Hello all, This post is WAAAAYYYYY off topic. And long, and rambling......
I'm tired. I work pretty hard for a living at the moment. Times are tough, but at least I'm working. Thank god I have the tools I do, and the room in my home shop to run them.
As I stand and work at the machines I have now, I dream of a three axis CNC with a tool changer. It would be super nice to load up a small fixture, push a button and walk away for 30 minutes to an hour so I can make progress on a different machine at the same time. The little two axis CNC machine I have now is great. But I need to stand at the machine at all times to make quill pulls and tool changes. I would love to have something a bit more complete. But being the complete broke ass that I am, and the fact I just don't have that much work, I can't justify the 25+ grand for even a small used machining center.
But hey, I'm a smart guy? Right? Maybe?
So I have this machine in storage. I got it for FREE years ago with this idea I would do something with it someday. It's big, it's old, it has ball screws. Three axis of motion and a tool changer. Problem is, it's old stepper technology, and the tape controller is junk. So I have this plan to update it to a PC based controller with servos. The machine itself is solid. Doesn't even have that much wear from the look of the machine beds. Having all the ball screws installed already will make this so much easier as well.
Thinking of basing the control on EMC2. It's a Linux based PC control package developed by the National Institute of Standards (NIST). When the project was finished, the gov released it to the public for free. It's now a very heavily developed project that anyone can download for free and use. Thousands of machine shops all over the world use EMC to control their CNC's. The software can control up to 8 axis of motion, simultaneously. It's that powerful. And did I mention, it's free!
Here is an old photo I grabbed from the web of what I have. It's a Bridgeport BTC II. It's based on the Series II Bridgeport knee mill:
It's about nine feet high, and weighs about 7,200 lbs. Of course, all of the control boxes you see around the machine will go. That alone will drop about 2,500 pounds. The old control technology took a lot of room back then.
Almost everything I will need to run this thing will fit in a box that's about 12" deep, by 36" high, by 24" wide. I'll use some kind of flat screen monitor and waterproof keyboard up by the head for programing and user control. I'm also planning to build some fluid trays and sides so I can do flood cooling and collection/recirculating as I cut. The machine also has a really cool old Bijur spray mister for light cutting.
I don't have a lot of time at the moment to get started on this fully, but I can start to collect the parts I need. The first items I'm looking for at the moment are the motors with matching drivers/amps. I have a lead on three motors in Denver. They're off an older Cincinnati CNC that has been cannibalized to keep other machines going. Surprisingly, the original DC servos and drive amps are still there. Guy says he wants $300 for all three. Could be a super deal if they're any good. I'll know the end of next week when I get a chance to run down there to check them out.
My goal is to make cool stuff without it wearing me out so much. I'm getting too old for this manual shit. A guy can dream, right? My new affirmation is "Work smarter, not harder!" If I'm lucky.
I need a bigger garage.
That is all.
David
I'm tired. I work pretty hard for a living at the moment. Times are tough, but at least I'm working. Thank god I have the tools I do, and the room in my home shop to run them.
As I stand and work at the machines I have now, I dream of a three axis CNC with a tool changer. It would be super nice to load up a small fixture, push a button and walk away for 30 minutes to an hour so I can make progress on a different machine at the same time. The little two axis CNC machine I have now is great. But I need to stand at the machine at all times to make quill pulls and tool changes. I would love to have something a bit more complete. But being the complete broke ass that I am, and the fact I just don't have that much work, I can't justify the 25+ grand for even a small used machining center.
But hey, I'm a smart guy? Right? Maybe?
So I have this machine in storage. I got it for FREE years ago with this idea I would do something with it someday. It's big, it's old, it has ball screws. Three axis of motion and a tool changer. Problem is, it's old stepper technology, and the tape controller is junk. So I have this plan to update it to a PC based controller with servos. The machine itself is solid. Doesn't even have that much wear from the look of the machine beds. Having all the ball screws installed already will make this so much easier as well.
Thinking of basing the control on EMC2. It's a Linux based PC control package developed by the National Institute of Standards (NIST). When the project was finished, the gov released it to the public for free. It's now a very heavily developed project that anyone can download for free and use. Thousands of machine shops all over the world use EMC to control their CNC's. The software can control up to 8 axis of motion, simultaneously. It's that powerful. And did I mention, it's free!
Here is an old photo I grabbed from the web of what I have. It's a Bridgeport BTC II. It's based on the Series II Bridgeport knee mill:
It's about nine feet high, and weighs about 7,200 lbs. Of course, all of the control boxes you see around the machine will go. That alone will drop about 2,500 pounds. The old control technology took a lot of room back then.
Almost everything I will need to run this thing will fit in a box that's about 12" deep, by 36" high, by 24" wide. I'll use some kind of flat screen monitor and waterproof keyboard up by the head for programing and user control. I'm also planning to build some fluid trays and sides so I can do flood cooling and collection/recirculating as I cut. The machine also has a really cool old Bijur spray mister for light cutting.
I don't have a lot of time at the moment to get started on this fully, but I can start to collect the parts I need. The first items I'm looking for at the moment are the motors with matching drivers/amps. I have a lead on three motors in Denver. They're off an older Cincinnati CNC that has been cannibalized to keep other machines going. Surprisingly, the original DC servos and drive amps are still there. Guy says he wants $300 for all three. Could be a super deal if they're any good. I'll know the end of next week when I get a chance to run down there to check them out.
My goal is to make cool stuff without it wearing me out so much. I'm getting too old for this manual shit. A guy can dream, right? My new affirmation is "Work smarter, not harder!" If I'm lucky.
I need a bigger garage.
That is all.
David
