bridgeport CNC upgrade Aiken, SC

[TPR Motorsports]

hey guys, im new here, and im looking at buying a 3 axis cnc bridgeport machine, i would say its a 9.5 out of 10 mechanically but its got bad electronics. im getting a deal on it and it comes as complete as it gets, a bunch of tooling is included and complete coolant tank with pump and it even comes with every manual it came with when bought new.

ok, so here is the plan, buy the machine, buy MACH3 software in install into a pc, go with gecko drives and break out board and call it a day. simple enough right... lol bad part is all this wiring stuff is over my head and im looking for someone in my area to give me a lending hand or trade some favors for machine time etc etc

i own TPR Motorsports and specialize in building drag race/street/strip old school rear wheel drive corollas from 1967-1987 and figured it was time to step up and get my own fabrication equiptment instead of having to out source everything to other shops. we also have a large 20" swing and 144" between centers lathe, a mini lathe, mig tig and stick welders, and a large capacity twin post horizontal bandsaw.

anyway, any help suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated

some info on the bridgeport: it has 3 large SEM servo motors, and pneumatic brake and speed control

thanks again guys and if this post is in the wrong section please let me know and point me in the right direction and ill move it accordingly

[DennisCNC]

In your situation I would say jump in and do all of it yourself that way when some things goes wrong you will be able ti fix it quick.  Ask the questions and we will help with the retrofit.....

[TPR Motorsports]

That's a hell of a jump... Lol more like a plunge... Lol

thanks though, I appreciate the reply, I'm still on the fence of whether or not to buy the machine. I'm starting to lean more towards doing the retrofit though. I'm feeling a little more brave if I can count on u guys to walk me thru this...

Thanks again

Carlos Diaz

[Hood]

I am sure you will get all the help you need.
Might want to look at the Dugong drives from cncdrives.com they will allow you to get the original speeds from the SEM motors. I have never tried these drives but other that have only have good to say about them.
Hood

[TPR Motorsports]

im looking at getting the pmdx break out board and 3 gecko g320x servo drives

does anyone have some pictures of their system after its done? i just want to get an idea of the way things are laid out.

the purchase of the machine is pending if the servo motors check out to be good to go, if they are, i will most likely go ahead and buy the machine

thanks guys

[Sam]

What exactly is wrong with the current electronics? Your 100% sure that it is not cost effective to fix the existing system?

[jeep534]

Well...... first of all what is the model of bridgeport..... second you can forget gkeco's they are way too small i am going to make a WAG and say the servo motors are 140 volt 14 amp continous or so which is way above the capicity of the geko's

archie =) =) =)

[JHChoppers]

After you find the specs on the servos, then you can decide what drivers are best. 

Geckos are rated at 80VDC and 20AMPs (1600 WATTS of power).  If you build a power supply big enough and your servos are specs closes to this, it will work fine.  We are using this kind of setup on our BP412 VMC Project:  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,13365.msg94979.html#msg94979

Thanks
JH