Hardinge HNC retrofit and where to start

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10 Jul 2012 23:00 #21764 by bobinater
Hello all I am new to the site and forum, I have over the past few weeks been reading alot of the posts on the site and have finally been able to get signed up successfully, So here goes,
I have been working in the industry for approximately 10 years aand just bought an old cnc lathe (hardinge HNC) pics at a later date (need new dig camera) it has a GE numetronix control
that will not power up anything so I figure I would be just that far ahead if I retrofit the old girl. I have tons of questions so I will try not to be too long winded. My other machines include a Tree Journeyman 325
that works flawlessly, still using the dynapath control but is lacking in the memory department (working on drip feeding) also have a southbend magnaturn lathe ( building a phase converter for this one), any way I
would like to know what on the Hardinge is worth keeping and what should be sold or scrapped, should I use the existing spindle motor and clutch setup and whats the best way to check all of the axis motors
to make sure they are working . Chris Radek directed me to the group and said I would gain invaluable knowledge from all of you and I am very eager to see this lathe running and making chips, I would like any and all information wiring diagrams for retrofitting where to buy the hardware that I will be needing and some lessons probably on Linux itself. enough for now. thanks in advance to all of you are on this site I can hardly wait to get started



Bob

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11 Jul 2012 17:34 #21797 by BigJohnT
I know of at least two HNC's that have been converted and IIRC the only extra they needed was a resolver converter board. I've converted a CHNC which is a bit newer than the HNC. If your drives work and are velocity drives the conversion is not difficult. You will need a PC and the current favorite is the D525 motherboard. I used a Mesa 5i20 plus daughter cards for the CHNC, I'm using a newer 5i25 7i77 to convert my BP knee mill with an Anilam control on it.

I have some info on phase converters on my web site and I need to update the drawing I see based on my latest efforts to get a perfect phase converter.

John

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11 Jul 2012 18:08 #21799 by bobinater
Thanks John


How do I tell if I have velocity drives, and is there any way to test them,

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11 Jul 2012 22:58 #21806 by andypugh
bobinater wrote:

How do I tell if I have velocity drives, and is there any way to test them,

If you look at the motors, what is bolted to the ends? To a large extent the number of wires will tell you.
(6 is a resolver, 5 is probably an encoder, 2 would be a tachometer).

You can test the drives with a battery. But you need to connect to the right pins. Searching the interwebs for the part numbers of the major components can be surprisingly informative.

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11 Jul 2012 23:17 - 12 Jul 2012 00:12 #21807 by bobinater
Thanks Andy

I will have some homework then, I will check out the motors and then see what I have, Also am I right to think that the motor controllers are in the Stupid big control cabinet that does not work? or are they located some

place else, Also noticed today that the spindle does not turn by hand, any Idea whats up with that? Is there a lock on it like the older hardinge toolroom lathes? and if so how do I unlock the thing?
Last edit: 12 Jul 2012 00:12 by bobinater.

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12 Jul 2012 00:15 #21811 by bobinater
John


Thanks for the heads up on the phase converter I will take a look at your web-site but I will be needing to make a 30

HP. converter the Magnaturn lathe is 15 horse. If anybody knows anything about this lathe toss it out for me to check out


thanks


Bob

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12 Jul 2012 11:12 #21820 by BigJohnT
The CHNC has a pneumatic disk brake on the spindle drive motor and IIRC the HNC has a brake also.

The only difference is the total value of the caps for more HP. The auto start circuit is the same for any size RPC.

Trace the wires from the servos back to the drives, the large ones are surly the power wires and must come from the drive as well as the feedback from the motor to the drive. You will also have position feedback going to the control. IIRC the control cabinet is a huge beast from talking to a guy on the west coast who converted one. In any case some photos of the electronics may help...

John

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12 Jul 2012 13:41 #21823 by bobinater
Thanks john


I will get a new digital camera and take some photos of the machine and control (beast ) panel


I am pretty sure that I have located the drives but I want to make sure before I remove them for latter use


bob

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15 Jul 2012 19:25 #21963 by bobinater
Does any body have an opinion on the centroid retrofit kit for the HNC lathe

it cost around 4K but supposedly comes with everything I would need to retro My

lathe. the only thing is I think it runs on mach which i heard is less than

desirable for some things. Your inputs would be appreciated



Bob

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15 Jul 2012 20:21 #21967 by andypugh
bobinater wrote:

Does any body have an opinion on the centroid retrofit kit for the HNC lathe

You are in the wrong place for an unbiased opinion.

it cost around 4K but supposedly comes with everything I would need to retro My lathe.

Whereas a LinuxCNC retrofit will cost you less than $1000.
If you have a PC, monitor and several miles of wire, less than $300 possibly.
Don't underestimate the time taken to install the Centroid system either.

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