Looking for input on a machine I found

Just to let you know . I am a professional repairman who has worked in the machine tool industry since 1983.
I served my machining apprenticeship at a major lathe manufacture, where I built lathes that went on USN ships.

Worked in the rebuilding retrofit part of the industry until pushed out in the field to perform field service.
After 25 years of working for others started my own business about 12 years ago, 2 years ago I added a son to the business, he had spent 18 years machining and wanted to learn the repair side.
Best of luck with your projects.
 
GreyMan said:
Hey, thanks for the responses. Also, sorry for not really giving a better explanation. I am indeed wanting to build full 3 axis cnc into a machine. However, after posting this I did come across another older forum post about this specific machine, and after reading that plus the responses here I think I may be better off passing on this one. For one, as @sdelivery stated it is missing the control box. This was in the ad, but I originally didnt think it was that big of a deal, however, these machines were built to be 2.5 axis(if thats the correct term?) cnc from the get go and based on older technology(no G code at all). It is listed for $1200, but Im sure I could get if for half of that. That being said, I think if I did a conversion I would rather it be on a better platform from the get go(bridgeport or a clone of some sort).

Just a little more background, I am a software engineer, and wanting to get my hands dirty. My late grandfather was a machinist, and on the other side of the family my grandfather was an aeronautical engineer, so its in my blood. Wanting to build up a small shop to build tools and other machines. I plan on building my own cnc plasma table, already have some decent plans for that, I am trying to get a mill, get it refurbed and converted if needed and using that to start building everything I can, basically gonna attempt to bootstrap the entire operation.
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Given this info I think we really need to hear from @JimDawson, he’s our resident expert on CNC retrofits.

If you can pick it up for $600, and you have plenty of room it may be a good deal for your intended purpose. You’ll still probably need a small manual mill and lathe to make the pieces you need but I might be wrong here.

One thing certain, you’ll be able to get your hands dirty with this one. I’m sure people have started with worse, and if you go in with your eyes open and pay essentially scrap value you probably won’t get hurt.

John
 
OK, if you want a CNC project, I think this would be a great deal. I can see its a taper 30 (or 40?) machine, way more rigid than R8. of course condition is everything.

The steppers are likely obsolete. They would work, but FAR better drives are available today.

I consider myself expert on Camsoft, mentioned above. It is a great control but with a STEEP learning curve. NOT for neophytes.

You could play with Mach 3 and those old steppers for nearly free. If you want to build a nice machine, I'd take a serious look at Centroid with quality servos. lots of other options, start reading on CNCzone.com

Don't worry about the old control, just scrap at this point.
 
matthewsx said:
Given this info I think we really need to hear from @JimDawson, he’s our resident expert on CNC retrofits.

If you can pick it up for $600, and you have plenty of room it may be a good deal for your intended purpose. You’ll still probably need a small manual mill and lathe to make the pieces you need but I might be wrong here.

One thing certain, you’ll be able to get your hands dirty with this one. I’m sure people have started with worse, and if you go in with your eyes open and pay essentially scrap value you probably won’t get hurt.

John
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I will most definitely need a lathe of some sort.
 
Karl_T said:
OK, if you want a CNC project, I think this would be a great deal. I can see its a taper 30 (or 40?) machine, way more rigid than R8. of course condition is everything.

The steppers are likely obsolete. They would work, but FAR better drives are available today.

I consider myself expert on Camsoft, mentioned above. It is a great control but with a STEEP learning curve. NOT for neophytes.

You could play with Mach 3 and those old steppers for nearly free. If you want to build a nice machine, I'd take a serious look at Centroid with quality servos. lots of other options, start reading on CNCzone.com

Don't worry about the old control, just scrap at this point.
Click to expand...
Taking notes, I'm somewhat familiar with LinuxCNC, although I have never implemented it myself.
 
That machine looks a bit rough in the picture. But that could be just surface crud. Look at the ways for signs of wear and lack of lubrication. Ball screws and ways should be dripping with oil, at least a little bit. When properly lubricated, about the only thing that wears on these machines is the veri-speed drive components, and sometimes the spindle bearings.

As said above, all of the mechanical components are in place to make it a CNC machine. The fact that there is no controller is most likely a plus, one less thing to get rid of. It would be nice if it came with the electrical box, you will need one. I think I see some new axis motors in your future.

As far as controls, the sky and your budget, is the limit. Good suggestions above, or my personal favorite; my own CNC software (free), and a Galil motion controller (inexpensive on eBay). Since you are a software engineer you will appreciate the fact that my software comes with the source code, written in VB.net.
 
Might be worth watching the ToT (This old Tony) videos on YouTube about his Maho converstion; his Maho was also an early 2.5d CNC machine that he's made 3D.

I mean it's a completely different mill and so the videos won't be directly applicable but you might learn something and he's entertaining :grin:
 
JimDawson said:
That machine looks a bit rough in the picture. But that could be just surface crud. Look at the ways for signs of wear and lack of lubrication. Ball screws and ways should be dripping with oil, at least a little bit. When properly lubricated, about the only thing that wears on these machines is the veri-speed drive components, and sometimes the spindle bearings.

As said above, all of the mechanical components are in place to make it a CNC machine. The fact that there is no controller is most likely a plus, one less thing to get rid of. It would be nice if it came with the electrical box, you will need one. I think I see some new axis motors in your future.

As far as controls, the sky and your budget, is the limit. Good suggestions above, or my personal favorite; my own CNC software (free), and a Galil motion controller (inexpensive on eBay). Since you are a software engineer you will appreciate the fact that my software comes with the source code, written in VB.net.
Click to expand...
You had me up until VB.net lmao, just kidding, I learned a long time ago to be language agnostic.
 
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