Has anyone converted a 120 to Mach 3?
Bob

If it's anything like my emco 140 it will need a whole new control to work with mach.

Does it have 5 phase steppers?

Is the main spindle a DC motor and what HP is it?

I am using the existing 5 phase steppers. The only drives I know of that will work are Vexta drives. They are on ebay for around $100/axis. If you have the german motors you will have to do some sluething to find the right part# for the vexta drive to work with it. I have some documentation that may be of some use.

The alternative is to replace the motors with more modern stuff. Mine were brand new, so I elected to use them.

The spindle drive is a bit more of a problem. Mine is a 7.5 hp DC drive, but it is a 400V motor. So I am running it at 250V. I will only get about 4hp cont. 5hp peak this way, but that is enough for my needs.

I am currently putting the thing together.

I'll help if I can.

Monty

Check out Digital Machinist, a publication by Home Shop Machinist & Machinist Workshop.  They had an article on converting an EMCO machine and it may apply to yours also.  It was just a matter of clipping a latching type IC off the board and installing some jumpers, no extra drivers to buy.  I just read it yesterday.