Re: Mazak Impulse - Oak retrofit build log
Posted: Sat May 29, 2021 3:31 am
So, it been a long couple of months. I have managed to scrape up a few hours a week plus the remaining parts to complete my control board. I finally have a set of motor drives that appear they are going to work after quite some trial and error.
My goal has always been to try do my retrofit non invasively and finish up with a machine that performs as if not better than it did on the old Mazak controller. To be honest it is going to be hard to beat that old controllers motor drive capabilities. But there are plenty of other advantages of the upgrade that make it worth while!
Anyways, below are some pictures of the control panel. Today I fitted it to the machine and connected up most of the wires. Depending on how bad the storm is tonight I should be able to get it running tomorrow.
The control panel is on a door behind the machine so this presents some challenges in terms of clearance as the door opens and strain relief of the wires.
I started by mocking things up on a piece of wood. Note the first dinky little spindle VFD! Sorry about the sideways pictures, the forum seems to put them all in landscape. If you click them they are the right way up. Then on a sheet of 6mm aluminium I constructed the necessary cable entry brackets. A 6mm sheet was used so I had enough thickness to drill and tap into it as it needs to be screwed hard up against the door. For all the main components I fitted countersunk screws from behind so they made little studs. After spending way more time than I am willing to admit, I eventually managed to crunch everything onto the panel. Parts are three deep in places!
Everything was a compromise. Things crammed closer together than I would have liked. Not sure yet if interference is going to rear its ugly head! I fitted the OEM heatsinks to the backside of the panel and behind the DMM drives. This was mainly so it looked like it used to. It may also help with a bit of cooling! Note the final VFD size, even this one doesn't have a high enough peak current rating but was all I could fit. I eventually decided to mount the PC and its power supply under the OAK as I don't want it up on the control panel. I manhandled the door back onto the machine. It is much heavier than it used to be!!! First thing I did was close it to make sure everything cleared. No problems. Then a full day today joining up wires. I am slow at wires! All that is left now is the coolant pump which is currently too short and the main power supply which I couldn't work out how to do nicely yet!
My goal has always been to try do my retrofit non invasively and finish up with a machine that performs as if not better than it did on the old Mazak controller. To be honest it is going to be hard to beat that old controllers motor drive capabilities. But there are plenty of other advantages of the upgrade that make it worth while!
Anyways, below are some pictures of the control panel. Today I fitted it to the machine and connected up most of the wires. Depending on how bad the storm is tonight I should be able to get it running tomorrow.
The control panel is on a door behind the machine so this presents some challenges in terms of clearance as the door opens and strain relief of the wires.
I started by mocking things up on a piece of wood. Note the first dinky little spindle VFD! Sorry about the sideways pictures, the forum seems to put them all in landscape. If you click them they are the right way up. Then on a sheet of 6mm aluminium I constructed the necessary cable entry brackets. A 6mm sheet was used so I had enough thickness to drill and tap into it as it needs to be screwed hard up against the door. For all the main components I fitted countersunk screws from behind so they made little studs. After spending way more time than I am willing to admit, I eventually managed to crunch everything onto the panel. Parts are three deep in places!
Everything was a compromise. Things crammed closer together than I would have liked. Not sure yet if interference is going to rear its ugly head! I fitted the OEM heatsinks to the backside of the panel and behind the DMM drives. This was mainly so it looked like it used to. It may also help with a bit of cooling! Note the final VFD size, even this one doesn't have a high enough peak current rating but was all I could fit. I eventually decided to mount the PC and its power supply under the OAK as I don't want it up on the control panel. I manhandled the door back onto the machine. It is much heavier than it used to be!!! First thing I did was close it to make sure everything cleared. No problems. Then a full day today joining up wires. I am slow at wires! All that is left now is the coolant pump which is currently too short and the main power supply which I couldn't work out how to do nicely yet!