Lathe CNC conversion

[Lynarnold]

My only concern is that Tormach (at least in some of their models) went with polyphase steppers that are not compatible with most off the shelf bi-polar stepper drives. I think they did that for better motion control performance at a mid range cost to servos.

I think I can still get the drivers I need from Tormach. I will check with them and see what they say. Thank you for the information.

 

[Lynarnold]

Not sure where you are as far as knowing what is needed for the hardware to set up so I will post this eBay ad with a picture showing the components.

Not that you would buy this.

You already have the steppers that are in the picture.

You need the stepper drivers as seen in the right side of the picture, the breakout box in the middle, and a power supply. It has a remote controller which is not needed but nice to have but a rotary encoder hard wired is better.

If you have an older computer with a parallel port that is helpful because many of the systems use the parallel port but better buying a new one to get a USB based breakout board.

【USA】3 Axis Nema23 stepper motor 3A/425oz.in+ Driver USBCNC Board Controller Kit | eBay

【USA】3 Axis Nema23 stepper motor 3A/425oz. 1 x CD include English user manual and usbcnc software. 4 Axis USBCNC breakout board. This interface board is based on USBCNC MK1 and just use in our provide softwareand function, can not support update the firmware and use other versions of the...

www.ebay.com

Thank you for the information and the link.

 

[cjtoombs]

The polyphase steppers and drivers were on Series III and later machines, so the ones you took off to upgrede to Series 3were 2 phase steppers. (the polyphase are 3 phase). As for their value, they are only really valuable to someone with a Tormach that needs them. NEMA 34 steppers and drivers are all over the internet and for cheap, so I doubt you can sell the ones you have and then buy a whole setup with that money. The drivers you need are probably available at around $60. Besides, you only need two of them for a lathe conversion anyway. I would use the Z axis stepper for the Z axis on the lathe, as it is a bit more powerful than the X and Y steppers and you generally need more power on the Z axis of a lathe because that will be used for drilling, which can be pretty tough.

 

[Lynarnold]

Thank you for the information. In the next few weeks I plan to get the things I need to get this project going and all of the information I have been receiving is going to help a lot. Thanks again.

 

[Lynarnold]

Is there something in the parameters that is used to tell the system what the pitch of the lead screw is. Not ready for it yet, just wondering.

 

[cjtoombs]

Is there something in the parameters that is used to tell the system what the pitch of the lead screw is. Not ready for it yet, just wondering.

Yes, all of them have a setup page or file. You will need to read up on that once you settle on what software you will use.