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Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:50 am
by gttool
Lathe is in great mechanical condition and the existing control is operational but in need of a upgrade
These can be used as a manual or cnc lathe no tool changer
would like to keep this option if possible
Has 2 mpg's,3 pos resolution switch, fwd/rev spindle switch and feed ,spindle start levers ?
Fanuc Alpha drives AO6B-6070-H005
Freqrol A200 spindle drive
What would be the best option using a Centroid control ?
Thanks Geoff
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 5:41 am
by tblough
Post a manual for the drives and motors, but my guess is an Oak controller. If the motors are brushed DC you could possibly use an AllIn1DC.
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 6:09 am
by gttool
Drives are analog AC , have not found the pinouts for them as yet ...
VFD manual easy to find inputs for 0-10v , fwd ,rev ,ok ,alarm
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:31 am
by tblough
If the drives are AC, then you'll be looking at the Oak. You might need to upgrade the encoders on the servo motors. Oak can handle the spindle without a problem, as well at the dual handwheel MPGs.
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 3:20 pm
by cncsnw
I am not so sure that the A06B-6070 drives have an open analog interface. They might have a Fanuc proprietary fiber-optic interface.
If that is the case, then you could either look at fitting the Fanuc servo motors with new encoders, then using Centroid's ACDC drives to power them; or replacing drives motors with Yaskawa or similar servos, which would then be plug-and-play with an Oak unit.
Can you post a picture of the control interface connection to the servo amplifiers? What type of plug is used?
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 4:46 pm
by gttool
No fancy optical connectors
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 7:10 pm
by cncsnw
Okay. Presumably one of the 20-pin mini-D connectors carries the control interface signals. If you can find out the pin-out and interface requirements, then you will be able to tell the prospects for running those drives directly with a Centroid control board (Oak, GPIO4D, or OPTIC4).
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 7:29 pm
by gttool
Hopefully next week will get hold of them
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2020 2:16 am
by gttool
Does anyone have the pinouts on the with the Fanuc AO6B 6070 HOO5 Servo Amp and used them ?
Have not been able to find as yet
Re: Controller upgrade options for a Harrison Alpha 400 lathe
Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2020 2:27 am
by gttool
It appears all the Alpha drives are digital ,and except a +-10v pwm input
This is not supported by the centroid boards ?
As the machine is fully functional i may be better selling the Fanuc motor and drives and it could come close to the cost of the conversion parts ?