[tractdesign]

just purchased an older 1985 fadal vmc40 machine for very very cheap. it has cnc88 controller. It has almost no memory, so my question is if anyone has experience with updating the controller. I have seen camsofts website but have not contacted them about my situation. is it affordable and what exactly are the options?

[nervis1]

CNCpros online.

They will sell a 422 mem board for like 4-5 hundred don't quote me.....maybe less, can't remember. They will also do an entire -5 upgrade, or whatever you want.


I have bought .....jeezus I don't even want to think about it. Ive bought a lot of stuff from them, they are the best Fadal parts supplier around, no doubt. The Fadal factory has been very good to me as well but the CNC guys will beat them on price most of the time.

Talk to Brian or Rich. BTW I have no connection to that Co. Just a customer who has never been let down.




http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1284


Check this thread too.

I updated a VMC15 control to a -5 cost was about 4500. It came with graphics, color, and feed forward, + the ability to add up to 16 meg mem. Thats a bargain compared to a new machine I think.

The change out was pretty easy, and can be done in about two hours. Essentially every card in the machine gets replaced with updated hardware.

[surface]

I don't understand why memory is so expensive, but if it is just memory that you are in search of, it may be cheaper to invest in some DNC software.

[Scott_bob]

My advice would depend on what you want to use this CNC for...

If it is gonna be in your garage or your buisness is not affected by competition, then leave the Fadal control on your CNC.

On the other hand, if you'd like to do some serious CNC machining. You have competition, or costs that will drive you to be more productive than you can be with a stock Fadal control, then check out a PC based retrofit control.

We are running right now, a job on our 1995 vintage Fadal with DC drives.
F400. (That's four Hundred inches per minute) finishing part dimensions to within .005
The billet of 6061-t6 starts off weighing 30 lbs and when the part is done is weighs 3 lbs. with walls no thicker than .190, and in some places as thin as .060

It's a beautiful thing to watch,

[nervis1]

I hear you. Isn't it a rip that we can buy 1 GIG of RAM at Best Buy for 300 bucks but 16MEGS for my CNC machine costs 2k$. I have more memory in my palm pilot fer cryin out loud.

[Scott_bob]

And when it comes to DNC, what a pain in the ass! For anyone who has had to drip feed a program into your control, or worse, break up the program into small pieces just because your machine does not have enough memory, you know what I mean.

But these inconvienances, they are not that big a deal compared to performance of a CNC. You have got to see a PC based control running on a Fadal CNC to believe what a difference an outstanding control can make!

Nervis1, why don't you come over to our shop Monday for a look see? If you wait to come much later than Tuesday the job running now will be all done...

Sincerely,

[nervis1]

Oh man I'd love to see that thing run...and your whole shop, but last I remember you are in CA right?

I'm near Phoenix though and that's a 10hr round trip to SoCal. Ouch.


Can I PM you next time were going to her folks house? They live in SD and that would make a visit a piece of cake. (Assuming I'm remembering right about the CA thing?).


And...I agree with you on the DNC thing, tried it a few times never liked it.

[tractdesign]

Thanks for the response, I am sceduling a service technician to come by on the day I wire it up to give me info on its mechanical condition. I guess I will try a DNC program first and see what my cost to performance options are after I have it up and running. I use alpha Cam 3d routerto program my CNC router, I am looking to buy a discouned seat of there 3d mill. talk soon

[DareBee]

I agree that the DNC is a pain in the @#%.
My '95 has less mem than my wrist watch and I pretty much DNC everything.
If I were to get the work load on my mill up to the level it should be at, I would have to change my control.

Scottbob.. my machine is 4 axis, rigid tap and DC drive, what exactly did you do/use to retrofit your machine and do you know the approximate cost.

[Scott_bob]

DareBee,

http://www.docmachine.com/cnc_rubicon_cnc.htm

It's a long story, and a lot of it is covered here on the zone...
A lot of testing, research and traveling out to Detroit where mold machining is more fine tuned (automotive industry, as you know being in that neighborhood). The HSM mold industry is on the cutting edge of motion control. If the CNC control you're using is not competative in the industry, you will not survive. A lot of shops in this industry have had no choice but to consider the risks of inaction, and found the benefits of retrofitting a CNC machines control, far outweigh the risks.

Maybe I'll put a power point presentation on the download site for guys like you who are interested in more detail. The fact of the mater is this, your Fadal CNC can be made competative with the finest high end CNC available today at a fraction of the price.

How do you like the idea of leasing (month to month) the cost of retrofitting your CNC control? Then at the end of your lease, do a one dollar buy off. There are company's willing to do this...

This is like taking out a "2nd morgage" on your old cnc machine to upgrade it's computer...

For a small company, this is great for cash flow and tax advantages...

Sincerely,

[bradleycnc]

Seems like some of us wood like to see more of this control.
Any chance we can get a movie uploded?

Keep us informd

Bradley

[Paul_S]

Do you have the Fadal software Assist program? It will allow you to run programs larger than 32K using DNC method. Where I work we have one cnc88 control with only the 32K memory. With programs larger than the memory I just ran as DNC. Since the shop now had newer Fadals with much more memory. It is now a non-issue. To make the program DNC ready, strip out the extra comment blocks not needed to run the program and change the M2 at the end of the program to an M0. And the program must be sequential, no M99P(N block number) blocks branching back.