Upgrading Tormach PCNC 770 to Acorn

[briuz]

Hello,

I am building a lathe with a 16 position turret that uses Centroid Acorn and really love the system. Because of this, I am also thinking about upgrading my Tormach to an Acorn as I like the conversational programming and rigid tapping functions as well as the ease of customization. Has anyone done this or have any thoughts on this type of project?

Thanks!

[Reedfirst]

As long as the drives in the Tormach use step and direction I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Or on another thought, you could also upgrade to servos. Such as DMM or Clearpath.

[agsweeney1972]

One of the Tormach machines has a very oddball stepper on the Y Axis that contains the thrust bearing for the ballscrew. I can't recall which model has that. They are actually putting Clearpaths on some of the new models.

[martyscncgarage]

Hello,

I am building a lathe with a 16 position turret that uses Centroid Acorn and really love the system. Because of this, I am also thinking about upgrading my Tormach to an Acorn as I like the conversational programming and rigid tapping functions as well as the ease of customization. Has anyone done this or have any thoughts on this type of project?

Thanks!

Doable. Tormach used Mach3 in the day and PathPilot today. Both are step and direction.
Just use the same drives and motors. OR you may even be able to use the DB25 on Acorn if the former use a DB25 cable for signals.
If you do it, document it with pictures and a final video. That would be of great interest to a lot of Tormach users running Mach.

Marty

[ScotY]

One of the Tormach machines has a very oddball stepper on the Y Axis that contains the thrust bearing for the ballscrew. I can't recall which model has that. They are actually putting Clearpaths on some of the new models.

That would be the PCNC440. All 3 motors have the thrust bearing built into the motor. Wish there were an easy way to replace the motors with servos.

[DocsMachine]

Has anyone done this or have any thoughts on this type of project?

-I've seen quite a few ask about it, but I have yet to see anyone actually try it.

The Tormachs, with some exceptions, aren't really old enough to need a major OS transplant just yet, and those that are- the aforementioned ones running Mach- have likely been upgraded to PathPilot already.

And from what I understand, few users have any significant complaints with PP, at least, not significant enough to plunk another $500-$1,000 and a bunch of time into an Acorn conversion.

It should be pretty straightforward, as noted, all current models use steppers and step/direction drives, with Clearpath servos as an upgrade option. I'm just not sure anyone has yet wanted to yank the otherwise-fully-functioning stock drive wiring and controller from their $10,000-$20,000 machine just to swap it over to an Acorn.

It'd be nice if you could buy a "bare" Tormach, with no drives or controller, specifically for this kind of mod, but Tormach of course gets them already fully-assembled from their manufacturer in China, and they'd have to either order a certain number with no controller, or strip them off here in the US. The later of which wouldn't be any savings.

If I had the cash, I'd love to buy a pair of Tormachs, convert one to Acorn, and do a comprehensive side-by-side test, or even just buy one and do a comprehensive before-and-after test, but hey, I can't even get my own converted lathe working.

Doc.

[ScotY]

I would have converted my 440 already but the stepper motors are nearly impossible to replace. And Pathpilot, while a nuisance sometimes, is incredibly easy to use. CNC12 isn't too bad, but nowhere near as simple and intuitive. Now that I have an ATC, switching it over to Acorn would be a big challenge for me.

[briuz]

I would have converted my 440 already but the stepper motors are nearly impossible to replace. And Pathpilot, while a nuisance sometimes, is incredibly easy to use. CNC12 isn't too bad, but nowhere near as simple and intuitive. Now that I have an ATC, switching it over to Acorn would be a big challenge for me.

How well is the ATC working for you? Do you have any thoughts as to how you would control the ATC from the Acorn?

[briuz]

Hello,

I am building a lathe with a 16 position turret that uses Centroid Acorn and really love the system. Because of this, I am also thinking about upgrading my Tormach to an Acorn as I like the conversational programming and rigid tapping functions as well as the ease of customization. Has anyone done this or have any thoughts on this type of project?

Thanks!

Doable. Tormach used Mach3 in the day and PathPilot today. Both are step and direction.
Just use the same drives and motors. OR you may even be able to use the DB25 on Acorn if the former use a DB25 cable for signals.
If you do it, document it with pictures and a final video. That would be of great interest to a lot of Tormach users running Mach.

Marty

I am still using Mach3 on my Tormach. (I installed a vanilla copy of Mach3 and configured it as opposed to using the Tormach version of Mach3.) The features provided by the Acorn (conversational programming, rigid tapping, and use of the network cable for communications with the controller) would all be major upgrades for the Tormach. Two concerns are that I'd like to add an ATC and would need a spindle encoder at some point. The spindle encoder would be for rigid tapping, of course.

I am contemplating how to add an encoder to the Tormach as well.

In addition, I have the 4th axis for the Tormach. So I am not sure how'd I'd interface to the ATC.

PathPilot looks interesting. I am looking into upgrading to it as a possibility. I have to look at the requirements to see if Pathpilot supports the PC I am using as a controller, otherwise buying another PC is another expense. I am also not happy about the requirements for the parallel port.

The final end goal is to upgrade the Tormach to the point I can use it as a low-end production machine to make parts for my lathe project. (Incidentally, I found the Acorn CNC was pretty easy to program for the turret on my lathe. )

Thanks!

Brendan

[ScotY]

I would have converted my 440 already but the stepper motors are nearly impossible to replace. And Pathpilot, while a nuisance sometimes, is incredibly easy to use. CNC12 isn't too bad, but nowhere near as simple and intuitive. Now that I have an ATC, switching it over to Acorn would be a big challenge for me.

How well is the ATC working for you? Do you have any thoughts as to how you would control the ATC from the Acorn?

The ATC was working okay until a recent Pathpilot upgrade apparently corrupted the control board in the ATC. Tormach sent a replacement but I haven’t had time to swap it out. The ATC is a serious pain in the butt to install and line up. Their mounting method sounds reasonable when you look at the manual but, in practice, it’s an exercise in patience.

I have no idea how, or if it’s even possible, to adapt the ATC over to Acorn control. As I mentioned, there’s a board in it that does something and I’m not really sure how it works or it would still be needed. There’s the sequencing of it all, the need to control a stepper that rotates the carousel, an air cylinder, and an air blast to clear chips. Way beyond my comprehension.