Page 1 of 1

HERCUS PC160

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:12 am
by Commotion
I have now acquired the Hercus PC160 i mentioned in my mill thread so i thought i would post a new thread. The Mill had no control gear in the cabinet as it had all been removed but this lathe was apparently working the last time it was powered up. I would imagine the mill had all the same gear in it.
IMG_0852.JPG
IMG_0851.JPG
IMG_0841.JPG
So i decided to plug it in and see if it worked. It powered up fine (which was unexpected, i know how old computers usually are) and ran up the hercus software fine. However i did discover the Z axis wasnt working and after swapping a few cables around concluded it was the servo drive. bummer as i have at least 4 spare motors from the mill and adept machine so that would have been an easy fix. Blown drives was the reason the mill was discarded in the first place so no real surprise i guess. dad had a little prob around on it and discovered a diode which was not working so we will try and replace that and see if it works. not holding high hopes.

The development that went into the controls of this thing is pretty amazing. I believe its all propriety hardware developed for Hercus by, according to the labeling on the boards, digi systems. It has its own little computer running windows xp built into using components which look completely foreign to me. Maybe its based on a single board computer type thing i dont know. It must run some can bus type thing as i swapped the signal cables around and the drives still ran their respective axis.

some photos;
IMG_0856.JPG
IMG_0855.JPG
IMG_0854.JPG
IMG_0853.JPG
IMG_0850.JPG
The plan is to eventually retrofit an acord board and new servos or steppers but i was hoping to have a play with it in its current configuration for the interim. I cant find any information on the drives or what type of signal they take. I cant imagine its a step and direction type thing so like the mill the drives will most likely need to go.

Im sure i will have plenty of questions once i get to that stage but for now i thought some people may find it interesting to see the hardware it came with.