Mixed bag of CNC machines in a recent machinery purchase

Bought a bunch on machinery recently, and included were 3 CNC machines.

1. Matcam (Multicam US) CNC router 1500 x 3000 with I think an 8 position tool changer and massive vacuum pump.
2. Matcam (Multicam US) CNC Plasma cutter 1500 x 3000 with a hyperthem 85 source
3. Multicam Aus CNC Router which I think is 1200*1800, but might be the same size as the other 2.

Non of them are currently working and were decommission around 10 years ago from what I have been told. The only one that looks like it might be possible to get going quickly is the Multicam machine.

The 2 Matcam machines are the ones I want to keep, but they have no controller's from what I can tell from my short inspection of the machines. I only paid what I would consider parts value for all. To be honest, it would probably cost me double what I paid just for parts to roll my own. I plan to retrofit with Linux CNC and probably Mesa controllers at this stage.


Stay tuned. I have to go measure up the machines for Transport on Tuesday. I plan to grab what tooling and loose bits are included and will get a heap of photo's at the same time.

I was just about to start buying parts to build a cnc plasma as well, so timing could not be better!

You are certainly on the right track with Linuxcnc and Mesa.
The Mesa cards have many options so it should cover all your hardware.
With regard Plasma, the new Linuxcnc QTPlasmaC configuration is the ducks nuts. I just did a video outlining its features on the weekend
https://youtu.be/UMiq8ouffSo

Best bet is when you know a bit more about your machines is to post on the linuxcnc forum and you'll get great support. User PCW is the owner of Mesa and is tireless on that forum so you will get excellent support re hardware selection
I'm in Brisbane BTW. If nearby feel free to contact me. I don't mind visitors.

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Originally Posted by rodw

You are certainly on the right track with Linuxcnc and Mesa.
The Mesa cards have many options so it should cover all your hardware.
With regard Plasma, the new Linuxcnc QTPlasmaC configuration is the ducks nuts. I just did a video outlining its features on the weekend
https://youtu.be/UMiq8ouffSo

Best bet is when you know a bit more about your machines is to post on the linuxcnc forum and you'll get great support. User PCW is the owner of Mesa and is tireless on that forum so you will get excellent support re hardware selection
I'm in Brisbane BTW. If nearby feel free to contact me. I don't mind visitors.

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I have been reading your posts Rod, and they are a big part of my decision to use Linux CNC at this point. Will be my first transition from Mach to Linux CNC, so no doubt a bit of a learning curve.

Went and measured up the machines and took a few pics today.

The Multicam AU machine is 1200*3000. I think this is the only one that will probably work out of the box. I will have to try and track down a manual for it.
https://i.imgur.com/BFIc5Tc.jpg

Multicam US 1000 Series Plasma cutter is 1800 * 3000. All control electronics are there, no pendant though. Plasma Source is a Hypertherm Powermax 85. The stepper drivers are Pacific Scientific with step and direction input, so it should be possible to reuse them. I am gonig to call Matcam and see what the cost is to replace/upgrade pendandt and software. IF cost is to prohibitive it will be LinuxCNC and Mesa running it.
https://i.imgur.com/MrUVO11.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/B5qUKI2.jpg

The last machine is a Multicam US 5000 Series CNC router with a 3000*4000 working area. This one is a basket case. Note sure about control systems at this stage, it was too hard to get a good look at it. Turns out the tool changer is a 12 position unit. This will be a cracker when I get it going. I need to do some research before I choose any particular software package.
https://i.imgur.com/uhLoVV6.jpg

Put them all on Linuxcnc. Use mesa cards but they may differ between machines. The older 0-10 v servos should be able to be brought to life.
The tool changer won't be a drama.
There is a nice guy Bob Bevins (Bevins) on the Linuxcnc forum who has done a lot of router retrofits and has done a few plasmas recently. He'll be a help.

If you are on facebook, send me a PM here and I'll add you to a private Linuxcnc group that has the right people in .AU, .NZ and .US to help and guide you.

Thanks Rod. I am gong to sell the multicam AU machine as soon as I can, so I will probably leave that one alone if it works, but the other 2 I am pretty keen to run up on LinuxCNC. I want to start using the plasma as soon as I can, hence the reason I am thinking off getting Matcam to upgrade it. I suspect cost will be an issue though. I should probably pre-emptively order a Mesa board today! IT wont go to waste.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and here is the small vacuum pump for the big router
https://i.imgur.com/Wkki9PG.jpg

So looking again at what you said about stepper motors, the plasma will be pretty easy to get going on Linuxcnc. I have a couple of 433 Mhz 6 axis wireless pendants that have a receiver that hardwire into a Mesa 7i76e which is exactly what you need to drive your steppers. Happy to sell you one.They are about $500. Industrial quality none of this USB cr#p.

I think the retrofit will give you better results. You'd just need to share details of the torch lifter. Does it have a float switch? Ohmic sensing will solve that anyway.

Here is another video I did yesterday of the cut recovery features of linuxcnc
https://youtu.be/bmT_yZlyttU

Also yesterday by necessity I revised the post processor for sheetcam and it will be in the next sheetcam release (one is already there)

Today, linuxcnc made the first step to be included in the Debian repositories (now on the debian FTP server) so hopefully it will be a simple install before long. I'm excited about that!

If you do need to replace the drivers, I can introduce you to the Lam Technologies distributor in .AU. They are the best out there and I've done some custom coding to get the best out of them with Linuxcnc I can share. Will be $200 to $300 each depending on size.
I also wrote some custom code to enable a zoned downdraft system if you need that.

And finally, here is how to get a 7i76e up and running.
https://youtu.be/75tAJ4tdBgs

I'll probably spawn this off into seperate build threads once I get the machines.

The stepper drivers for the Plasma CNC are Pacific Scientific 6410's. https://www.kollmorgen.com/sites/def...are_Manual.pdf

Not sure about torch lifter at this stage. The only thing I have at the moment is the control box. Picking the rest up next Monday.

You don't see power supplies like this anymore! I could probably replace that with a SMPS and scrap the copper to pay for the machine itself!!

https://i.imgur.com/Gb48Eaj.jpg

I would recommend you keep the toroid power supply. I could not read the voltage output. Was it 50 volts? It will be AC.
There has to an AC to DC conversion somewhere as the drives are DC. 50 x 1.4 approx = 70 volts so that will be perfect. Its hard to get that kind of voltage out of a SMPS so the toroid is superior.
I'm jealous now, I bought some custom made ones for $300 each!

Actually, you have a 24 v power supply there too so there is hardly anything to buy to retrofit it with a Mesa 7i76e and THCAD-10 and THCAD-5. Add another 24v Meanwell HDR-15-24 for ohmic sensing and mount the board on their edge somewhere or on the door maybe,

Yup, its all there. The little black thing between the toroid and capacitor is a full wave rectifier. Up the top is 24V psu as well.

How do I know what THC i need?

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Originally Posted by Pearo

How do I know what THC i need?

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You don't need one with Linuxcnc. we use a Mesa THCAD-10 voltage to frequency board (USD $70). It takes the torch voltage and converts it to a frequency that we read with an encoder on the 7i76e board. In Linuxcnc we convert that back to a scaled voltage internally and Linuxcnc's motion controller takes care of the THC function. This gives us awesome tight integration which you don't get in any software < $20K. Thats why we can do so much more.

I use a Mesa THCAD-5 for ohmic sensing as its 100% isolated and immune to torch voltage. The Mesa THCADs handle overvoltage up to 500 volts and plasma does not go past 300V.

You can see the THCAD beside the 7i76e on the video cover shot above.

Also, you can trigger the torch relay with the onboard spindle on relay so you don't even need to buy a relay!

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Originally Posted by rodw

You can see the THCAD beside the 7i76e on the video cover shot above.

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I actually watched that video after asking the question!

BTW, not sure what you pay for you electrical gear, but I recommend tro-pacific. There is another mob I used to buy din rail connectors from but the name escapes me at the moment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pearo

I actually watched that video after asking the question!

BTW, not sure what you pay for you electrical gear, but I recommend tro-pacific. There is another mob I used to buy din rail connectors from but the name escapes me at the moment.

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Yeh, Tro-Pacific or Ocean Controls then RSComponents or element14 if I have to. I probably use Ocean Controls more than Tro Pacific. Their Din rail stuff is cheap!

Dore Electrics was the other mob I couldn't remember the name of.