Defiance VTX-1 retrofit

I am slowly starting a new conversion project on a Defiance VTX-1. This is a 1997 model, it doesn’t have Yaskawa anything, I will try to post some pictures. I am somewhat committed to a Camsoft control, I have purchased a used CS-16600 with the “The Servo Magic system” aka “CNC Lite” I believe. I have not done anything other that try to get an idea of what the project will need. The first place I hit a snag is the servo’s and drives, I am not sure of their condition and I can’t seem to find much information about them. No tool changer, just 3 axis, spindle, and limit/home switches.

The servos are DC servo (Defiance model 13180) Nema 34 with CMC encoder C22-0572-DM-2500, I have no data regarding what the limits are of these motors, they are direct coupled to the ballscrews.

The servo drives are labeled 31943313, brand not marked. They appear to have a 125vac input, there is an onboard 10a fuse (buss MDA 10). These have a com 10 pin header marked PWM that has a ribbon cable to the Defiance “Mill break out board” (Defiance P/N 13182) with a 10 pin header.

I am looking for help identifying the pinout of the PWM header on the servo drive to determine if I can use it, if I can't figure this out I will likely end up under-powering the motors, I can trace the encoders back from the actual encoder. I will also need to spend some time to figure out the spindle drive, but I have not done much there, it seems to be a Servoflex maybe (SFA-07-ENC), no tags on it.

Could you include pics of any hardware you got with the camsoft purchase?

For DC servos, this AMC DC servo amp works very well with Camsoft
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12528407980...Bk9SR8S29qfRYQ

Karl, here is the picture, I bought it from Ebay, you might have seen it there last week. My hope is to use the existing drives if possible but understand if it is impossible.

Danny

sorry, i do not recognize some of your hardware. I have heard of the CS 16600 card mentioned but never used one. My experience is all with the Galil card as the motion control.

IMHO, you are wasting your time trying to use the old hardware drives in your machine. It is likely broke, no way to get any product support. The servo amps I mentioned can be found for $100 or less. You may be able to re use the DC power supply in the old machine. if not these can be purchased or fabricated cheaply.

Camsoft is the most powerful refit software out there. There is a very steep learning curve and many are way over their head on the first time install. I'd suggest you hire help, either from Camsoft direct or digitalkool, see his handle a couple threads down.

Karl, I understand about the servo drives, I posted here to see if anyone had any information on them. Do these drives seem like a good option? https://www.ebay.com/itm/234894617854? The original drives used 125VAC, no transformer required. Re: CS 16600, this is a card that Camsoft recommended to me when I started my last project in 2018, I bought this one because the price was reasonable. I also have several other Galil controls, a DMC2183 with ICM 20105, and a DB2xxx, DMC2040 with ICM1900, an DMC1842 with a simple breakout. I agree that the likelihood of completing a retrofit without support is not likely, I am not against technical support through Camsoft for sure. I am not retrofitting a machine because I need a machine, I am retrofitting a machine because I want to learn more about the process. I already have 3 fully operational Benchman's, 2 XT's and an MX. I have this Defiance VTX to retrofit, and 3 non-operational benchman's all at different states. I have retrofit a lathe with an Acorn, it is all stepper, and I will likely convert at least one of the benchman's to a Centroid all-in-one or Oak. Lastly, I am not even against hiring support if I fail but my goal is to do it with my own hands and learn how to complete the process myself. Also, I have years to complete this project.

20 years ago, I got a Mazak M4 (20"x72" - 16,000 lb dual turret) lathe with a camsoft control. The original refitter got it running but did a poor job for reliability so i got it for a song.

It was WAY to complex for a first time install evn though I had already done a couple stepper PC systems.

So, i installed camsoft with a 18xx galil card on a knee mill as my learners permit. Then I added input I/O cards. Only then did i go back to the lathe.

I'd suggest the same idea for you. get that mill running with the 1842 card and 1900 ICM as your learner's permit use the AMC servo amps like you have in the previous post. Then add I/O or learn the other cards. WAY easier to learn Camsoft in smaller bite size chunks

WARNING, then you will get hooked like me. I have done a lot of camsoft refits over the years.

Thanks for the advice Karl, unfortunately Camsoft told me that the CNC Lite license for the CS16600 won't work on the DMC1842 board. I made the mistake thinking that the Camsoft CS16600 was just a rebranded Galil board... they told me it is only supported in old XP computers and they would not support them in a newer PC with a newer OS than XP, too bad for the people that bought them.


Really I just need this project to help me understand an older project (benchman XT with a tool changer) that I started before I moved several years back. I have a DMC 2183 installed in it and most of the wiring complete, I have the Camsoft pendant and a license for CNC Professional that I started on with it. Like most hobby projects it was pushed to the back burner when life happens. Moving forward I think I will attack this with the manuals and the CS16600, wish me luck!

Danny

If you got a CNC pro license don't waste your time with lite. You can use that pendant on your mill and then move it to the other machine when needed. I have moved the dongle, or pendant, between a couple machines for years. IMHO, lite is cripple ware. Most users will have to upgrade to get the machine running. The card issue you have is a prime example, Camsoft is really built around using Galil as a real time motion control.

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Just do it right the first time.
Forget anything old in servos and electronics .. really .. really .. really ..

New servo motors and amps and controllers will be dead simple to install for less than 3000$.