Router Retrofit

[crose]

Good afternoon,

I purchased an Acorn recently to replace an old Mach 3 system for my CNC router.

A little information about the current system;
1. Uses a Vital Systems DSPMC-V2 Ethernet Motion Controller connected to a Vital systems 7711 board to output +-10 to the drives.
2. Has a Parker APEX 20 connected to a Parker 606 Brushless motor for the x-axis.
3. Has a Parker TQ10 connected to Parker SM232AE-NTQN motors for the y and z-axis.
5. Previously used Mach 3 but the computer failed the software is not available to make the system function.
This seemed like a good time to upgrade.

My question is, is there a way to connect these drives to the acorn? I now understand that they are analog drives but the cost of replacing the motors and drives could be more than the machine is worth.

I appreciate any help with this.

[ShawnM]

I believe those drives accept a torque or velocity +/-10v signal. Acorn is step and direction. You'd need to post a link to the drive manuals to be sure.

[crose]

That is correct, I guess I was just wondering if there was an accessory or another way to still use the drives.

https://www.parkermotion.com/manuals/AP ... entire.pdf

[ShawnM]

Acorn is only Step & Direction so the short answer is NO they wont work with Acorn. You would have to upgrade to another Centroid board that would control those drives.

[crose]

Thank you for your help. Do you have any suggestions for an upgrade for this machine?

[ShawnM]

Since we cannot see the the machine or even know what it is it's hard to say.

Please start a Google album and add a bunch of pics of the machine and the drive motors and we can make suggestions as to what might work. Your options would be to upgrade to another Centroid board that will work with those drives or replace the drives and motors with a servo that accepts step and direction like the Clearpath SDSK motors or any of the others that accept step and direction. You'll have to decide which you want to do according to your budget and skill level.

[cnckeith]

strip all the electronics off the machine and start fresh with Acorn and Clearpath or Acorn and Leadshine AC servos

[crose]

I apologize for the delay in getting this posted. I have included a link with photos of the machine. The table is about 10'x5' and has the Parker 606 motor with an Neugart 8:1 gearbox on the x-axis and one of the Parker SM232AE motors with a 5:1 Bayside gearbox on the y-axis. I bought this machine not working so I am trying to get it running.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aixij9nP7d47Hxz5A

I would really like to strip the machine down and redo everything but I am not sure if it is worth it for the machine that it is.

When it comes to motor sizing. The x-axis has a 1.57KW (a little over a 2 hp) motor going into an 8:1 gearbox. I could be completely wrong but this seems like overkill to me considering the size of the other motors. It might be really difficult to tell this without being here and knowing how heavy the gantry is but is my thinking in error?

I have been considering your 2 options. Sticking with the same motors and drives for the present and buying the Oak board and cables or as cnckeith suggested tearing everything out and starting over. In order to replace the motors and use the acorn, the price is higher and I will have redesign the mounting system for the motors and gearboxes. The Oak would be significantly simpler for the present. Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated.

Would the Oak be compatible with something like the Clearpath motors if I went that direction and then decided to upgrade the motors in the future?

[ShawnM]

Thanks for the pics. If the mechanics are good and you are happy with it I would also recommend Keith's option. Strip out all the electronics and start fresh. What if you get the old drives working on an Oak board and a month from now one of the drives goes bad? Then what? That stuff has to be really old and not worth worrying about. If you are adding a state of the art controller why not get state of the art and modern drives and motors? No one said this was a cheap hobby. Do it right the first time out rather than worry about what's gonna break next. Just my two cents.

[cnckeith]

i like the gear boxes! and the rest of the mechanical look better than most budget routers.

bolt up Leadshine closed loop stepper motors (if on a budget) which will give good performance as well and connect to acorn and you'd have a nice little machine.