Fadal Retrofit - ATC cycle

Hello all!

Have conducted a specific searched regarding the question below, but no luck...

Looking into a retrofit of a FADAL 3016 (1996 year, DC servos/resolvers) to LinuxCNC given the ever increasing reliance and cost of outdated proprietary hardware. Another way of saying: "future-proofing" with an adaptable, flexible and contemporary system.

The prime challenge seems to be the ATC cycle. Obviously there are quite a number of Fadal's out there, so just wondering whether anyone has retrofitted one with LinuxCNC and therefore whether there are any ladders or hal code already in existence specifically regarding the Fadal ATC cycle.

Hoping to get some previous Fadal retrofit expertise onto the forum regarding the ATC. Obviously information for this build, but also once this info is up it will serve as a searchable record for those who will also undoubtedly want to retrofit a Fadal in the future.

Would be greatly interested in your experience if you've been on this journey before me.

Thanks and best regards,
Marty.

I am sure that we can help you through this. It really comes down to if you prefer to control the cycle from G-code or Classic Ladder.

Hello again all!

Now at the stage of buying cards for the Linux CNC retrofit of this FADAL. Was a DC servo motor machine with resolvers.
Keeping the DC axis motors, but going to use incremental encoders (no more resolvers) for positioning.

Currently a 4 axis machine, and currently also has an encoder on the spindle for rigid tap.

The parts I “think” I need are the following, can you please confirm that these parts will work together, or if you recommend a better solution.
 
2x 7i29 2 axis servo drives giving me 4 axis total
1x 5i22-1 Motion card
2x 7i37 for isolated machine side i/o
1x 7184 for pendant side i/o including MPG connection
 
If I am correct these cards will take up 3 of the 50way connectors on the 5i22, leaving me another slot spare for future expansion if needed.

Thanks for everyone's insight!
Kind regards,
Marty.

Have you considered keeping the resolvers? They are easy to use with LinuxCNC and the Mesa 7i49 card, and are actually superior to encoders in most respects except cost (they are enormously expensive to buy, but you already have them).

Both my lathe and mill use resolvers. I even took a encoder off of one the lathe servos to fit a resolver.

Hi Andy.

You hit the nail on the head with the cost. I am trying to "future-proof" the machine by moving away from proprietary cards and thus expensive parts etc. I find the resolvers to be a weak link in my particular case given that they are considered somewhat of a consumable. By the time I get a replacement landed here in Australia the cost is quite prohibitive. Generic encoders are a better option in that regard and will therefore help me to keep the machine running further into the future. In this case we are talking orders of magnitude difference in $$$...

That said, from your perspective and expertise, is the card setup as listed above about right? I am looking to go ahead and order a set before the weekend in the USA.

Thanks again Andy.
Regards,
Marty.

The 5i22 is very expensive.

I would suggest 5i24 as the PCI card with the 7i29s for servo / encoder and then use smart-serial via a 7i44 for all other IO.

(Pretty much what I used in my lathe, which is 5i24, 7i49, 7i44, 2 x 8i20, 7i43 and 7i84 for the GPIO)