[borne2fly]

I had a wild idea about upgrading the controls and adding a 4th axis, but Milltronics says they have no such upgrades for this machine. At that point I was hoping to at least upgrade to a larger memory so I wouldn't always need to drip feed it from the laptop, but even that upgrade is not available. Hmmm, what to do, what to do ..... replace the whole control box with a Centroid system? The mill works fine at the moment, so there's no rush to do anything, but I can see the day when the antique electronics will need replacement, and I'm wondering what options I have? That said, I would like to revisit the possibility of going all the way to a 4th axis. I like this little workhorse mill and would prefer to keep it than replace it.

Is there a book somewhere like "Practical CNC Control Systems for Dummies"? There appears to be an overwhelming mountain of memory boards, motherboards, limit switch schemes, servos, servo amps, axis amps, etc., and a good book on the subject would be a tremendous help.

I'm sure everything I want to do is probably already available as a kit, just waiting to be bolted on and powered up, but which kits would plug & play with the existing servos? I'm afraid I know just enough to be dangerous to myself

[ZZZZ]

We will need to know more about your machine:

Machine serial number
What control
Control serial number
What front panel
What type drives/motors

There may be no way to upgrade, but don't give up yet.

[borne2fly]

ZZZZ,
Here's what I can find ...

Machine serial number 3603
What control Cent 1
Control serial number not sure
What front panel an old crt screen
What type drives/motors XY axis - MT30M4-38, Z axis - MT30V4-42 DC motors

[ZZZZ]

I'm about to leave for a 500+ mile drive to take care of some family business, but I will investigate your options when I get back. I have a Cent1 control on one of my machines; I think I can use it to determine a plan of action for you.

[borne2fly]

Thank you ZZZZ. I'm still learning about all this stuff. I know some people will build these controls up from the transistor level, but I'd be happy just knowing which commercially available boxes will plug & play together. Someday I guess I'll need to get an 0-scope and a new DVM, tools of the trade and all that sort of thing.