Re: Revitalising a Hurco BNC30 3 axis CNC Mill

Russell,

I like Aussies well enough, so I'll be more than willing to share my
thinking on this. http://www.centroidcnc.com/cnc_retrofit.htm
I think the centroid is a good way to go for the small shop- the
little guy. Its PC front-end isn't quite as nice as the latest FANUC
control, but in all my research on this I was impressed by their
product. Go ahead and call them up and they will send you a video
detailing their control features. Its a decent price for some nice
features. Hell, were I work now the company just paid $500,000 for
nothing more than a control retrofit. Another 500 and they would
have had a new machine rather than an old beat-up 5-axis machine with
a nice control! The Centroid control is much more affordable!

-Nathan

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "dampfloken" <rad@...> wrote:
>
> Hi People,
>
> I have been hanging around the fringes of this list for several
years
> now and have learnt a heck of a lot from reading the messages
posted.
> Now comes my big chance to ask for your assistance on a problem we
> have.
>
> A close friend of mine has been able to acquire a "very" used Hurco
> BNC 30 3 axies mill. It is of mid 1980s vintage. He has restored
it
> mechanically and electrically to as-new condition but the computing
> side of it is still 1985.
> The machine has Fanuc AC servo motors and controllers, a 20 tool
> carousel with air/electric indexing and tool changing.
> It does not maintain its memory, when the machine is restarted
after
> being shut down, we need to reload all tool and magazine settings,
> etc, again. The Computing side will only operate with Win 95 and
> nothing later.
> It needs to download the complete file before it will start a job
(no
> DNC), and has no capability for running loops or sub-routines. The
> CAM software currently in use is CAM-Soft. FWIW, the machine is
> located in the Pacific North West.
> Do any list members have any experience with this sort of a beast
or
> any suggestions on what we could do to replace the controller and
> breakout boards with something more suitable for the 21st century?
> All replies or discussion would be most welcome. If anyone needed
> further details of the machine or its componentry to help them
> formulate a meaningful reply, don't hesitate to ask. I just didn't
> want to clutter this post with junk.
>
> With thanks and kind regards,
> Russell Dunn
> Perth
> Western Australia
>