Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] hi

Shumaim Shaheer wrote:

> Can anyone convert conventional lathe and milling machine into CNC.
>
> In our country we need cheap solution to convert conventional lathe and milling machine.
>
> if anyone want to sell its own made solution or want to work in our country as a project. kindly reply to my email and send complete detail about their product.
>
>
> Regards
> Shumaim Shaheer

First answer, almost anyone can do the conversion. Check out the
CNCzone and MACH forums. PMINMO is a good vendor for some things, there
are a bunch of good vendors around. The eleadscrew forum is about
conversions with electronics costs on the order of $200 (US), but they
are not pure CNC -- John Dammeyer (hope I spelled that right...) builds
a product which partially automates lathe operation. It can be later
converted to full CNC, but for things like turning and threading is an
amazing piece of work.

There is no good, cheap solution. Any good solution costs money and
time, but there are lower cost solutions. Look at the Sherline CNC
setups and the Xylotex control systems. They all trade cost for
performance. Getting a 1,000 IPS system which is good to 10 millionths
of an inch is never going to be cheap, but a 1 IPS system good to 0.005"
will not be expensive.

If $500 (US) is cheap, it can be done, much below that will take
scrounging. At the $1,000 (US) level, good results suddenly are
possible, as the price rises the ease of conversion and operation become
better. Why so much? 3 steppers are $100 (US), Gecko drivers are
$100-$200 each, a full 4 axis system runs $300, add in a power supply
($100) and you are at the $500 level. Add the hardware "bits and
pieces" (shaft couplers, etc.) and a computer and program (EMC2 is free,
Mach is about $150, the computer is probably cheap since it can be a
slow, used system), and you can run things. Now train the operators and
programmers and you are home free.

This IS cheap in the real world. With a lathe or mill exceeding $10,000
and a good VMC 5 times that (or more), $1,000-$2,000 for CNC conversion
and the ability to double or quadruple production it is a cheap price.