[Clueless]

I'm rather new to cnc machines and was looking for some good write up's or FAQ's or something I can research to plan my way into the cnc machine world...appearently there isn't a newbie section. So I ask if you know of any write up's or whatever, could you so kindly post them here? Thanks....

Caleb

[NC Cams]

Check out the Bridgeport/Hardinge section of this website. (chair) There are a number of retrofits that are either in-process and or have been completed.

Try here for starters:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18178

YOu can also do a "cnc retrofit" search on Google. Also do a "bridgeport cnc retrofit" search on same search engine.

You'll be AMAZED at where these simple searches will take/lead you...

[Clueless]

Check out the Bridgeport/Hardinge section of this website. There are a number of retrofits that are either in-process and or have been completed.

YOu can also do a "cnc retrofit" search on Google. Also do a "bridgeport cnc retrofit" search on same search engine. You'll be AMAZED at where these searches will take/lead you...

Wow, I was completely overlooking "Google" as a form of search but eh...Thanks man, for a little while I wasn't sure if somebody was gonna chip in.

[cjparker84]

need help figuring out what specs to match on the motors, drives, encoders, etc. In order to piece together my own CNC retrokit. Ive been calling around and gettin estimates on what it would take to do our machines here, and then I figured, Why cant I do this? What makes these companies so special that you must use there equipment. What engineering do they use to piece together different brand names on the drives and motors, Cant I use a goulds servo motor with a mitsubishi freq drive? What spec do I have to match up to use different parts from different manufacturers???I

[NC Cams]

Memo to CJPARKER:

THe hardware is relatively cheap. The know how so as to properly integrate it is where the expertise lies. Yes, it is possible to use motor A with drive B and software C, providing you KNOW HOW. And the know how is what you're paying a system integgrator to provide.

As a cam designer and manufacturer, I'll readily sell you a cam. If you want me to teach you how, that comes at a price, a VERY STEEP ONE. How did I learn??? There are NO books printed on how to design race cams. To get to that point, I spent hundreds of hours of study on top of those spent getting a college degree. I also spent a small fortune on software to measure and analyze cams made by other people. I then spent countless hours designing "what if cams" to try to duplicate or replicate existing designes. When you combine that with what the text books teach about F=MA, you can design pretty decent cam.

When you buy an engineered system, you've paying for the experimentation and development costs spread out over a bunch of systems. You're also paying for the education process that the integrator went thru to learn the basics in mechanics, fabrication, electronics and the basic electricity needed to do elementary wiring.

The engineering needed to do CNC retrokits involves computer programming (software), mechanical engineering (motors and drives), electronics (wiring and electricity) and computer science (computers and drive card matching).

If you don't have a background in these disciplines, it could be a/the reason "why can't I do this???" Sort of like the explanation that was given to me when I started nosing around the cam industry, "if you have to ask, you're not qualified to do it"....

When it comes to CNC retrokits, it isn't merely "match up". Rather it is systems engineering and integratration - a far cry from simply matching components.

Good question, difficult answer.....