[cobright]

What I want: Primarily, I CNC machine that will cut brass sheet metal. If it can mill heavier plate then that is a bonus.

What I have: A complete and likely functional 'MPM Speedline Ultraflex 3000' solder-paste screenprinter, used to put the solder past onto circuit boards that holds on the surface-mount componants.

The machine is 3600 pounds of pneumatics, servo-motors, stepper-motors, sensors, fluid pumps, electronics, CCD Vision System, and linear motion.

All told there are 40 axis of motion being controlled inside this machine with a computer system that can have 8 of them going at the same time.

But it's not a CNC router/mill/plasma-cutter, which is what I need.

I had the idea to strip it down to the frame and use the major linear motion systems to build a CNC table. I could get a bed that is about 36"X40". I suspect that I could keep the motors but would have to buy a new motor controller.

So The Question Is: Is this the kind of project that spirals into a never-ending pit of anxiety and expense? The bed, rails, gantry, tool holder, z-controll, etc are already there. I would just be stripping everything else away and running the motors through a new controller and putting something down on the bed I can clamp material to.

Or am I better off parting this thing out and taking the couple grand and buying a turn-key unit?

[awerby]

It's hard to say if this machine of yours has the necessary stability to function as a CNC mill. I'd tend to doubt it, since the engineering task of building a solder-paste screen-printer is entirely different from the job of building a metal-removal tool. (although it's less dissimilar to a plasma-cutter, which doesn't have to withstand heavy cutting forces.) If you think it's likely to be functional as intended, you probably should focus on getting it up and running, since it's going to be worth a lot more as a working screen-printer than as a pile of miscellaneous parts.

Failing that, disassembling it into useful components would be the next thing to try. If someone is looking for a slide, servo motors or a CCD vision system, they probably won't want a lot of other junk attached to it, and will pay more for just what they want. At that point, you'll also be better able to evaluate the suitability of the parts you've recovered from the thing to the tasks you might want them to perform.

The sliding rails, servo and stepper motors are probably the most potentially useful parts of this for building a plasma cutter or CNC machine. Re-purposing the electronics might be more hassle than it's worth, unless you're really good at that. But I doubt that the money you'd get from these parts would get you a pro-quality turn-key CNC machine, unless you're willing to settle for a small and inexpensive one.

Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software

[cobright]

I'm really of mixed minds on this.

I got the machine for a song, I'm guessing it was an asset of a foreclosed business. But as it happens I actually spent several years servicing and repairing this very machine for a circuit board factory.

The machine was taken off line and packaged as if it would some day be set back up again. The little conveyor belts that stick out are wrapped in padding, which tells me that when it was taken off-line there was no intention to junk it.

If I was confident that I would be able to make it run again, refurbished units of this type go for $25k or better. I just don't have the facility to do a tear down like this, nor access to the spare parts probably needed to return the machine to service.

The vision system (camera, gantry, leadscrew, rails, and carriage) sells for about $2k and I already have a buyer for that. I'm pretty sure I can get buyers for the rest of the linear motion systems, which would net me another $4-6k. On the low end of that scale I can have cash in hand within 30 days.

The rest of the parts (dozens of pneumatic cylinders, electronic pneumatic controls, a precision computer controlled rotary table, a z-axis linear rail and slide that raises and lowers in 0.0003" increments, etc) would take a lot longer to sell but should bring in another $3-7k.

But at the same time, within this machine is already 2 working X-Y-Z-Q tables plus 2 X-Y gantry systems. All built on a 2" square steel and cast iron frame. The motor controls are proprietary though but the power system should still run the motors and I have faith that the stepper motors could be driven by an open source controller.

But in the end, I don't see being able to build anything out of this that is better than a $3k Torchmate cnc cutter.

[uli12us]

Take a few pictures of the machine and post it here. Than we can decide whether the machine is capable to convert in a mill or not. You wrote the machine weighs 3600 pounds, thats more than some production (like bridgeport, Deckel Fp or similiar) mills have.

[zool]

If your object is getting a machine into production, and not losing your mind in the process, try to sell the machine you have as one piece. Breaking it up and fussing with the many parts and the many buyers will really make you doubt your sanity, and you will know why some people become hermits!!!

Then, depending on your disposition and skills

1. Design your own [mechanicals and electronics] and build it;or

2. Buy the mechanical parts kit and buy, configure and install the electronics; or

3. Look for a machine that is up and running.

First option is least expensive and most time consuming, and most testing of your patience and sanity. And you'll really know a lot when you are done, and it will be more than you bargained for. but it will be something you'll always be proud of.

Second option eliminates all the designing and testing of the structural portion of a CNC. The structural portion will take a lot of time and thought, though its the parts that is the least time consuming. Although the kits with just the structural element might seems expensive, they are not. They have been thought out and tested, the parts sourced, the cutting and fitting will be perfect hence you'll have the basis of the CNC up and ready in a day. This will still leave you with the electronic portion of the build, which will test your intellect, skills and sanity, but it is not so physical so is not so tiring. I chose this way twice and am glad I did as I REALLY know what makes both my machines tick, though I do have an encyclopedia of errors as a result. First, and most significant error: Just because you are able to build a small machine does not mean a larger machine will be easier.

There are complete electronics kits, they might seem expensive, but remember, your time is worth something. Do not skimp on motor size, or on the power supply size, and buy a really good, which will make it expensive, controller. When in doubt, get the larger size. More accurate [most important from my point of view] and faster [not really important unless you are stuck in a snail's pace mode...most of what you see are plenty fast...IPM rapids is meaningless].

Third option, while most expensive, is not without its challenges. If you buy from a company, what they promise and what they deliver just might be different. Be sure to look at all the small print, and make sure what is promised verbally is in writing before handing over any money. Avoid proprietary software, unless you have a real specialized use. Depending on your platform choices, EMC2, MACH3, CamBam, and many others can and will serve you well. I use MACH3 and CamBam, and SketchUp for CAD.

If you buy used from a person, either one they built or one they bought, you can go see the machine in operating and get a good sense of it. The low prices for used machines in the market place here on CNC Zone and on ebay are stunning. You might need to travel a bit to get the machine, but in the long run that could save you time and money.

In all three cases, you'll still have the setting up and calibrating the machine, which will make you "intimate" with which ever machine you decide on.

Best of luck....

[smbrown8]

Picture of parts!
You can build something with a drill and tap. Problem is getting accuracy, you almost need a mill to build a mill.
I have been obsessing and collecting parts for a year! Love the idea and the trap of it all!