Ahh; the miracle of drugs! Heh..Heh. It is now sitting on my shop floor. For the next few days, I'll be in my recliner making a plan to move it a few more feet to it's resting place. I no longer have gravity to help me.
a while back I happened across a youtube video of a Brown & Sharpe cam activated screw machine running and I just knew I had to have one. Even if just to watch it make toothpicks out of two by fours, as it were.
My wife of 30 years needs 24 hour caregiving & I need some distraction to keep what's left of my sanity.
Being 150 miles from the nearest city of any size, limits my ability to find new machines. I spotted this machine on Ebay & it was only 90 miles away. Which still took much planning to go that far with wifey.
But we did & it was good to get out for a change. Very cool manufacturing facility where I bought it from. They only had it from a large buyout & had no interest in it. So for $200.00 I thought I'd get my money's worth just studying the mechanics & stripping off parts I might use. Like the Bijur oiling system, air mist lubricator, motors, electronics, etc.
But after seeing what good shape it's in, I'd like to consider other options. The General Numerics control system is so obsolete I can't find any info at all. The machine was retro fitted from a cammer to NC in 1982 via a patented system invented by an American. Robert Lambert. Thanks to google searches I was able to contact his son who still runs a busy screw machine shop in WA.
Mr. Lambert did not build these machines. He sold the rights to Machinery Sales INC. in Cali. No records or documentation exists.
So, for CNC operation it looks like another complete retro fit to a more modern set up. I'm researching options now.
Worst case, I could set it up as a fancy turret lathe with power feeds. It has a six position turret & four tool slides.
Honestly I've had so much fun researching the patent & tracking down Mr. Lambert JR. Trying to track down what all servo drivers, power supply's, etc.it would have had when in operation. That I feel like I've got my money's worth already.
It's going to take a coons age to clean all of the cosmolene off. So I have ample time to plan my next move.
And to learn as much as I care to about this new fangled thing called 'CNC'
