Matter of interest

[Sudsy55]

G'day all,
I was just wondering if any has retrofitted an old M2 control Mazak. I am toying with the idea of a retrofit as the machine is good and solid but the electronics are eerrrrr f******d basically. Not sure I want to spend time and money on electronics that are 33 years old if this is a better option though I do like the Mazatrol controller. Waiting to hear from you.


Cheers Bob

[martyscncgarage]

G'day all,
I was just wondering if any has retrofitted an old M2 control Mazak. I am toying with the idea of a retrofit as the machine is good and solid but the electronics are eerrrrr f******d basically. Not sure I want to spend time and money on electronics that are 33 years old if this is a better option though I do like the Mazatrol controller. Waiting to hear from you.


Cheers Bob

Bob, you need to provide more information. Pictures of the control cabinet, what make and model is the spindle drive, axis drives? Pictures of the machine etc. Then perhaps youll get some better advice

Is this something you are contemplating tackling yourself or having it done by a Centroid dealer?
Marty

[Sudsy55]

G'day all,
I was just wondering if any has retrofitted an old M2 control Mazak. I am toying with the idea of a retrofit as the machine is good and solid but the electronics are eerrrrr f******d basically. Not sure I want to spend time and money on electronics that are 33 years old if this is a better option though I do like the Mazatrol controller. Waiting to hear from you.


Cheers Bob

Bob, you need to provide more information. Pictures of the control cabinet, what make and model is the spindle drive, axis drives? Pictures of the machine etc. Then perhaps youll get some better advice

Is this something you are contemplating tackling yourself or having it done by a Centroid dealer?
Marty

Thanks for the reply Marty, It's a 86 Mazak VQC 20/50 with Mazatrol M2 control. It's a YM series controller and an FRSE spindle drive. The spindle is AC and axis servos are DC. I would be doing it myself if i go ahead with it. I was just wondering if anyone else had tackled anything similar.


Cheers Bob

[martyscncgarage]

G'day all,
I was just wondering if any has retrofitted an old M2 control Mazak. I am toying with the idea of a retrofit as the machine is good and solid but the electronics are eerrrrr f******d basically. Not sure I want to spend time and money on electronics that are 33 years old if this is a better option though I do like the Mazatrol controller. Waiting to hear from you.


Cheers Bob

Bob, you need to provide more information. Pictures of the control cabinet, what make and model is the spindle drive, axis drives? Pictures of the machine etc. Then perhaps youll get some better advice

Is this something you are contemplating tackling yourself or having it done by a Centroid dealer?
Marty

Thanks for the reply Marty, It's a 86 Mazak VQC 20/50 with Mazatrol M2 control. It's a YM series controller and an FRSE spindle drive. The spindle is AC and axis servos are DC. I would be doing it myself if i go ahead with it. I was just wondering if anyone else had tackled anything similar.


Cheers Bob

I am unfamiliar with that control. Best to post pictures of the control cabinet, the spindle drive, the servo drives and servos.

[Sudsy55]

The programming is M2. The controller designation is YM and TRA31 & 41 axis drives and FRSE spindle drive

[cnckeith]

Can you give us some info on the motor and drives is currently equipped with? The best option is to take a picture of the data-plates on the motors, drives, and spindle motor , make a online photo album of with tons of photos of the entire machine and then we can comment on how to proceed.

[martyscncgarage]

That's twice we've asked. I think the user assumes we know what his control is all about and how the machine came equipped.

Marty

[cncsnw]

Well, he did say:

TRA31 & 41 axis drives and FRSE spindle drive

TRA31 and TRA41 appear to be Mitsubishi servo drives, presumably original from 1986 (the date he gave for the machine). He said they are DC drives.

If I had to guess, I would say the motors have analog tachometer feedback to the drives, and resolver position feedback to the CNC. It is possible, however, that they have encoders.

It is possible that the old drives could be used -- they are almost certainly +/-10V analog velocity-mode drives. They would not necessarily perform that well, but they might. If position feedback is via resolvers, then you would have to figure out how and where to install encoders. Overall, using the old drives is likely to be more trouble than it is worth unless you are an electrical engineer with time on your hands.

It is possible that the old servo motors could be used, without the old drives. Maybe it could be done with an All-in-one DC unit, but more likely it would require Centroid's AC/DC drives. That would depend on the current draw (rated power / size) of the motors. It would again be necessary to install digital encoders on the back of the motors, but at least you would not have to retain the old tachometers there.

The path of least technical resistance would be to find out, or estimate, how much servo motor power and/or torque is required, and install new servo drives and motors. That would, of course, cost more money up front. It might end up costing less in the long run.

Using the old AC spindle drive is much more likely to be workable. That does not need to be as responsive as the servo drives. You just need to figure out what the input and output signals are (command to run forward and reverse; command to orient; optionally command to reset faults; status output for drive ok/fault; and status output for orient complete; and analog voltage input for the velocity reference). If you are lucky, those signals are shown in your original wiring diagrams for the machine. If not, you will want to see if you can locate a manual from Mitsubishi for the spindle drive unit.

This would be a pretty challenging project if it is your first CNC retrofit. Again, unless you are an electrical engineer with lots of time on your hands, be prepared and willing to hire help from people who have done it before. The research and planning required for a project like this is beyond the scope of what you can expect people to volunteer in a free support forum.

[martyscncgarage]

Thanks for chiming in Marc. I figured if anyone could share some insight, with enough information, it would be you.

Marty

[Sudsy55]

Can you give us some info on the motor and drives is currently equipped with? The best option is to take a picture of the data-plates on the motors, drives, and spindle motor , make a online photo album of with tons of photos of the entire machine and then we can comment on how to proceed.

Well first of all i didn't ask how to proceed. I am quite capable of working that out. All i asked was if anyone had done one as a matter of interest As the heading states. Secondly i did say they were tra 31 and tra 41 drives which are Mits and YM control which is also Mits.