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Mach4 General Discussion / Bridgeport BOSS R2E4 Retrofit
« on: June 03, 2023, 07:04:28 PM »
Just getting started on the planning stages of a retrofit to a 1985 Bridgeport Boss. This version has servos instead of steppers and the spindle is 2HP with 5 inches of Z travel. The computer boots, but as soon as it is done with all its system checks and goes into the actual run time it gets a little confused. Not a real problem. I bought the machine at a very good price and the mecahical portion of the machine is almost pristine.
I have been using a Sieg KX3 CNC with Mach3 for several years now, have not wanted to spend the money on Mach4 as I was also trying to get some tooling for the lathe and the Hardinge UM horizontal mill. Mach 4 will require getting used to a little different appearance and some changes in the logic of operating the machine. It is not Mach3, so I know there is going to be some learning curve.
My plans are to go with a Ethernet Smooth Stepper as the machine interface. I have been using one, and it has behaved very well for me. How difficult would it be to configure Mach4 so I could use some 20mm industrial push buttons for my Start, Feed Hold, and Stop buttons? I will have a keyboard mounted up where the current keypad for the Boss is mounted, and I would like to get it so I don't need the mouse quite as much as I do with my current setup.
I am also looking at the DG4S-16035 High voltage servo drives and probably the BRKC-180 braking units. from CNC4PC. The current drives are rated 140VDC and I am not sure what the performance would be with a drive limited to 80VDC. And besides, I already have the higher voltage DC supply in my machine...
Any thoughts?
I have been using a Sieg KX3 CNC with Mach3 for several years now, have not wanted to spend the money on Mach4 as I was also trying to get some tooling for the lathe and the Hardinge UM horizontal mill. Mach 4 will require getting used to a little different appearance and some changes in the logic of operating the machine. It is not Mach3, so I know there is going to be some learning curve.
My plans are to go with a Ethernet Smooth Stepper as the machine interface. I have been using one, and it has behaved very well for me. How difficult would it be to configure Mach4 so I could use some 20mm industrial push buttons for my Start, Feed Hold, and Stop buttons? I will have a keyboard mounted up where the current keypad for the Boss is mounted, and I would like to get it so I don't need the mouse quite as much as I do with my current setup.
I am also looking at the DG4S-16035 High voltage servo drives and probably the BRKC-180 braking units. from CNC4PC. The current drives are rated 140VDC and I am not sure what the performance would be with a drive limited to 80VDC. And besides, I already have the higher voltage DC supply in my machine...
Any thoughts?