Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] anybody know Siemens controller?

tom wrote:

> I've been offered a Siemens cnc controller with servos that was used to
> control a hardinge about 12 years ago. The guy who has the thing says he
> waited too long to change the backup battery or something and the unit lost
> its programming, for which he has no backup rendering it unusable. I'm just
> getting into this stuff, and wondering if I can make it work again. If
> anyone has any familiarity with what might be wrong with this thing, please
> voice your opinion, as I'm wondering if it would be worth the time and $100
> or so to go get it...

Well, as someone else mentioned, the main executive may be in EPROM, and
still there. But, the configuration and calibration settings may indeed have been
lost. If he has the manuals, all that may be recorded on paper (or possibly, paper
tape) somewhere in there.

Does the unit power up? Does anything appear on the screen?

If it doesn't power up, it may well have electrolytic or tantalum capacitors that
have gone bad. I had a bunch of tantalum caps go bad in an old Allen-Bradley
control. The bad ones can be hard to find.

If you mean the control was last used 12 years ago, it may be a pretty sad case.
If it was used for many years BEFORE the shutdown, it is likely not worth
salvaging the control ITSELF. The servo motors, and possibly servo amps and
power supply, may be an excellent start on a servo system to be combined with
a new control computer - a PC.

Jon