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  1. #1
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    Oct 2015
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    215

    Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    I have a Kira VTC30 mill from 1991 with fanuc OMC control, red top servos and a spindle setup for rigid tapping with encoder inside the motor. I've upgraded the memory as much as possible but the 64kB just doesn't cut it.

    To enable DNC I need the ladder program so I can get it enabled in the ladder code and to get this I need a PMC edit casette that is sold on ebay for $1400. Paying that much + programming work and taxes will prolly take me above $2000-3000 just to enable DNC and then I still have a old outdated control system. A nice fella here on CNC zone offered me to program it for low cost but I still want to pay for his knowledge and help so need to put some cost to that also.

    Do I have any other upgrade options that could make my machine more modern reusing servo,drivers,vfd and spindle? I know it won't be for free but I'd rather spend $2-3000 on upgraded hardware than spending almost the same for just enabling dnc. Can I use a newer fanuc controller and reuse servo drivers/vfd ++ or does everything need an upgrade?

  2. #2
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    Apr 2009
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    1379

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    1: the maximum part program memory on this control is 128kB (320m), not 64kB.
    2: Replacing the control, drives and motors (retrofitting) will cost into the tens of thousands. Probably not worth it.
    The 0M-C is actually quite a capable control (apart from limited memory)
    What specifically can you not do now that you want to do?

  3. #3
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    Mar 2017
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    314

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    FYI its a mate control memoryman.if that matters. The op has done a fantastic job on recommissioning this particular machine. Including upgrading the memory himself. I didnt even know that was possible.

    I also wouldnt think you would get near the performance of even a 0mate in any pc based control.

    I wish i had even 64k, i think i only have like 15k in my fanuc 6 mill, and its not a huge deal. I will eventually get me one of them fancy Tulip boards. But I have to drop a few other hobbies first.

    What software are you using to generate your programs? There maybe some program size reduction to be had in that area.

  4. #4
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    Dec 2013
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    5717

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    If you were going to replace the drives, motors, and the controller you would be into the project for over $10K, but I see no reason to replace motors and drives if they are working. I upgraded the controls on my mill (4 axis) for about $3K, using the original motors and drives. I'm in the process replacing my Fanuc control on my lathe (5 axes to control). Keeping the original red cap Fanuc drives and motors. Buying new parts I would be into it for about $5000, but I had the Galil motion control hardware on the shelf so my actual cost is <$1000 out of pocket. I write my own CNC control software, so only some time there.

    Centroid offers a retrofit package that plays nice with Fanuc hardware.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  5. #5
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Quote Originally Posted by generaldisarray View Post
    ..........I also wouldnt think you would get near the performance of even a 0mate in any pc based control..........
    Not true at all, but you do need a real industrial strength motion controller. The hobby class stuff won't cut it.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  6. #6
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    Oct 2015
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    215

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Quote Originally Posted by memoryman View Post
    1: the maximum part program memory on this control is 128kB (320m), not 64kB.
    2: Replacing the control, drives and motors (retrofitting) will cost into the tens of thousands. Probably not worth it.
    The 0M-C is actually quite a capable control (apart from limited memory)
    What specifically can you not do now that you want to do?
    This is also what I read but I cannot figure out how to enable the missing 64kB. I've installed 4x mem chips upon the 2x that was soldered into my machine. Enabling 160M was no problem but when I set that bit low and the 320M bit high and restart the machine like I do when I set 160M it goes back to all zeroes (smallest size of memory possible) and I cant load more then a few lines. I've tried resetting the machine and inputting parameters again, loading the 900 parameters through serial port, changing it with emergency stop active/without it active and so on. Same happens everytime I go past 160M.

    I was hoping to not have to replace the all that and just the controller if it was possible but I guess it's not? I've looked into retrofit using Sinumerik and if I could do just the controller it wouldn't be to bad but it seems like it's all or nothing there also

    I really like the controller it's nothing with that but the 64kB limits alot of work. Surface work with a lot of details is just to forget. I made a small tool holder for fixing my BT30 toolholders when I swap endmills and this simple part I had to split my post in 8 files to be able to complete and then I even skipped finishing passes.. If I could enable DNC for a lot less than $2-3k I'd do that but it's so close to what a retrofit of the control would cost that I have to consider that this control system is 27 years old and reaching it's max age. Putting half of the money for a retrofit into just enabling a feature feels a bit sketchy then.

    Quote Originally Posted by generaldisarray View Post
    FYI its a mate control memoryman.if that matters. The op has done a fantastic job on recommissioning this particular machine. Including upgrading the memory himself. I didnt even know that was possible.

    I also wouldnt think you would get near the performance of even a 0mate in any pc based control.

    I wish i had even 64k, i think i only have like 15k in my fanuc 6 mill, and its not a huge deal. I will eventually get me one of them fancy Tulip boards. But I have to drop a few other hobbies first.

    What software are you using to generate your programs? There maybe some program size reduction to be had in that area.
    Oh sorry I missed that part. I'm not so familiar with Fanuc so I didn't even know there was a "regular" and a "mate". Is Mate a cheaper less capable version I guess? Google here I come

    I use Fusion 360 and the generic fanuc post they have. I've removed line numbers and spaces in the post processor and rewritten the tool changes in the post processor so it works. I guess I could save space by not allowing helical moves and 3d arcs but it will come short on anything less than simple jobs from what I've seen when I've tested file sizes. I never had to worry about this with my old router so never thought about that my post was often many megabytes back then if it was surface work with small tools :P

    Thank you for the kind words about the recommissioning


    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Dawson View Post
    If you were going to replace the drives, motors, and the controller you would be into the project for over $10K, but I see no reason to replace motors and drives if they are working. I upgraded the controls on my mill (4 axis) for about $3K, using the original motors and drives. I'm in the process replacing my Fanuc control on my lathe (5 axes to control). Keeping the original red cap Fanuc drives and motors. Buying new parts I would be into it for about $5000, but I had the Galil motion control hardware on the shelf so my actual cost is <$1000 out of pocket. I write my own CNC control software, so only some time there.

    Centroid offers a retrofit package that plays nice with Fanuc hardware.
    I was hoping to not have to replace all that. I think the servos and the VFD/spindle combo works great so I don't see a reason to do that but I would have to find something that could talk to the servo drives and vfd. $3k is doable! Was that a fanuc redtop system? Do you have a forum thread for this? I got limited experience with CNC control systems from before but I do work as an engineer programming and commissioning Siemens PLC systems so I do have some experience with PLC control system. Is it doable to someone without direct cnc control system experience to take up on a task like this?

    I've seen that page. Is it a safe way to go? This fanuc system has worked for 27years what is to be expected of these less known more hobby based brands? Edit, did you know they charge 550 for rigid tapping alone or 250 for files above 4mb? Probing and so on... all features seems to be added on top of the controller.. is it like this with all systems? If I add enough features on the centroid I’m closing in on a sinumerik system

  7. #7
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Quote Originally Posted by m1n1m View Post
    .......I was hoping to not have to replace all that. I think the servos and the VFD/spindle combo works great so I don't see a reason to do that but I would have to find something that could talk to the servo drives and vfd. $3k is doable! Was that a fanuc redtop system?
    All you need is a motion controller that will output an analog +/- 10V motor command signal. I'm guessing Siemens has a motion control module for their PLCs. My favorite units are from Galil Motion Control, inexpensive for industrial quality hardware, and you can program them with Notepad, no expensive development software to buy. Galil Motion Control If I were going to buy a new one today, I would get the 4040 unit.

    I assume that your spindle motor is also Fanuc, so has the same control as the axis drives, just bigger and maybe with a few more features like the orientation module.

    In the range of years we are talking about, the Red Cap (literally the end cap color) motors are AC servos, as opposed to the Yellow Cap motors which are DC servos. The may have changed the colors on modern motors, not sure about that.

    Do you have a forum thread for this?
    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/hardin...-software.html

    I got limited experience with CNC control systems from before but I do work as an engineer programming and commissioning Siemens PLC systems so I do have some experience with PLC control system. Is it doable to someone without direct cnc control system experience to take up on a task like this?
    Like you I started with PLCs, in the early 80's. I haven't touched a Siemens since the S5. About 5 years ago I couldn't even spell CNC , and I'm 69 now. With your background I would say you can do it. You have basically one thing to think about, the digital I/O, all of the motion control math is built into the controller. Tell the motion controller you want to move the X&Y axes 100,000 encoder pulses each and the motion controller works out the motion profile and handles the the motor analog commands to make it all work. The CNC software on the computer screen is really just an operator interface and a G code interpreter that converts the G code into something the controller can understand. All of the heavy lifting should be done by the motion controller. Contrary to popular belief, it ain't that complicated.

    I've seen that page. Is it a safe way to go? This fanuc system has worked for 27years what is to be expected of these less known more hobby based brands? Edit, did you know they charge 550 for rigid tapping alone or 250 for files above 4mb? Probing and so on... all features seems to be added on top of the controller.. is it like this with all systems? If I add enough features on the centroid I’m closing in on a sinumerik system
    The weak link in any modern system is the computer. But the rest of the hardware is probably OK. Another option is CamSoft. They also use Galil motion controllers. My CNC software is free for now. I have never interfaced with Fanuc products, that however will change in the next few days.

    I haven't researched the Centroid stuff, other than to look at their installation manual for the Fanuc system, they have nice drawings, and much easier to read than the Fanuc manuals. It doesn't surprise me that they charge for every little feature. I just wrote the code for rigid tapping on the mill, but haven't tested it yet. Not too complicated, just electronically gear the Z axis to the spindle axis and press GO Just like a G81 drill cycle, but the F is the Z feed per spindle revolution to follow the tap.

    I'll have more information on the Fanuc interface next week, my plan was to be back up and making chips by Wednesday, but that got pushed back a bit because my output modules won't be here until Wednesday, they were supposed to be here today. Can't turn anything on without the outputs
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  8. #8
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    Jan 2006
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    175

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    I am in the process of doing an upgrade on a Kitamura MyCenter 0 for the exact reason that you are mentioning. The Mate version of the Fanuc 0 series has two serious limitations that I needed to resolve. The first was the tiny memory footprint, the second was the fact that the Mate only supports Macro A.

    I went a slightly different route with my upgrade and picked up a second hand 0M-C control (32 bit, high speed cpu version). Taking this approach allowed me to keep everything else in place and cost me less than a grand. The only hang up I ran into along the was was the fact that I had purchased a newer control that had been equipped to run with alpha series amps/servos/spindle. As a result, I had to swap out the servo eprom, do some servo tuning, and replace the memory board with the correct version to support the analog spindle amp. Other than that, it was just a matter of moving the PMC EPROMs over and restoring the old parameter and diagnostics from backup. I now have a much faster machine, dnc at 19200 baud, and enough memory onboard for my renishaw tool measurement and spindle probes with inspection plus. Not sure if that approach would suit you, but I did see another 0-MC on eBay just a few days ago.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  9. #9
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Dawson View Post
    All you need is a motion controller that will output an analog +/- 10V motor command signal. I'm guessing Siemens has a motion control module for their PLCs. My favorite units are from Galil Motion Control, inexpensive for industrial quality hardware, and you can program them with Notepad, no expensive development software to buy. Galil Motion Control If I were going to buy a new one today, I would get the 4040 unit.

    I assume that your spindle motor is also Fanuc, so has the same control as the axis drives, just bigger and maybe with a few more features like the orientation module.

    In the range of years we are talking about, the Red Cap (literally the end cap color) motors are AC servos, as opposed to the Yellow Cap motors which are DC servos. The may have changed the colors on modern motors, not sure about that.



    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/hardin...-software.html



    Like you I started with PLCs, in the early 80's. I haven't touched a Siemens since the S5. About 5 years ago I couldn't even spell CNC , and I'm 69 now. With your background I would say you can do it. You have basically one thing to think about, the digital I/O, all of the motion control math is built into the controller. Tell the motion controller you want to move the X&Y axes 100,000 encoder pulses each and the motion controller works out the motion profile and handles the the motor analog commands to make it all work. The CNC software on the computer screen is really just an operator interface and a G code interpreter that converts the G code into something the controller can understand. All of the heavy lifting should be done by the motion controller. Contrary to popular belief, it ain't that complicated.



    The weak link in any modern system is the computer. But the rest of the hardware is probably OK. Another option is CamSoft. They also use Galil motion controllers. My CNC software is free for now. I have never interfaced with Fanuc products, that however will change in the next few days.

    I haven't researched the Centroid stuff, other than to look at their installation manual for the Fanuc system, they have nice drawings, and much easier to read than the Fanuc manuals. It doesn't surprise me that they charge for every little feature. I just wrote the code for rigid tapping on the mill, but haven't tested it yet. Not too complicated, just electronically gear the Z axis to the spindle axis and press GO Just like a G81 drill cycle, but the F is the Z feed per spindle revolution to follow the tap.

    I'll have more information on the Fanuc interface next week, my plan was to be back up and making chips by Wednesday, but that got pushed back a bit because my output modules won't be here until Wednesday, they were supposed to be here today. Can't turn anything on without the outputs
    I see that I need to read up some on the fanuc servo drives and spindle drive to figure out what kind of IO I need and see if the siemens plc could be compatible. You are correct, my spindle motor is also a fanuc with red cover on top and it does have a orientation board. Can this also be reused normally? If servo drives, vfd use a standard I/O I don't see why a newer controller from either fanuc or siemens would'nt work. If I could rebuild it to siemens I think that would simplify it some since I work with that and some things are prolly similar.

    You are correct about the red tops. Mine are AC motors and I think I have the fanuc proprietary encoder on it so that will have to be replaced. Would mean a huge savings if I could reuse spindle/vfd/servo/drives and replace the controller so today I will spend some time reading through the fanuc connection manual to learn more about what I/O the different things have and compare that to what newer systems need. Would be awesome to fit a Sinumerik or a newer Fanuc without limitations to size of files.

    Sounds great! I assume I won't be able to do a quick swap like you are doing but I don't mind spending some time tinkering and reading if it's doable in the end The road to getting the machine to work is just as much fun as milling with it in the end

    Looking forward to reading about your experience with this. Tbh centroid pricing all options in like that put me off a bit. The hardware had decent prices and it looked like I could do a rebuild for $3-4k but when all options that would be fun to have with updated control system would add up thousands on top I'm leaning towards going for a known system ilke Fanuc or Siemens. Thanks for throwing all those brands out there. Will spend some time reading about each of them to find out if there is anything that could suit this machine. Btw do you know if Siemens also price in options like that? I know fanuc has been doing it for machines in the past also.


    Quote Originally Posted by tcom-frazzled View Post
    I am in the process of doing an upgrade on a Kitamura MyCenter 0 for the exact reason that you are mentioning. The Mate version of the Fanuc 0 series has two serious limitations that I needed to resolve. The first was the tiny memory footprint, the second was the fact that the Mate only supports Macro A.

    I went a slightly different route with my upgrade and picked up a second hand 0M-C control (32 bit, high speed cpu version). Taking this approach allowed me to keep everything else in place and cost me less than a grand. The only hang up I ran into along the was was the fact that I had purchased a newer control that had been equipped to run with alpha series amps/servos/spindle. As a result, I had to swap out the servo eprom, do some servo tuning, and replace the memory board with the correct version to support the analog spindle amp. Other than that, it was just a matter of moving the PMC EPROMs over and restoring the old parameter and diagnostics from backup. I now have a much faster machine, dnc at 19200 baud, and enough memory onboard for my renishaw tool measurement and spindle probes with inspection plus. Not sure if that approach would suit you, but I did see another 0-MC on eBay just a few days ago.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    My machine doesn't even support Macro A

    That sounded like a valid option but the problem is that reusing my PMC EPROMs would mean that I still can't DNC to the machine since my ladder is missing the part that can enable DNC in PMC. The EPROMs are UVproms that can't be altered in the machine. It need UV-light to clear them and then burn new program at a higher voltage so even with a newer controller those can't be changed in the machine. My thought was to update to a new enough Fanuc controller that could handle either uploading ladder over serial port or altering it on screen. Then it could be adopted to my machine. I find it really hard to find documentation on doing stuff like this. How did you aproach the manuals when you went this way and did you know it would work before you started or did you just try?

  10. #10
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    Jan 2006
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    175

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    For the PMC changes, there are a few of us on the forum that have the necessary hardware and software to pull images, decompile, edit, recompile, and burn. I don’t get into the business of offering ladder modifications, but if you decide to go this route and just need some help with eprom content extraction, erasing, and burning new images just pm me.

    To get DNC, you’ll need to modify the existing mode switch on the machine, update the ladder to decode that, and set g127.5 (if memory serves me correctly.

    If you decide to go away from a Fanuc control, the upgrade gets pretty messy because you end up replacing just about everything servo and spindle related. Even centroid has you tearing things out all the way to the servo encoders. IF you decide to stay with Fanuc, the 0 series family is the easiest option because it is pretty much isolated to just a control swap and you can keep the original servo and spindle amps as well as the MTB IO interface board and cabling. If you go to a newer Fanuc like a 16,18,21 or newer, you’re back to replacing a lot more than the control.

    I knew enough about Fanuc controls to know that upgrading within the same family would work just fine. The only snags I ran into were some special case quirks around the high speed cpu version of the control and getting one that was built for serial interfacing, rather than analog spindle and A/B pulse coder servos. Steer clear of that and you can drop in a control with 320m of memory, faster block processing, faster serial communication, etc. pretty easily.

    I can only speak for my use case, but I’m pretty happy with the path I chose on this machine. For normal machining, even with adaptive clearing, it’s doing well enough to not justify the extra hassle of going to anything newer. The only nuisance I have left is that the operator panel lacks the keys for fully editing macros with conditional statements, so i have to keep a laptop by the machine if I’m going to be editing any of them. Most are already defined and just get called by cam generated code anyway, so it’s not a common thing.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  11. #11
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    Dec 2013
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    5717

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Quote Originally Posted by m1n1m View Post
    I see that I need to read up some on the fanuc servo drives and spindle drive to figure out what kind of IO I need and see if the siemens plc could be compatible. You are correct, my spindle motor is also a fanuc with red cover on top and it does have a orientation board. Can this also be reused normally? If servo drives, vfd use a standard I/O I don't see why a newer controller from either fanuc or siemens would'nt work. If I could rebuild it to siemens I think that would simplify it some since I work with that and some things are prolly similar.
    As far as I can tell, the spindle drive (and the axis drives) take a 24VDC input for the enable input, switches 24VDC for the fault output, and take a +/-10V analog motor command signal. The spindle drive can also take a 0-10V analog speed input, and a digital direction input, which is the way mine seems to be configured. Because my lathe has live tooling, I need to be able to operate the spindle like a 4th axis on a mill as well as operate as a normal lathe spindle. Programmatically this is simple, the issue may be getting the Fanuc hardware to cooperate. If it gives me too much trouble I'll rip out the Fanuc drive and install a sensorless vector VFD or buy a Centroid 60 amp drive. I have a 12KW sensorless vector VFD on the shelf if I need it, that will get me going if all else fails.

    My lathe spindle has the internal motor encoder and an external encoder. The external encoder is connected back to the orientation board on the drive. The internal encoder was connected directly to the computer. I want to control the spindle from the external encoder, so I may be having a battle with the Fanuc drive and its orientation card, we'll see. The spindle orient feature seems to be controlled by a single contact closure, so my assumption is that just leaving it open will allow normal operation.

    You are correct about the red tops. Mine are AC motors and I think I have the fanuc proprietary encoder on it so that will have to be replaced. Would mean a huge savings if I could reuse spindle/vfd/servo/drives and replace the controller so today I will spend some time reading through the fanuc connection manual to learn more about what I/O the different things have and compare that to what newer systems need. Would be awesome to fit a Sinumerik or a newer Fanuc without limitations to size of files.
    I think some of the DC servos also have black caps. I'm not up to speed on the different types.

    I'm still unclear as to what encoders are on my motors. According to the diagrams, they look like standard 5VDC, RS422 output quadrature encoders, with index. I'll find out when I connect them to the Galil board. I may have to dust off my oscilloscope to take a look at the outputs.

    Sounds great! I assume I won't be able to do a quick swap like you are doing but I don't mind spending some time tinkering and reading if it's doable in the end The road to getting the machine to work is just as much fun as milling with it in the end
    When the Anilam controller failed on my mill, in the middle of a job, I did the conversion in 1.5 days and didn't even take the job off of the table. Everything is always in a time crunch. I wish I had the luxury of taking my time with stuff like this. I'm in the same situation with the lathe, I have parts to build.

    Looking forward to reading about your experience with this. Tbh centroid pricing all options in like that put me off a bit. The hardware had decent prices and it looked like I could do a rebuild for $3-4k but when all options that would be fun to have with updated control system would add up thousands on top I'm leaning towards going for a known system ilke Fanuc or Siemens. Thanks for throwing all those brands out there. Will spend some time reading about each of them to find out if there is anything that could suit this machine. Btw do you know if Siemens also price in options like that? I know fanuc has been doing it for machines in the past also.
    The cost of the decent CNC software was one of the reasons I just sat down and wrote my own, I'm too cheap to pay someone else for something that I enjoy doing anyway. Doing it this way also allows me to make things work like I want rather than being locked into someone else's ideas. If I need another feature, I just add it at will. I'm an old manual machinist and tool & die maker (about 50 years worth) and kind of set in my ways, so I want things to run like I want them to run.

    Since you are already a Siemens expert, there is no reason that you couldn't use a PLC to run the system. I'm pretty sure that Siemens has motion control cards that plug into their PLCs. Might be expensive if you don't have the parts laying around. That's why I like the Galil products, very inexpensive for what they are. The latest high speed 4 axis motion controller is about $2500. Compared to other manufactures that's a really good price, and you don't have to buy any proprietary programming software.

    I'm sure Siemens has about the same pricing structure as all the other high end guys, nothing that I ever bought from them was cheap.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  12. #12
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    If I could get DNC sorted and upgrade like you did that sounds like the best solution. I do like the fanuc control this far it's only the DNC limitation that's killing me since I can't work with 64/128k for what I want to mill.

    Ok so I need to look for one that has analog spindle and A/B pulse encoders and I should be good. Is is the whole unit where the "decoders" and memory board sits?

  13. #13
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    The original Black DC motors used by Fanuc were Gettys, after Gettys sold their line, Fanuc brought out their own yellow cap motors that were almost exact copy of the Gettys.
    As to the red cap AC servo's, I have converted them to AB encoders, for use with Galil, l I used a through shaft type with a metric precision shoulder bolt to mount.
    The ones I used were from Renco, now owned by Heidenhain and they have reduced the Renco line now, unfortunately.
    You also need to know the pole count for the right commutation tracks on the encoder and then align them with a D.B. 'scope..
    Incidentally there is a member here that also makes a convertor board for Fanuc encoders to convert to commutation outputs. And most Fanuc encoders have the standard AB tracks for positioning.
    BTW Jim, do you intend marketing the Galil/CNC S.W.?
    Al.
    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
    Albert E.

  14. #14
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Thanks Al

    Regarding the commutation, there is something that I don't understand. In this case the encoder cables were connected directly to the main computer board, not to the drives. There was a cable connected from the main computer board to CN1 on the drives. As far as I can tell, there are no encoder/commutation inputs on CN1, but I could be wrong here, I still haven't found all of the pinouts for CN1.

    The schematic for the machine is showing these encoder cable connections for the X axis:

    0VDC
    5VDC
    0VDC
    5VDC
    OH1
    OH2
    C8
    C4
    C2
    C1
    Z
    /Z
    A
    /A
    B
    /B
    I assume that the Cx outputs are for commutation.

    So the question; Was there a pass through from the encoder cable, to the computer, and then to the drive?

    As far as marketing software, I really don't know. I don't think there is really enough market to make it worthwhile. The system is really too expensive for the hobby market, and the big commercial shops are just going to buy a new machine. The only market that might be reasonable is the smaller mom & pop shops and I can't really offer the same support as Centroid or CamSoft. For now, I'm just giving the software away.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

  15. #15
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Yes, the C1-C8 are a binary digits that are extrapolated to produce a sine wave as these are AC motors/drives, I converted to BLDC in order to use A-M-C BLDC drives.
    As I mentioned, there is a member that has a board that converts the 4 outputs for BLDC.
    See PDF.
    Any chance of getting a copy?
    Al.
    Attached Files Attached Files
    CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design

    “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
    Albert E.

  16. #16
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    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Thanks again for all the info Jim. I clearly see that I need to read up on some CNC basics to get a better understanding around these things. I would also love to have a look at your software if it's for the public.

    It's wrong to call me an Siemens expert :P I'm sure a combination of S7 PLC with proper boards could do it but it will for sure be way more expensive than the suited Sinumerik controllers. Siemens isn't cheap but it's quality I like that they don't charge for the basics (4th axis requires and the more advanced stuff requires license tho).

    I will keep an eye open to tcom-frazzled's option of upgrading my current system also with just a better fanuc controller. If there's a way of enabling DNC at 19200 or higher I think most of my worries are solved so that might be the best route

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    314

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Just to be clear.Cover the bases.
    I see you have 9 positions on your mode selector, and None of them are labeled "Tape" or something like that

    And you have stable two-way RS232 communication between PC and CNC

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Posts
    215

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    None are labeled tape and I've been throug the ladder without finding G127.5 and I can't search for it in the ladder either. From what I understand this has to be there to enable DNC.

    Yes I have stable two-way communication as I upload and download programs all the time from the machine without problems.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    1542

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    I also have the Fanuc 0M on a Vectrax mill with red top Fanuc servos. I will be upgrading it to camsoft. But I want to wait and see if Jim can make the Fanuc servo amps work with the Galil board. Shoot, he's going to be done by Wednesday

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    5717

    Re: Upgrading from Fanuc OM-C to ...

    Quote Originally Posted by Karl_T View Post
    I also have the Fanuc 0M on a Vectrax mill with red top Fanuc servos. I will be upgrading it to camsoft. But I want to wait and see if Jim can make the Fanuc servo amps work with the Galil board. Shoot, he's going to be done by Wednesday
    I thought I was going to be done by Wednesday. My output modules won't be here until Wednesday, they should have been here yesterday, so that pushes things back a couple of days.
    Jim Dawson
    Sandy, Oregon, USA

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