[IeatSteel]

ive just bought a r2e3 .and i have know idea what iam doing with it ..yet..but iam a fast learner and want to know all about it . i think with some help from you guys i can get it to work for me ... this is the r2e3 that bellamyj was asking about in the other post he made....just got the phase converter put together tonight....machine came on but no movement...so i checked the transformers and found out that the number 3 transformer is gone bad....its 220 in and 115 out...so i took the leads off the transformer and hook 115v to them and the machine started working(sec side of the transformer is shorted to ground) i can now jog the table in both directions...but know i ned to know everthing from here on out....i think it has a nc 400 controller that says modified for series 2...any way i have no idea what else i need to do to get this thing working.. bellamyj is the computer part of this project so he'll be helping mewith the g-code ...we are both rookies at this so any help would be great...we need to know what kind of cable we need to connect the mill to the pc and anything eles we need to know .....we are going to try to get this thing moving around sunday...thanks guys for your help

[IeatSteel]

ok i now klnow i need a controller ..so whats the best and cheapest way out

[machintek]

What books do you have? There is a operating manual as well as a programming manual and a maintenance manual.
The control is self contained. You can write a program at the machine and run it but I admit it is a masochistic way of doing it. A PC hooked up to the machine would allow writing a G & M code program in a word processor and loading it to the machine as well as editing a program in the machine.
Bellamyj was sent techical bulletin 7 by BPT which covers what a cable should look like as well as how to talk to the machine.

George

[IeatSteel]

thanks for the info ...found some controllers on ebay i think they are a good deal (really have now idea) ..so is there a way to use your pc as an controller. i seen some coversion on some site ...i have no information on this machine..i need to find out where to get all the books on this thing!does any one have a copy of the cd for this machine,or is there somewhere to download it...So i can put the code in at the machine? ..guys iam sorry for being so dumb about this stuff..but iam sure we were all there once..we just want to see this thing move around so i know i didnt get ripped a new one...thanks again guys...

[machintek]

When you power up, do you get an error message? Make sure emergency stop is not pressed in. Press axis drive enable, then enter and the execute. It should "home."

This machine was made in the middle 1980s. There were no CDs. But try machinemanuals.net for possibly some manuals on this machine. Also try ebay for manuals. Yes, the NC axis drives are no longer made but why do you think you need one?

Again, the PC is for editing and loading. Yes, if your control needed major surgery, I would consider a replacement instead of repairing.

George

[IeatSteel]

ok ...played around with the settings today....ive got the table to go to its old home and i can move the table using the move fuction....ok iam still confused about this controller thing...ok i have nc 400 on the drivers...so can i hook my laptop straight to the machine with no other interfaces...just get a cable and some software and go with it or what....
i was trying to put some basic movements ...but it always came to spindle enable..but nothing happened when i push it ....thanks so much for the info george...hate to be a bother ...but ive got to learn some how i guess...

[IeatSteel]

george do you live in hoover alabama...

[IeatSteel]

ok iam getting closer...tonight i got to playin with it...it always said enable spindle...but it wouldn't....so i look around and found out about the oil for the spindle...checked the lil pump and sure nuff . press was down so i pumped it up,so now i got the spindle turning then i put some code in and i fell in love...iam like a kid in the candy store now..this thing is neat...the more i learn the more i want to know..i had it moving around some , but it takes to much time to put in the code by hand, when bellamy gets here we need to make a cable and see what this thing will do , thanks again for all the help,,, ok now i guess iam off to look for cable pin outs and charts....bcnusoon

p.s. oh yeah when it comes on at first it says boss81 11.. is that just reg boss 8, is what i need to look for

[dfmiller]

You really need to get a copy of the manuals. The ones from Machinemanuals.net are almost identical to the paper copies we have.
To enable the Spindle you of course know you have to turn the speed direction selector and then push the spindle enable. Subtle thing like this are best learned reading the manuals cover to cover.
Also I Think the whole controller issue need to be reviewed.
The Boss 8I ( inches ) or the Boss 8M (metric) has internally all the controller hardware drives Etc to be a totally self contained unit. It has a way to program and edit via its LCD display. You can store multiple programs etc. Enter tool offsets. It was designed to hook up a simpe terminal ( Teletype) to have a line oreinted editor etc. This was state of the art in 1984.
Move ahead to 2004. You can hook a PC up to it to either Edit or Enter Data on PORTA. Or you can Drip feed ( load programs larger then its tiny memory) Via PORTB. If you learn to program it properly using the skills that a machinist (CNC) had in 1984 you do not need an external PC to manage large data sets. It is amazing what a skilled out person can do with one of these. Of course now all we want to do is create a solid model and push several buttons and it happens. :-)
If the unit is working its a great machine. If the controls break then its time to rethink things and rip it all apart and modern (mostly PC) based control on it.
Dave

[machintek]

Yes, Hoover, Alabama. A transplanted Yankee. Here, I am called a damm Yankee. I came and stayed. But they are always glad to see me.

Glad to hear you are making progress. You need books!

George

[IeatSteel]

hey george , i live in bessemer alabama about 30 min from hoover, you interested in tutoring me on this ..lol ok we got this thing to cut something tonight(a peice of wood to be safe)...we put the code in by hand..did pretty good job too..ok then we made a cable and connected it to port b(not sure labels missing from machine)we went through the steps in the instructions you gave bellamy....it loaded into the machine then we couldnt get it to do anything from there...do you have any books for this thing...i guess ill have to break down and buy them ...just seems like somebody would have a free copy out there somewhere...o well ...we are going to keep trying ....thanks again for all the help its making this a little more ez on me...

[machintek]

I get grief from my "real" boss for the time I spend here answer questions, but tell me where the machine is and when we can meet. If I get a chance,when at the office (very rare - you must know this since you know of me), I will try and run off a copy of the programming manual.
I am curious, where the machine came from, as I know of most of them in a 500 mile radius. Did it come from Bessemer tech?
You will need the programming manual. Example: a G83 requires a X, Y, Z, Z, Z, and a F. The second Z is the 1st peck unsigned, incremental from the clearance point. The second Z is the total depth also unsigned, incremental from the clearance plane. The BOSS 8 needs a decimal point in the feedrate. The BOSS 3 through 7 did not have a decimal point and as an example a feedrate of 20 IPM was written F200. That is a period at the end of the sentence not part of the feedrate.
Any time the machine sees a feedrate it will stop motion unless it sees that the spindle is turning. Rapid motion works without a spindle turning. If a machine homes, then you have a 95% sucess rate of a well functioning machine.
One very common error is to forget a Tool Length Offset for a tool. Thus Zero for that tool is at quill up. Typically your first Z move is to .050 inches above the work piece. If no TLO is set, then the quill cannot go any farther up and the machine will fault out.

All will be learned in due time.

George

[bellamyj]

machintek, I am located in Gardendale, AL ...small world. Very interesting that a machining expert is local because I can't find a decent machine shop in Alabama. Its either shady employee's or they let their tools wear out beyond belief! What are your recomendations on a machine shop locally?

Now remember we have no manual! We figured out MDI was for single line entry, and like said before, we cut very nicely into a piece of wood.

I can't believe we found the Port B last night, let alone make a cable and connect to the Boss 8! Like IeatSteel said, the labels are knocked off where Port A and Port B were, so thats why we had all the idiot "where is port b?" questions . We ended up sacrificing a DB-9 (RS232) cable, found pin-out with mulit-meter, and made ends to stick in the Port B. I created a simple GCode program for a small 3"x3" box, and saved as txt. Then I executed EZLINK on my 2.0GHz Dell Latitude running WinXP and did the F1 (filename) for the corresponding txt directory and filename (which was named 0001.txt). I then did the F3 (Run) and selected DNC-LINK. EZLINK went to "READY".

Then to the Boss 8...

Followed the directions for "DNC-LINK to Boss 8" in the bulliten you sent. Set Baud to 4800 on Port A and Port B. Went in and cleared the run program (LOAD/CLEAR/EDIT until its on "CLEAR" then 0 for CLEAR RUN and EXECUTE). Then went to load DNC (LOAD/CLEAR/EDIT until its on "LOAD" then 1 for DNC and EXECUTE). Now we are the LOAD DNC:_ prompt. Enter in "0001" and it changes itself to "0001.D". At the same time EZLINK on the laptop says Working... then "loaded". Back on the Boss 8, it says:

LOAD DNC: 0001.D
DNC LINK

But does nothing. We tried everything (I think) and if we hit EXECUTE here, it goes to:

LOAD DNC: 0001.D
*

It appears that the code loaded, but needs some start command?

[machintek]

I labeled port A today. Hooked up my laptop with PROCOMM to it. Found that you were not calling up tool 1 with a M6. You were not ending program with a M30 which needs to be used with a program beginning such as :2005. You were missing a F (feedrate) after the G1. I wrote a small drilling program and the machine ran it fine.
Note that you do not need to DNC unless the program exceeds 8KB on this machine (if I remember correctly). I use the local port and the INSERT command to put programs into the machine.You can also type them in as I did.
You had more than 1 program in the machine. Thus I had to find my program and then start running it. The M30 rewinds just the program run.
A really good machine shop is on Georgia road in Birmingham called ALLRIGHT Tool. 1-205-591-1468. The make a lot of fixtures for jobs on the machines I install.

George