Thanks to all who talked me out of repairing the Heidenhain controller

I would not even know what I was missing. Thanks to all

Reply to
Ignoramus23878
Loading thread data ...

its been a pleasure to actually have a stream of on topic posts. I was getting close to writing this NG off.

Take good care of this machine and you'll be able to give it to your son one day.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Way to go! Now can you do the math for 6 axis robotic arm kinematics? :-)

Once you get your electricals all done you might enjoy the software things you can do. If you get into it deeply enough there could be advantages of having the source code available.

I think it would be neat to make a CNC mill that you could operate manually, maybe handwheels with encoders and toggle switches for feeds. CNC is great for a new part but it's nice to have a manual mill for repair work, a CNC mill could be programmed to operate like a manual mill for those instances where you need to repair an occasional part.

RogerN

Reply to
RogerN

good to hear

I was hoping to use it for 60 more years.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus23878

I think so and I feel strongly about it. There is a huge advantage of using a full fledged programming system, as opposed to using it like a VCR.

I want to get this mill into a fully working shape. Once I do that, I will work on getting the original controls to operate as intended. John F did that with his old BP (almost exactly like mine) and he even posted his HAL files online.

I think that using a mill with keyboard is not very classy, when it runs in manual mode. It is like fishing with a skiing pole -- can be done, but just not cool.

I think that I will get them to work, though possibly I will need one more DIO board from Jon to handle all the buttons.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus23878

Put a couple of handwheel encoders on it and you could operate it just like a manual. I run our Sugami CNC with the manual hand wheel all the time for one off parts. All the tooling is already set up. MDI is also an easy way to go too, especially if you have some macros for bolt circles and the whole boatload of g codes. As someone said recently, you got to think outside the box to get things done.

John

Reply to
john

The real fun is just beginning!

Enjoy. :)

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

I think that even one off things, are best handled with G codes. Mostly, for hand control, I only see repair applications like "drill out this broken bolt" or some such.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9140

I use CNC to drill even one hole. Turn on computer, start control, click "Home", put part in vice, bring up drill.job to edit and put in coords. of holes, put drill in machine, zero Z axis, click cycle start. You're done. Its a push on CNC vs. manual on one hole, do two and CNC is more accurate and faster.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

You can do that now, I have a little jog pendant on both my machines, see

formatting link
have a better one on my mini-mill, using a new HEDSS encoder. That one is small enough you can hold it in one hand and push the dial with your thumb. Great for use with feeler gauges or paper for tool length setting. I still use the keyboard arrow keys for steady feedrates, though. I do this plenty when milling down the top of something until it cleans up the sawed edge.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Thanks for taking us through this conversion with you. After your long hours of working on this machine you took the time to take pictures, videos, and post it. This would take 6 months to a year to follow in a magazine article but you did it for us as it happened and without cost to us. Anyway, a big thanks to you!

RogerN

Reply to
RogerN

I am glad to hear, though I am not yet done.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus9140

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.