Many thanks for your efforts Chip.
After a lot of research I went for a Kanalog + Kflop board from Dynomotion and Tom Kerekes has been exceedingly helpful.
We have just started hooking it up and, although we have not quite got the machine fully operational yet, we do have the table working in the x axis and that means we can control the Panasonic drivers, which were my main concern as I was told, by the experts, that they were old and should be replaced.
I am sure we will be successful in converting it to a modern, and versatile machine with simple to use, and easy to understand, software and controls.
After posting here, and a lot of fruitless searching, I went back to the bloke, from whom I bought the machine, and he found a wiring diagram for the Panasonic drivers and, although the colour coding on the wires is not correct, we have been able to use it, with a lot of head scratching.
Ross