Ganesh Knee Mill Conversion
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:41 am
Bit of history,
I acquired a Ganesh 10x54 CNC knee mill from a friend of mine which saw very little use. It had a Mitutoyo Millstar III control on it. The control used standard Glentek servo motors and amplifiers. Mitutoyo control was good, sotware not so great. So I opted to go with a Centroid upgrade. I call it a success. Being an electrician by trade, Traffic Signal Tech by profession (now retired) made things easier for me. I would not suggest that someone without basic electrical/electronic skills undertake such a conversion, its not tough, but I found you need to understand the basics. I also took a stab at explaining the basic system circuits as I understood them in hopes it might help others. (No guarantees!
)
Centroid software is SO much better, with so many extra features, including Intercon, their conversational programming software that helps those of us that are a little challenged in the CAD/CAM department, than the Millstar III control had. I was able to reuse my servo motors which were in like new shape. I refitted them with new 2000 line encoders. I also fitted the X&Y axis with limit switches that it did not have before. The Mitutoyo control used their glass scales on those axis while the Z used an encoder. The machine homed to markers on the scales.
I plan on doing a couple more conversions. I have an Emcoturn 240 and a Supermax mill came my way recently so it will likely be refitted first. I guess you can tell I like tinkering with CNC controls.
All I have to do now is run the systems test.
I plan on doing a couple more conversions.
I documented the conversion (all videos not up quite yet) on my YouTube channel, martyscncgarage https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTNt9I ... GVQ/videos
Pictures on my google album:
https://goo.gl/photos/1AN1yNPp6GHyKkCn8
Couple pictures below.
I acquired a Ganesh 10x54 CNC knee mill from a friend of mine which saw very little use. It had a Mitutoyo Millstar III control on it. The control used standard Glentek servo motors and amplifiers. Mitutoyo control was good, sotware not so great. So I opted to go with a Centroid upgrade. I call it a success. Being an electrician by trade, Traffic Signal Tech by profession (now retired) made things easier for me. I would not suggest that someone without basic electrical/electronic skills undertake such a conversion, its not tough, but I found you need to understand the basics. I also took a stab at explaining the basic system circuits as I understood them in hopes it might help others. (No guarantees!
)Centroid software is SO much better, with so many extra features, including Intercon, their conversational programming software that helps those of us that are a little challenged in the CAD/CAM department, than the Millstar III control had. I was able to reuse my servo motors which were in like new shape. I refitted them with new 2000 line encoders. I also fitted the X&Y axis with limit switches that it did not have before. The Mitutoyo control used their glass scales on those axis while the Z used an encoder. The machine homed to markers on the scales.
I plan on doing a couple more conversions. I have an Emcoturn 240 and a Supermax mill came my way recently so it will likely be refitted first. I guess you can tell I like tinkering with CNC controls.
All I have to do now is run the systems test.
I plan on doing a couple more conversions.
I documented the conversion (all videos not up quite yet) on my YouTube channel, martyscncgarage https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTNt9I ... GVQ/videos
Pictures on my google album:
https://goo.gl/photos/1AN1yNPp6GHyKkCn8
Couple pictures below.