Converting Anilam Crusader II to LinuxCNC

I'm well on my way to converting my Anilam Crusader II Bridgeport to LinuxCNC. I converted a Crusader M Lathe to LinuxCNC a few years back.

I'm trying to make the new control very close to a plug in replacement for the old control. You disconnect the 3 scales and the large 20 pin MS connector from the Crusader II and plug them into the LinuxCNC control.

I have the pinout connections for the scales and am most of the way done with the large connector. I have 4 inputs and 1 output I don't know what is yet, probably some kind of an enable output and inputs are likely limit switches and an enable, I'll have to trace them out on the mill, I've only traced out on the Crusader II controller so far.

I don't know if there are very many interested in doing these conversions but I thought after I get it all done, I could make a file package with documentation of the connections, the hardware I used, and the software configuration files. If the servo amps are adjusted to the motors for the Anilam control, then they should be close for the PID gains I come up with.

There are features I'm planning to add on, these include an interface for a variable frequency spindle drive, Outputs for coolant and add on I/O. I would also like to add encoder receptacles for a spindle encoder and a 4th axis, plus maybe 5th axis encoder and analog signal. I thought maybe before I get a spindle encoder attached, I could use one like a hand tach for setting the spindle to the correct speed.

Anyway, after it's all done and working pretty well, I'd like to zip up the project folder and make it available to anyone else interested in the conversion. Would the drop box be appropriate for the files or elsewhere?

RogerN

Reply to
RogerN
Loading thread data ...

Taking the time to document it helps everybody. Thanks ahead of time.

I've seen many refits of this machine over on CNCzone.com

I'd suggest you take an evening searching over there, bet you find your pin out info.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Hi Roger M - Michael M here: aka (SHOTGUN33) I have an Alliant Knee Mill and it runs great. I had to do a little cleani ng up on the drive motors but after some polishing on armatures and a littl e acetone cleanup it moves smoothly in all axis's and make no noise. I mea n it's quiet. The CRUSADER II also works great and I did the test on the 2

5 PIN input (female 25 pin) on the back of the Controller by programming (A ux2740 > Enter > output top LED = 0) which tells me that programming step was confirmed. Now the NEXT STEP - what CAM software to use to cut 3D sha pes modeled in SoildWorks. I have some fairly complex propeller models for cutting 6061 molds and making carbon fiber propellers. So that's a very so phisticated program plus 2D and 3D cutting of balsa wood to make thin wall shapes again from the SolidWorks model. I would be very interested in talking to you about LINUX CNC and its functi onality for my purposes and its ease of use and learning curve. Send me a post or an email and I will reply quid-pro-quo.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net

Reply to
m2drlm

I would recommend to download and burn the LinuxCNC LiveCD, you can run it in simulation mode and even test run your programs. I haven't machined any complicated 3 axis programs yet. I have BobCad/Cam that I can get to work but it seems to crash sometimes when I try to post. If I get to where I need it, I'll bug BobCad/Cam to see if they are useful in supporting post processing crashes.

Currently I can only recommend BobCad/Cam if you DON'T need reliable software! But I admit I haven't tried to resolve the problem yet, just don't have the need until I get a shop building at my current location.

RogerN

Reply to
RogerN

RogerN, I am looking into doing the same thing to my Anilam Crusader-M Lagun ftv-2s mill. How did yours work out? if you can send me any info, that would be great!

Reply to
completeindustrialservices

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.