Need help !! I want to convert Anilam Crusader M to Linux CNC

[Harry The Big Dog]

I Need help converting my 1989 bridgeport with a Anilam Crusader M 3 axis control to Linux CNC. I hired a guy 2 years ago to perform this retrofit. After a lot of money shelled out, I have nothing to show for it other than a dead machine and a box of electronic parts. The guy is no where to be found. In the box is a MESA 7I76 and a 6I25 , small power supply, The mini itx I paid for is missing(have empty bag), Vfd is missing (have empty bag) , Ribbon connectors and a few stands. I am a machinist not an electronics guy. Any body help me ??My son and I have played with machine since 1996 when I acquired it.

 

[JimDawson]

Let's start by figuring out with motors you have on the axis drives. This is important, in that Mesa board is a stepper motor controller. As far as I can tell, it will not run an analog drive, like a DC servo motor drive. With the Anilam Crusader M controller, I suspect you have DC servo motors, probably Baldor.


Do your motors look like mine?


And does the inside of the panel look kind of like this?

 

[Harry The Big Dog]

Thanks for getting back to me.The drives are SEM type MT 30M4-59 DC servos.. Looks like the inside of my cabinet.

 

[JimDawson]

Well, there is a bit of a problem here, The Mesa board won't run the DC drives.

There are a couple of ways around this; Install stepper motors and drives, or use a motion controller that will output an analog signal to the drives.

I would say that just about any ITX would run the system, I'll look up the part number of the last one I used.

Take a quick read through what I did
http://www.dawsoncontrols.com/millupgrade.html

 

[sdmuleman]

It's similar than you think. I did 3 BP Boss mills with Mach3 and it's conceptually quite simple even without much electronics knowledge. Big thing is all the little details, and being careful with the wires and static sensitive stuff.

Fundamentally what you need is a motor controller for each axis (mine is steppers, so a Gecko drive or similar) with a power supply either for each axis or one common on, (may or may not be able to reuse the original supply) and then a system to interface the motor controllers with the PC. (break out board (BOB) or motion controller) If you break it down and look at it systematically it's not near as daunting.

I'd also suggest checking out the cnczone forums, they have lots of good info on cnc conversions.

 

[JimDawson]

....Fundamentally what you need is a motor controller for each axis (mine is steppers, so a Gecko drive or similar)......

And therein lies the problem with this conversion. This mill has DC servos, with Fenner drives, so unfortunately a Gecko stepper drive won't work. The drives and the power supply already exists in this system. The controller is the issue here, and the Mesa controller won't talk to the drives. These drives need a +/- 10 VDC signal to tell them what to do. A K-Flop with the analog daughter board might work. There are other options also.

 

[dracozny]

if you need analog control you need to use the 7i77, it supports up to 6 axis.
On my build I am using AMC Analog PWM Brushless drives witha Mesa 6i25-7i77 combo.

 

[DMS]

Another option would be the Geckon 320x (the servo driver), and a mesa 7i76. This is what I am running. More cost up front for the extra electroncs. You would also need to be sure that the encoders are compatible with the 7i76. That is assuming there are encoders on the motors, rather than resolvers or something else.

If you can get the existing electronics working with a 7i77, than that will likely be the best performance and lowest price for you, I am just throwing out some backup options.

I just looked at the 7I77 again, and it does look like a nice fit for your. It seems like you should be able to do spindle control with one of the analog outputs as well.

 

[Harry The Big Dog]

Well, there is a bit of a problem here, The Mesa board won't run the DC drives.

There are a couple of ways around this; Install stepper motors and drives, or use a motion controller that will output an analog signal to the drives.

I would say that just about any ITX would run the system, I'll look up the part number of the last one I used.

Take a quick read through what I did
http://www.dawsoncontrols.com/millupgrade.html

Thanks Jim, So you think I can use the Mesa boards I have If I buy Geckon 320x drives ? I assume I would need 3 of them ,1 for each axis.All this would work with my analog drives and glass scales ?. My Anilam power supply is dead. What size Atx power supply would be correct for this application? Any idea what size ITX would work best with my system ? Sorry for all the questions. Harry

 

[Harry The Big Dog]

Another option would be the Geckon 320x (the servo driver), and a mesa 7i76. This is what I am running. More cost up front for the extra electroncs. You would also need to be sure that the encoders are compatible with the 7i76. That is assuming there are encoders on the motors, rather than resolvers or something else.

If you can get the existing electronics working with a 7i77, than that will likely be the best performance and lowest price for you, I am just throwing out some backup options.

I just looked at the 7I77 again, and it does look like a nice fit for your. It seems like you should be able to do spindle control with one of the analog outputs as well.

The servos have tachs on them. Thanks Harry