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My friend ran this machine where it "lived" before it came to his house... the axis drive boards have gotten flaky, probably due to our living half a mile from the Pacific... The motors themselves...

Many thanks to you both for the lead on the Acorn controller! First I've heard of it (but then, the last time I was considering and studying a retrofit was more than 10 years ago now... technology...

A friend of mine has acquired a Bridgeport Series II, R2E4 BOSS 8 mill... with a few issues (one axis won't home, another is flaky).

He's been contemplating an expensive retrofit kit ($5k+), but...

I'm getting re-excited about a long term project of mine; CNC my Enco Mill-Drill...

I have these motors; "Step motor 680 oz in 2A 3.4. ohms" at home..

I'm looking at this power supply; ...

Exactly what I needed to know!
Thanks!

(of course, now I'll just have to practice being a better moron... I have yet to meet any electronic component I can't screw up if I put my mind to it!).
...

I'm (very slowly) collecting the parts and knowledge to retrofit my Enco Mill Drill to CNC...

My next step is going to be a couple or three Gecko drivers for my Steppers.

However, the last time...

Techno;
Yup..
"MCG" in Eden Prarie, MN.

My project is a bit stalled for lack of funds.. but I'm slowly collecting parts...

And I've decided to wait on drivers... Gecko says that they will...

I'd be inclined to suggest you start BIGGER than you actually think you need...
I'm not familliair with the Harbor Freight model you reference, but you might consider something in this size range...

I'm pretty new at this stuff myself... still in the "collecting the parts and figuring out how to put it all together" stage...

Questions you need to ask youself to define what you need;

1) HOW...

Could it have been www.stepperworld.com?

Paul F.

You might want to check out Dan Mauch's site.. he has some surplus brand new stepper motors... I got three 680 Oz-in steppers from him.
It'll be a while before I get them built into something......

Too big for what?
Those are pretty good size, all right... If you're driving a mill/drill, they're bigger than you need.
If you're driving a 20"x72" Lathe... they may not be big enough..

Of...

Kong;

Oh, believe me.. I've been down that road!
In this case, my "overall" plan is to build an inexpensive lathe as a learning tool, one that will later do "semi-production" on short runs of...

Balsaman;
I had my eye on that one too.. but it's several times bigger than the Clisby and twice as expensive...
A bit too much for a "learning with the potential of screwing it up" project......

Thanks! I appreciate the reply!
In fact, I've been doodling on paper something simillar...

Was there any area in particular that the Clisby lathe particularly sucked? Or is it just generally bad?...

All I have is the info sheet Dan Mauch sent with 'em... I'll be needing one too (since I'm a grade A electrical idiot!).

Paul F.

DDM;
Thanks for the opinion!
I probably will go with the Gecko's... the maker of the Xylotex board even recommended them for my setup.. he said his boards tended to be in the "zone" and run best...

That's kinda what I was asking in my FIRST post... (Two weeks ago...)

NOW you tell me! :-/

Oh well.. Like I said, either it works, or I use it for other projects later.

Paul F.

Well....
A few days ago, I bought an adjustable 0-60V 0-4Amp regulated power supply on ebay for $104 shipped...
So I'm hoping that's gonna do for me...
According to another board, 3 Gecko's...

Jeff;
Thanks!
My 680 Oz/in Steppers should be plenty for my Mill/Drill... especially once I add ball screws.

I'll probably TRY it direct-drive with the Acme screws, and expect to take light...

Having more or less settled on using a Gecko drive (probably the 201) for my stepper retrofit....

I'm now thinking that at some point I'll need a power supply!

I'm a bit "slow" when it comes...

I'm plotting and scheming my retrofit...
And one question about mounting my X and Y steppers has occured to me...
I see most retrofits are belt drive with toothed pulleys rather than the motor...

Sitting here with no money to continue BUYING parts to retrofit my Mill/Drill... plotting and scheming WHAT to buy when I DO have money...

I have 3 stepper motors (courtesy Dan Mauch at...

Replacing the 1hp AC motor with a 2hp DC motor, DC power supply, speed control and tachometer comes to mind...

But don't ask me how to put all that together :-)
Fortunately, there are lots of...

I was perusing a copy of Machinery Journal (a trade magazine of nothin' but ads by west coast machine tool dealers... been on their mailing list for 5-6 years now..).

One dealer (George Washington...

RotarySMP/Mark;

As with your post to my other question/thread, that's exactly what I needed!
Thanks!
Now I at least know how to start deciding what sort of motor power I need.

Paul F.

Thanks to all who replied!
Particular thanks to RotarySMP... that clarified a few things greatly!
I've got a lot of thinking to do (and measuring things) before I start, but I'm getting on the...

I"m plotting and scheming to retrofit my older Enco Mill/Drill to CNC...

One unresolved question is;
How big a stepper motors do I need?

I want to start out using the standard acme screws.....

Being a complete electronic idiot.. I'm taking a step back from my grand plan of converting my engine lathe and mill/drill to CNC...

In favor of starting small to (hopefully) avoid electrocution...

Help! I don't know where to begin!

What I want to do: Turn my Mill-Drill ( 7"x18" or thereabouts) into step-motor driven CNC.

What I DO know how to do: convert to Ballscrews (although I want...