I have purchased an old hurco bmc 30 VMC 1991 year model running on max32dsp . The controller is dead right now (possibly only the hard drive) and no telling what it would cost to get it back up. Seriously considering a retro and at the moment the 2 top candidates are linuxcnc with mesa boards or kflop with kanolog and kmotioncnc.
I do have a very limited knowledge of linuxcnc as I've used it with the para port on an old homemade router table with steppers but no experience with kflop at all.
The machine has yaskawa ac servos on all 3 axis with yaskawa analog drives, it uses a dual 5000 count encoder input on each axis(the encoder on the motor is wired straight to the relevant servo drive and the one on the axis screw is wired to the hurco controller). the encoder on the axis screws has 8 terminals,a+.a-,b+.b-.index+index-. vdc,and ground. The spindle motor and drive are also yaskawa 7.5 kw. and has all the windings brought forth on the motor for high and low speed via a relay (contactor) . It also has a 24 position ( I think, could be 20 , have to look again) tool changer.
My needs are basic but when it is done I do wish to have electronic gearing (for rigid tapping ,etc.) and at some point I plan to add a rotary axis (the "inturn 4th axis" by cubed comes to mind)( it should be able to function in lathe mode or index mode) that will allow me to make gears, do some turning and various other cuts with all (any needed) axis geared together.
I don't think my very limited experience in linuxcnc is enough to deter me from learning something new , I just want to get the best product for my application. I don't have the funds to "try it out" so when it's done it's done. Price is a deciding factor for me as of right now this is strictly hobby.
One thing that would be a huge plus for me would be conversational programming for one off parts, and it does seem that linuxcnc users have added quite a few functions in this regard.
What I'm looking for here is user input on the pluses and minuses of each system and why one would (or should) choose one over the other. The price and learning curve doesn't seem that far different for either all things considering. Although linuxcnc does have some very knowledgeable followers in their forum to assist with the growing pains.
I do have mach3 to use as the front end should I decide to go with the kflop , but that doesn't seem like the determining factor to me.
I would appreciate any and all responses and any other controllers to take into account that I have overlooked.
Thanks