i want to convert my lathe to mach3. it is a 17" x 40" gear head engine lathe, has the fanuc 20t control on it. personal computers i understand a bit, and ive been doing a lot of internet reading and video watching about mach3, im beginning to understand the basics, why a breakout board, steppers vs servos, analog vs digital, step + dir, etc. ive watched a bunch of the Artsoft tutorials and a lot of it makes good sense to me, tho when folks start talking modbus, incorporating motion controllers, etc, it gets a bit fuzzy to me. ive watched these folks vids,
http://buildyourcnc.com/CNCElectronicsandWiring.aspx and
http://buildyourcnc.com/wiring.aspx, most of it makes sense to me, tho ive never attempted this before. ive looked hard at the Machmotion kits, could probably afford their stepper lathe kit, looks like a great effort on their part, but something in me says turn to the mach3 community, take this in little bitty steps, and i will save some $$ but more importantly i will understand what i have built with the help of others when i am done, which is very important to me. i run a big fanuc controlled workcenter days, ive watched the fanuc man fix the machines around mine and know the $$$$ he charges, and the $$$$ the repair parts cost. i need him to not have to come to my garage, i need to be able to fix my own stuff, and from reading the huge manuals that came with my fanuc control, know this is too much for me.
so i think ive taken the 1st 2 bitty steps. i have listed my complete fanuc control with motors for sale in multiple places including here, goodbye, perhaps i can generate a lil $$ for my conversion. once the fanuc is gone, i will be left with a nice solid engine lathe with a 2 speed 8 hp spindle motor, running on 208 v 3 phase, yup, not 240, bucked down off a rotary phase converter. the 208 is i guess european and/or portugese style. i also have a full set of electrical diagrams, also in portugese. the motor has a mechanical brake, turn off the spindle, klunk, the chuck stops, very quickly. there are mpgs for the x and z, a high-low hand switch for the spindle motor, coolant pump, and an oiler. there is an incremental spindle encoder there, not on the spindle itself, but on the output drive of the gearbox. oem (hiwin) ballscrews are in place with pulleys on them, and places to mount new axis motors. bunches of relays and contactors in the cabinet too, i know their basic purpose, but couldnt tell you one from the other.
my original dream was an enhanced version of what i had (i really like the mach3 graphics and screens) complete with vfd, mitsubishi servos kit from Machmotion, now i am looking at a different approach. bitty steps. i am looking at basic stepper kits from motiontek and automation technologies inc. perhap with a higher end breakout board to be there should i decide later its time to go servo. or add the vfd. am i barking up the right tree? will they help me the non electronics guy get this running? how about you guys? can i get guidance here a small step at a time? theres plenty of time, and enough money so i wont be looking for the cheapest component(s) from ebay with engrish documentation. i want to do it right, simple as possible, fancy is not needed right now.
so ive decided the fanuc is going. and ive decided to stay very basic, just get her running again. i have a competent electrician/electronics guy available, but want to do as much as i can myself, so i can learn. he will be there when needed, electrocution is not on my list. i just want my lathe to run again, to be able to be run with the handwheels (mpgs) like a manual, and also via cnc, do basic contouring and threading, and i want to document this, so the next fellow who might be a machinist and a mechanic but not an electronics guy can benefit from my experience. there is obviously a ton of knowledge in this community, an awful lot has been done with mach3. my task ahead seems simple compared to that. but i dont have that ton of knowledge. help me out, what is my next bitty step?
thanks in advance
ken
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