from buying the machine , just wanted you to be aware of the potentials , the machine looks like it has been maintained about as good as it could be. And if you can get it for a decent price 2500 bucks you probably wont get anything much better at that price. Especially as the other poster said you can still buy new parts for this machine for repair. The single phase transformer itself will be very hard to beat.

SO How does the Manual change 3 speed original VMC40 spindle drive work.

IN a nut shell it is only LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH speed (You will never change the BELTS location during a program)

When you turn on the Machine it will ask you before the ColdStart (CS) Where is the belt located 1-Top 2-Middle 3-Bottom ? you would enter the location number 1,2 or 3 and hit <enter> And then the CS command <enter>

The speeds are as follows. (I could be a bit off on the actually rpms for i am a wee bit rusty for this drive)

Top location (LOW) = 50-2500 rpm Most power running a steel job
Middle location (MED) = 100-5000 rpm Medium power running a cast iron job
Bottom location (HIGH) = 150-10,000 RPM running a Aluminum job not needing low end torque for say the steel job.

To change the belt location it is very easy. Lift the side door and loosen the 1/2-13 bolt pull the motor a bit forward, lower the belt , push the motor back hold tight and tighten the Bolt back up. And when you power the machine on tell it the location of the belt on the pulley.

I will up load a list of parts needed from the Assembly drawing in another post.

[rodney247]

As far as upgrading go to page 4 on this document the Head assembly https://flintmachine.com/images/uplo...s/VMC_2216.pdf

I estimate the cost for the parts to be around $2000-2500

parts needed are from the parts list page 5 10-17 and 60-67 they should bolt on if everything is there. That is one fantastic thing about the Fadals they stayed pretty compatible over the 40 years. The Newer machines used the same hole locations and dimensions as the original stuff.

If you want a new Spindle Motor they will cost around $1500

The only thing you would have to add to the head is drill two .250 dia. pin locators for the Front Belt guide. But that is not 100% needed the guide can be positioned without the pins.

[Brandocnc]

Rodney, thank you very much for all the information about this machine. You did not discourage me from the machine but did give me good information to base my decision about it on. I think the machine will be a good machine for me to start my home based machining business/hobby with and i can use it to pay for a newer faster machine down the road.
Do you know what the max amperage this machine draws is? What size rotary phase converter would it need? Breaker on main pannel?
Im also wanting to verify that it has the single phase transformer installed like the owner said. How do i verify that?
Again, thanks for your help!

[Brandocnc]

[rodney247]

So i believe i ran mine in my Garage on single phase and a 40 amp breaker .... the book says 60 amp on single but that's stretching it lol

So this 4020 just sold 2 weeks ago for $1750 1989 With 4th Axis full enclosure -3 system https://auctions.btmindustrial.com/F...nter_i38087765

i realize this was an auction... So if you buy this 40 you most likely will be the last owner The Pendant and the spindle drive system and control software are just to outdated and too expensive too upgrade. So what i'm saying is either get it dirt cheap or i would keep looking there are better deals out there.

Especially considering that Cali has the most Fadals available

My brother who is the Fadal electric guru said just remove the third leg i believe he said L3 on the inverter and run it single phase... he said it was an inbverter that will work like that... the 110v is coming from the below the power on knife switch.

https://flintmachine.com/images/uplo...tion_Pages.pdf
https://flintmachine.com/images/uplo...Procedures.pdf

[machinehop5]

This machine has a transformer that can be wired for single phase.

...single phase transformer yes in photo , but thats for Axis amps/drivers etc

[machinehop5]

...things to do under power before shipping.

#1 lower the Z axis to max.....wood block between spindle nose and table of your choice works good.
#2 ..get all the paperwork/prints/etc from your new fri.end

#3 costs to move/rigging 10k of cast iron