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General Mach Discussion / Question about Retrofit of Anilam Crusader II Controlled Knee Mill

« on: February 02, 2013, 04:15:23 PM »

Hi All.  I have a 2hp SuperMax knee mill that has already been converted to use an Anilam Crusader II controller.  The servo motors are still working well but they are old SEM Permanent Magnet DC analog motors.  I want to upgrade the servo drives (if necessary) but more importantly I want to upgrade the controller to something newer.  I want to be able to use my 3D CAD/CAM program to create g-code and tooling paths that can be downloaded to the new controller.  I need help understanding what I will need to purchase and what will need to be modified on the machine to use Mach3 as an upgraded controller.  The Anilam controller uses the tachometer on the motors and the glass scales mounted on each axis to determine the true position of the tool.  What is a good way to attack this issue?  What are good servo drivers for these types of motors?  Is there a vendor out there that has a 3/4 axis controller module that will utilize the glass scale and motor tachometer or do I need to update the machine to use ball screws and encoders?  Even with the ball screws and encoders on the motors, what are the best controllers (under $1500) to use to interface between the Mach3 computer and the servo drivers?  Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks.