Older Denford CNC Machines

Hello all,

I am a high school vocational machining technology instructor. We
have 2 older Denford CNC bench top mills. One is a Triac version
with a tool changer. The other is older ( I can't remember the
model) and has no tool changer. Both machines run.

I also have a Denford Mirac model slant bed lathe and an older
Dynamite lathe. Both of these have tool changers on them as well.
The Mirac is fully operational but uses an old 286 IBM on board and
only has a 360K floppy from which it runs from. The other lathe I
presume is operational also, I haven't fired it up yet but it has a
very small detachable control box with a small 1 line LCD display.

These machines are from the early '80s and are slow in running. The
Denford programming language for the mills really sucks. The Mirac
lathe programs exactly like a Fanuc. I'm looking for a quick and
easy and inexpensive fix for these machines. I have access to some
old 486 and Pentium I and PII PCs which I'd like to use for new
controls for these machines. Can anyone help with some tips and
suggestions as far as finding software that would drive my existing
steppers? I'd also like to be able to just hook a PC up to the
existing driver hardware on these machines and go. Is this possible?
In short, is there software that will allow me to just attach a
parallel cable to the Denford machines and go without having to buy
an additional "black box" or more hardware?

My other option that I may consider is to sell these machines.

Please contact me offline to help or if you might be interested in
the possible purchase of these machines. Contact me via email for
easier correspondence.

Thanks.