looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
- steers
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04 Jul 2025 18:16 #331256
by steers
looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill was created by steers
hey all!im in the market for a decent mill that i want to retrofit with Mesa/linuxCnC. its a Knüth WF 5 NC, a hydrolic controlled mill with currently a Ljumo-PNC 63 controller. currently the mill isnt operational, but even with the full schematics we cant seem to figure out the current issue.i have done a retrofit before using mesa on a Vermano r170 which used some big servos, but i cant seem to find much info regarding retrofitting mesa hardware on a hydrolic controlled mill.is this even possible, and where can i find some more info on how to tackle this?best regards,steers
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- PCW
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04 Jul 2025 21:42 #331271
by PCW
Replied by PCW on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
If you are retaining the hydraulics, the question would be how are the hydraulic valves
that control position controlled and what is the position feedback method.
that control position controlled and what is the position feedback method.
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- tommylight
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04 Jul 2025 22:44 #331277
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
Something does not add up, google shows many of the same model machines with manual controls
www.google.com/search?q=knuth+wf5nc&num=...mgdii=EVvF2wH31GoAHM
So upload some pictures of the machine.
www.google.com/search?q=knuth+wf5nc&num=...mgdii=EVvF2wH31GoAHM
So upload some pictures of the machine.
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- jmelson
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04 Jul 2025 23:27 #331285
by jmelson
Replied by jmelson on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
Are the axes moved by hydraulic motors or cylinders? Or, are there electric motors for the axes? Is it really an NC mill, or is that Ljumo just a digital readout?
Driving a machine with proportional hydraulic valves requires "dither" to be added to keep the valve freely floating.
Driving a machine with proportional hydraulic valves requires "dither" to be added to keep the valve freely floating.
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- timo
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05 Jul 2025 10:20 - 05 Jul 2025 10:33 #331310
by timo
Replied by timo on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
In one of the pictures in a sales catalogue it says There is a WF5 and a WF5NC, which seems to be a control to move.
The attached picture of the original post clearly says WF5 NC on the machine tag.
It says "punkt-strecken-gesteuert", I guess that means it can move one axis from a given position to another given position at a time?
p.s. that thing must be from the last century
, older than computers.
The attached picture of the original post clearly says WF5 NC on the machine tag.
It says "punkt-strecken-gesteuert", I guess that means it can move one axis from a given position to another given position at a time?
p.s. that thing must be from the last century

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Last edit: 05 Jul 2025 10:33 by timo.
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05 Jul 2025 10:42 #331311
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
Servo Zentralantrieb in allen drei richtungen
means
central (single) servo drive for all 3 directions
So not hydraulic, but the tool lock is hydraulic, both for horizontal and vertical head.
In short, retrofitting to full CNC would require removing the central drive and gearbox and adding motors to each axis on the hand crank, most probably.
Also, normally, this type of machine uses trapezoidal screws and brass nuts, so have a lot of backlash, that can be fixed in software to a certain degree, but do not expect much precision.
means
central (single) servo drive for all 3 directions
So not hydraulic, but the tool lock is hydraulic, both for horizontal and vertical head.
In short, retrofitting to full CNC would require removing the central drive and gearbox and adding motors to each axis on the hand crank, most probably.
Also, normally, this type of machine uses trapezoidal screws and brass nuts, so have a lot of backlash, that can be fixed in software to a certain degree, but do not expect much precision.
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05 Jul 2025 11:04 #331312
by timo
Replied by timo on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
Means a similar retro fit like these ones?
forum.linuxcnc.org/12-milling/33035-retr...86-maho-400e?start=0
forum.linuxcnc.org/12-milling/33035-retr...86-maho-400e?start=0
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- tommylight
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05 Jul 2025 11:42 #331313
by tommylight
Replied by tommylight on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
Those Maho's are already CNC from the factory, meaning they have motors on each axis and have ballscrews, so very easy to retrofit.
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- jmelson
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05 Jul 2025 14:57 #331321
by jmelson
Replied by jmelson on topic looking for advice on retrofitting hydrolic mill
I had an old Bridgeport mill that had had heavy production use. After getting some level of proficiency with it, I was having BIG problems getting things to fit together. So, I'd make some device, and then in a different setup, make a cover with screw holes that were supposed to line up. They didn't! It turned out that the Acme (trapezoidal thread) screws were more worn in the center that at the ends.
This was enough so that there was a large positioning error when moving from one end of the screw toward the middle.
Tommy, so this machine has ONE servo motor and clutches to the various leadscrews? I've heard of such machines, but never seen one. That does kind of match the amount of electronics in the thing.
Jon
This was enough so that there was a large positioning error when moving from one end of the screw toward the middle.
Tommy, so this machine has ONE servo motor and clutches to the various leadscrews? I've heard of such machines, but never seen one. That does kind of match the amount of electronics in the thing.
Jon
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