Hi All, I would like some help, mainly conceptual regarding CNC conversion of a milling machine. As I understand there a number of options of which I know 2 of, to some extent.

1) one of my machines have a Mitsubishi PLC - this seems to me a little cumbersome in respect of setup and programming
2) I have added CNC functionality to an old Berco Surface Grinder using a DSP0501 and couple of Stepper Motors - this seems a simple solution but this is open loop which is a concern on the vertical axis especially
3) Someone suggested a CNC9640 controller with Servo Motors or Hybrid Stepper motors
4) Another suggestion I had is using a pic32 controller with Hybrid Stepper motors

The first one I use on the daily bases and at this stage I am not impressed with the system as it seems like a whole lot of electronics for very little automation: The machine has a control panel that consist of a few dials and buttons and allows to set a depth in mm using 2 dials to nominate the boring depth starting from the current position . My first wish was to have the machine remember its starting position and have a button assigned to reposition the head... well it doesn't appear to be a simple task

The second is simple and working fine but would be better with a larger interface and be able to set parameters instead of loading a G-Code sequence and running it

I was told that option 3 or option 4 would do what I need:

I would like to add CNC control to a New Surface Grinder/ Milling machine.
Optimally the machine would have a screen where the user can:

1) confirm the the head is in starting position - Call it "Zero" ( X and Y) which is a position relative to the current work-piece
2) enter the length of the work - the head should travel from Zero on X
3) enter the number of passes the machine should make
4) enter the height adjustment the machine should make after each pass ( Y- axis - lower the head before the next pass)

What are my real options to achieve the above?
Should I look at something else?

TIA

Tom