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41

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: BRIDGEPORT SERIES II CNC MILL W/ BOSS 6 CONTROL RETROFIT

« on: January 13, 2010, 06:48:06 AM »

Thanks for the reply

- As far as the motor drives go, what do you mean as " too small for the motors"

42

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / BRIDGEPORT SERIES II CNC MILL W/ BOSS 6 CONTROL RETROFIT

« on: January 12, 2010, 09:30:30 PM »

Hello,
I am new to this so please excuse my ignorance, I am a newb.  I work in a production shop that currently uses 6 bridgeport boss 6 mills none are which are cnc, just nc. There is a series 2 boss 6 that is not working just used to maintance the other boss 5 for parts or boards.  The boss 5's run great for the high volume of work that we do for powdered metal parts which we just drill holes here do a little milling there. The only complaint is on a weekly basis an axis might go and we will have to stop production to repair the axis.  So reading this forum for about 2 weeks now i am interested to convert the series 2 boss 6 into cnc.  After retrofitted I will run the machine in production myself to learn all the pros and cons. If it goes great I plan to convert the other boss 5's in the same manner.

I would like out of all this:
- A more reliable machine
- Finer positioning and smoother motion
- Upgradeable to 4 axis's (rotary table)
- More speed in the rapids, but the same performance as the Boss control will do just fine
- A way to adjust the spindle speed via G-code instead of manually
- Control of coolant, by a M9
- Limits and home microswitches to cut the motor
- Smaller footprint

I plan to use:
- Mach 3 Mill
-Geckodrives (G540 or 3 G203V)
-BOB from CNC4PC (C11 G)
-PC (w/ Touch Screen LCD), if the touch screen lcd proves to be overkill it will be eliminated for the boss 5's
-The original Iron from the mill, along with the table, stock stepper motors, and spindle motor

Lastly I will get a power supply and fuses after I find the major parts for control of motors and misc devices

Am I in the right direction as far as parts go or does anybody else recomend trying something different?

I understand that the G540 is 4 axis and also a BOB, but can it control also coolant and a vfd for the spindle?

Is there a way to rigid tap (G84)?

I will also continue to read the forum to help better educate myself

Any guidance in this project, would be great.

Thanks for reading My post,
                                        Joe