Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Curiosity: Boss vs EzTrak

cimdave1@... wrote:

> boss 3 thru 7 were stepper, and control is clunky by today standards,
> but had good features for it's time. boss 8 and later switched to
> servos. Excellent programming, terrible electronics. BOSS controls
> are a "high-end control" by Bridgeport's way of thinking.
>
> To compete with the retrofit and low end market,
> Bridgeport used the southwest industries Prototrak controls for a
> while (good move - great control !!!) then came out with their own
> pc-based eztrak control (piece of s**t) as an entry level
> machine, mounted on the Series 1
> Standard mill (not the CNC iron like the BOSS machines.)

Comment about the base machine is exactly correct. The EZ-Trak is
a totally standard manual machine with a retrofit, just like many others
make. It can be converted to a totally manual machine with DRO by the
push of a button for the 2-axis, and the removal of one screw and
push of button for the 3-axis. Some people like this.

As for the quality, I think it does pretty well. We now have two of them
at our shop at work. the first had a motherboard problem, and was
repaired (in under 24 Hrs.) for a price they thought was OK. That was
a 2-D machine.

The newer 3-D machine has been working since it was installed.
Our machinists are not real computer savvy, and they need help
in setting up programs the first time, and Bridgeport has been helping
them work it out. Once they've seen the program work, they can use
the same code somewhere else to do similar tasks. Like, they needed
a bit of help getting an Ez-Turn to cut tapered (pipe) threads the first
time. (I would, too.) Anyway, they love the EZ-Trak, and the manual machines
get a lot LESS use now that they have 2 of them.

Jon