1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

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Chevy427z
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1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by Chevy427z »

I just finished bringing an old Wells Index CNC Mill with a Sharnoa controller back to life with the AllInOneDC controller with the incredible help from this discussion board. I posted this at the end of that thread to know where exactly to start my new thread. I brought all the initial comments here to keep anyone reading up to date.

I wrote:

Now that this is up and running, I'd like to start considering options to bring a 1997 Bridgeport Romi lathe back to life.

Before I started this adventure, I posed most of my initial questions to sales instead of here. While they were tremendously helpful, I learned that I should have started here. What would be the best forum (AllInOne, Oak, or Acorn) to start a new thread down that rabbit hole? The machine may have axis servo drive and spindle motor drive issues.

Many thanks,

Mark

------------------------------------

Marty wrote:

Mark, it depends. What kind of axis motors will you use? I would imagine that machine has DC brush servos?
How about overall picture of the machine, and detailed pictures of the control cabinet. Knowing what you've got and are working with might get some better suggestions from what route we might go if it were ours.

Seeing pictures of the condition of the machine would help. Likely SEM DC brush servos, if they are in good condition then All in One DC would be my first choice.

Does it have a turret or just a tool post?
No turret, then new AC Servos and Acorn a possibility.
Your budget might dictate your choices.

-------------------------------------------------

Then I added a bunch of pictures that I had on my computer from about a year ago.

--------------------------------------------

Then I wrote:

Four position tool post. Might think about a turret in the future.

Budget, as always, is tight, but not impossible. All in One would thrill me as I actually feel like I have a grip on how that works now. But not averse to using another recommendation.

Mark

Edited: It's actually in pretty good condition. The pictures do not do it justice. The iron is excellent. It seems to be covered in gooey oil residue which will clean up.

----------------------------------------------------

Then Marty wrote

You have AC Servos.
Maybe cncsnw will confirm the drives are compatible with Oak. I'd stick with them

----------------------------------------------------

Then cncsnw wrote

Those are Yaskawa Sigma I drives and motors.

If they were in good working order, then they would be plug and play with an Oak board.

If the servo drives are not running reliably, you might consider new Yaskawa servos in their place. 450W motors and 500W drives are not that expensive, and it is likely that new motors of the same rating (e.g. SGM7G-05A7D6S) would install with no mechanical modifications.

You can probably find a used drive of that model on eBay, if needed.

---------------------------------------------------------

I wrote

Thank you! I'll start doing research in that direction. The X axis drive is questionable. The Z axis is solid. I appreciate your time and input!

Mark

-----------------------------------------------------

And then before I could get a new thread started, Marty wrote:

See if you can figure out what's going on. Even if you had to source another Drive, I think you are ahead keeping the Yaskawa, Drives/Motors and go with Centroid Oak and their cables.

Maybe you can explain what the drive is or isn't doing. What is the history on the machine?

Thanks Marc for chiming in.
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Chevy427z
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by Chevy427z »

A little history on the machine.

I bought it about six years ago for $500. I knew that it had an X axis drive issue. I bought a used one on eBay and had it programmed by an outfit that I found online, I forget the name at the moment. I can find it if need be. I plugged the reprogrammed drive in and fired it up. The first thing it does is home X and then Z. It had intermittent homing issues. I would fire it up one time and it would home fine, then the next, the computer would freeze, power it down and back up and it'd home again no problem.

I had the software on floppies, but wound up buying a new set in case there was something wonky with it. Deleted it all and reloaded with the help of an online tech. Didn't help at all. Finally got a Bridgeport tech out to the house to have a look and had a whole new issue that stopped me in my tracks.

I bought a 25hp rotary phase converter exclusively for this. When I powered it up for the BP tech, the contactor beside the spindle drive (in the pic) started clicking on and off at about 5 second intervals. The axis drives have green LEDs glowing. The spindle drive shows the error in another pic in this post. The computer and monitor no longer boot up either.

The tech seemed to think that my issue was with the RPC. I called American Rotary on it and they wanted to sell me a $1600 transformer. And that's where I stopped.

I have renewed enthusiasm (and confidence) after bringing that old Wells Index back to life.

I rechecked my voltages at the machine today and got the following (from my pics) 245 VAC single phase, 122 on each leg. Then 244 L1 to L2, 261 L2 to L3, and 254 L1 to L3.
Attachments
20211227_191533.jpg
20211227_191508.jpg
20211227_131814.jpg
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martyscncgarage
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by martyscncgarage »

So you are running this at home off a an American Rotary Converter? With their idler? Which model? They are pretty good.

Can you take an overall picture of the cabinet? Sometimes there are transformers to change the taps on. Did you check this?
Did you get a set of schematics for the machine so you could identify the contactor opening and closing?

The drive kind of looks like a Magnetek G505/Yaskawa
here is a manual for the 505, PuF is not a good error to have. Look for the label on the drive, locate a proper manual.
Post a pic of the label

I think the control might have been damaged.
I assume the spindle is 5hp?

You have to validate whether or not the drives are working before purchasing a new motion controller.

Otherwise, full gut and new control.
Marty
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TM.4505.pdf
(2.03 MiB) Downloaded 84 times
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Chevy427z
Posts: 166
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by Chevy427z »

Thank you Marty.

I forgot to get a pic of the RPC. I'll get that tomorrow. It is a home shop, running on an American Rotary. My Wells Index is running on a seperate, smaller AR RPC (think it's 15HP). I posted my voltages but forgot to ask if they were in good range or if the 261 was too high. I've included a pic of the diff transformer taps (schematic) that you referenced.

I do have the schematics and it looks like the contactor that I am having issues with is K1 "Enable Spindle Drive". Thinking that I first need to find out why the contactor is "making and breaking" constantly.

The spindle is 7.5 HP

Am I correct in understanding that I would be reusing my spindle drive (if I can get it working) or does Oak actually replace that?
Attachments
Upper Cab with suspect contactor.jpg
Transformer taps.jpg
Spindle Drive label.jpg
Lower Cab.jpg
Contactor that is clicking 2.jpg
Contactor that is clicking.jpg
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RTech
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by RTech »

I put an Oak in a similar machine a few years ago. Mine also has the Yaskawa drives and I used an OAK board and pre-made drive cables from Centroid for simplicity.

I can't help you with the contactor (I believe I rewired the spindle per the OAK drawings), but the spindle drive works fine with the OAK.

Also, I just wanted to say the CNC-DX32 control and parts are worth a lot to some people. I got enough for the parts on ebay to more than pay for the OAK board!
martyscncgarage
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by martyscncgarage »

RTech wrote: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:50 pm I put an Oak in a similar machine a few years ago. Mine also has the Yaskawa drives and I used an OAK board and pre-made drive cables from Centroid for simplicity.

I can't help you with the contactor (I believe I rewired the spindle per the OAK drawings), but the spindle drive works fine with the OAK.

Also, I just wanted to say the CNC-DX32 control and parts are worth a lot to some people. I got enough for the parts on ebay to more than pay for the OAK board!
Good point on the used controls. If you can power up the control and show the console and jogging axis, you could make some money with the boards.
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
Mesa, AZ
Chevy427z
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:39 am
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by Chevy427z »

Thank you gents! I appreciate your input.

I'll do some more poking in the very near future.

Happy New Year!

Mark
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Chevy427z
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:39 am
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Allin1DC CNC Controller: Yes
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CNC Control System Serial Number: A900999
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Clinton, NC, USA
Contact:

Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by Chevy427z »

I forgot that I promised Marty information on the rotary phase converter. I've been out of town for new years.

So, what do you think about the incoming voltages to the machine?
Attachments
20220102_194416.jpg
20220102_194317.jpg
20220102_194240.jpg
20220102_194228.jpg
20211227_191508.jpg
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martyscncgarage
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Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by martyscncgarage »

Phase converter is sized ok. I think the 261vac is a little high but I don't know how much the Bridgeport equipment will tolerate. I think your VFD is unhappy.
Reminder, for support please follow this post: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=383
We can't "SEE" what you see...
Mesa, AZ
Chevy427z
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:39 am
Acorn CNC Controller: No
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CNC Control System Serial Number: A900999
DC3IOB: No
CNC12: Yes
CNC11: No
CPU10 or CPU7: No
Location: Clinton, NC, USA
Contact:

Re: 1997 Bridgeport Romi CNC flat bed lathe Easy Path S

Post by Chevy427z »

martyscncgarage wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 9:10 pm Phase converter is sized ok. I think the 261vac is a little high but I don't know how much the Bridgeport equipment will tolerate. I think your VFD is unhappy.
I agree that the VFD is unhappy. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Is there an easy fix to bring down the voltage coming out of the RPC (preferably by the leg to make it "perfect")? I asked American Rotary and their solution was a $1600 transformer. That's when I stopped pursuing that one.

I'll probably wind up shipping the spindle drive to TIE (if they'll look at it) they did such a great job with my LeBlond Makino 4 axis mill.

Mark
Last edited by Chevy427z on Tue Jan 04, 2022 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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