Hello everyone,
I'm looking for feedback on buying a Tree 750 VMC as a machine to retrofit with a more modern controller. There is one in my area that has been available for about a year from someone who bought it as a machine to use for a business idea that didn't fly. This machine as shipped uses a Siemens Acramatic 2100 MC controller, a Yaskawa 626VM3 drive for a 15HP spindle, and Yaskawa Servopack SGDB-15ADG axis servos, and a 20 tool ATC. Documention is available for these. The machine is currently throwing an alarm, which the current owner attributes to running it off of an undersized RPC. Obviously that could be the issue but bears investigation. I'm not set on a particular controller path, but lean a bit toward LinuxCNC front end, Galil or Mesa controller card, but am exploring a few other options based on various suggestions.
1) Has anyone retrofitted a similar machine that has feedback?
2) Does anyone have thoughts on the Yaskawa servos and possibility of reusing those?
I'm retired, and looking to do this as a hobby obviously. I have fairly extensive experience in electronics and embedded computers, but not in the industrial automation/cnc machining. This would be a way of challenging myself toward something new. I have fairly decent manual machining capabilities in my shop, and expectations that this will be a project of several years. Seems like a path more to my inclinations than CNC converting a new import benchtop mill, lol.