Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] PC-based CNC controler?

Hello everybody, specially Ray,

OK, I am one of the micrometer fighting metal machinists. Because I rebuild the machinery of other shops (including very nice
CNC-Monsters up to 7 tons) I can't afford any mistakes.
As Grandfather said: "The best available quality is just enough!"

I wanted to update my hydraulic copy lathe with a Siemens Control as a first step before I
build my own machine from sketch. But ....DAMN EXPENSIVE (at least for me).
And on their brochure they announced the 802C Control as the lowest cost control.
For the 8600 Bucks they want for Controller, Software, 1 inverter and 1 encoder, I should put
3000 on it and get a whole new Taiwanese lathe of the same size as the one I would like to convert.
If I had it over.

How do these people build so cheap machines?
Today I opened a only 7 month old Taiwanese mill. And what did I find?
A simple PC 8486 with 60 MHz and 80 Mbytes hard disc, 3 cheap looking inverters
and a standard 14" monitor.

So there must be some supplier on the market who can give you out of one hand
a well working software with some interface cards, reasonable priced converters,
accurate motors and encoders that fit together.
And where you don't have to fiddle for months until it works more or less.

I'm not stuck anymore on continuing with the hydraulic system. Although I found servo valves
that seem to be appropriate to use (German Kracht proportional valves together with the interface
card 635 $/set) (Just looking at the data sheet it looks like there are quite a few variables you
can work with to educate a hydraulic system. But my saying is: "What you can't adjust, can't get
miss adjusted!" In a month or so more about it.. ..in another application)
For ball screws, special bearings etc. I have a good supplier (excellent quality and prices ) but the CNC stuff I would like to get
from 1 serious specialized supplier who doesn't chop of my head.

I would be glad about any well meant advice.

Sven Peter from Costa Rica



(My supplier: TMH (Technical Marine Supplier near Hamburg, Germany) - Mr. Michael
Machacek, telfax 0049-4101-45076, email: TMH-Halstenbek@...
This guy is great on special bearings for spindles and faster than many others. )



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]