[roboJMM]

I recently bought a Partner 1, and would like to find a relatively cheap CAM software. The monitor says it has a Centurion 6 controller when it powers up, but another thread said the Centurion 6 controllers are white, mine is black. Is there a better way to communicate with the CNC than the floppy drive without too much trouble?
I am relatively new to machining (I understand simple G and M code) is there anything I need to watch out for with this machine, any parts I need to keep on hand, etc.?

[bmoore]

You can go to utilities and info to find out what version of c6 is on it. Sounds like it has been upgraded.

I had to replace the ballscrew bearings on my vm 17 when I got it. 7204 angular contact bearings off Ebay 2 per ballscrew, and 6204 ball bearings 1 per ballscrew less than $100 for everything.

I use bobcad cam. I have a post processor that should work for your p1.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[ImTippmann]

I use fusion360 because im a hobby shop and its free. It does work very well though

[cgmaster]

I use fusion360 because im a hobby shop and its free. It does work very well though

I second fusion 360. Never really heard anything good about Bob cad. I have a post that works good on centurion 6.

For parts and service talk to Bob. His user name is sporty Bob on here. He can get parts cheap and has always been great for repairs and diagnosing problems over the phone or email.

[roboJMM]

Thanks for the help. I think I will try the fusion 360, the bobcad is out of my price range.

[SEK22Hornet]

I have been using Fusion 360 for a couple years - both at work (paid subscription) and at home (hobby). I have a partner 1 but it is not up and running yet - using the fusion 360 with a different machine. It will take you a little while to get up to speed but it is well worth the effort. As for interface for file transfer, sportybob has an upgrade that adds true USB to that generation of machine, but it is not cheap. It is a complete cpu upgrade. I believe he also has a USB floppy emulator that is quite a bit cheaper but much more limited since the USB has to formatted to the same capacity as a floppy drive.

[sportybob]

Hi SEK22,and ALL. If a machine has a single board control update, I have a program I wrote so the control will "unzip" a zipped up file.
What this means is that a "floppy sector / disk" will hold about a 4.5Mb zipped file. program, files, load as normal. then F10 util F10 "unzip" there's your ~4.5 MB program
for larger programs, a high density multi-function drive can be added. this works up to a 2GB drive. I current use a SD card that is able to fold in half and be inserted into a PC USB port.
Then there is my " Super SBC" update with full "HOT SWAPPABLE" USB drive.

There are options.

dollar for dollar it is hard to beat the Fusion 360

Call me

Bob M

[SEK22Hornet]

Bob - can the SD card be swapped hot or does it require power off when the card is inserted or changed?

[sportybob]

HI SEK22, The multi function drive is hot swap. One should try and avoid booting up with the card installed. some motherboards don't like that.

sportybob