Elumatec SBZ 130/01 retrofit

It might have been better to go 5i24 / 7i44 / 7i33TA just for the extra IO.
There are bitfiles out there for half smart-serial and half SSI (I think) for your 7i74.
Also consider the 7i64 for IO, as it has significant drive power. (2.5A per channel)

7i33ta is a quad analogue, 7i77 is a 6 analogue output, and i ordered 2 just in case, i need as a bare minimum 5 analogue outputs, 4 dc drives, 1 ac drive for spindle. There is also the tool changer motor. The maximum in/outs is 32/32 but i have yet to check how many are in actual use. I just thought it is much better to have separate drive/in/out boards, it is cleaner inside the box and troubleshooting is simpler. All the inputs are on a single cable, so are the outputs on the other, so less mess.
I still did not get the order confirmation, so i have to call tomorrow that friend in Austria to check.
Thank you very much Andy.
I am sorry if some info seems vague, i only spent 4 hours in total with the machine, found the initial problem (faulty e-stop switch), managed to switch the machine and all electronics on, checked all 5 servo drives and motors and actually moved 3 axis and the spindle. I could not move the long X axis as it has brakes controlled by air and i had no air there, but i did try to move it at a very low speed for a very short period of time and listened to the sound of the drive, it does buzz (not very technical but efficient).
The afore mentioned faulty switch is the reason why that machine is collecting dust for over a year, as some lousy service had a look at the machine, it did not start so they found it pertinent to promptly f.......................................................badly.

With the 5i25 + 2x 7i77 you will be able to connect the 7i70 + 7i71 to the two smart-serial ports (one on each 7i77) but will have nowhere left to connect the 7i74.

If you go for a single 7i77 + 7i74 then things are a little easier. At that point you might want to consider a 7i73 for the control panel and MPGs.

andypugh wrote:

If you go for a single 7i77 + 7i74 then things are a little easier. At that point you might want to consider a 7i73 for the control panel and MPGs.

I was already aiming for that, although i still do not know if i can connect the serial encoders to the 7i74, but i was going to give it a try. The 7i73 is a good idea, will order that on the second run. The machine does not have an MPG, if you have any idea what would work with it, please let me know. I can also assemble something myself as i already have a simple one made with a 500cpr encoder! . On a 7 meter long machine that is a nice thing to have.
I am already thinking of programing, as there are several points of interest there, namely the 2 "X" axis and the 3 side tools. There is the 6450mm long axis and another short one above that, so i would have to do a config with a U axis and prepare the gcode accordingly, or do something Tod mentioned in a thread here with offsets. Any ideas are welcomed. As for the side tools there are 3, 1 left, 1 right, and one on both sides, so they are positioned horizontally, all 5 others are vertical. That will most probably have to be done in gcode with lead in, Z move, lead out. Will experiment with tool table offsets and see if there is another way of doing that. Or just replacing Y with Z and vice versa. More to come.......it's 4:47 AM here, need sleep.

tommylight wrote:

I was already aiming for that, although i still do not know if i can connect the serial encoders to the 7i74, but i was going to give it a try.

I can't see the perfect bitfile in the zip-file that you can download from Mesa. There is a VHD file that looks close, but no pre-compiled .bit file.
There is a link to a bit-file here: forum.linuxcnc.org/27-driver-boards/3065...-analog-servos#72984 which has 2 x 7i74 pinouts each of which is half-SSi and half-Smart-serial, which would be a good basis for experiment.

The machine does not have an MPG, if you have any idea what would work with it, please let me know. I can also assemble something myself as i already have a simple one made with a 500cpr encoder! . On a 7 meter long machine that is a nice thing to have.

I would suggest building your own pendant and using a 7i73 inside the box. Most of the ones you see on eBay are either USB or Bluetooth interfaced, and I wouldn't really trust them, or are all hard-wired.
Any MPG wheel will work, I think, but www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232005480391 might be better quality than www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281908895472

Got the Mesa boards yeaterday, installed Preenpt-RT on one of the laptops for experimenting, going now to install on 2 computers, one with 5i25 and the other with 6i25.
The list of materials i got:
Mesa all the way
5i25 X2
6i25 X2
7i77 X2
7i76e just in case
7i92
7i70
7i71
7i74
Brackets, encoders, cables.
Moving on,
I read somewhere in this forum about having 2 of the same axis as one, meaning i have the X axis 6450mm long with brakes ( real brakes for clamping the axis in place) and a 450mm long on the same axis used for doing actual milling. Any idea how to make that work without editing gcode and using to axis in hal?
In reality it is a normal XYZ mill mounted on a long axis, so the idea is to have the long axis invible to user or gcode.
Thanks in advance.

Thank you Todd, that is one way of doing it ( so far the only way i can think of ) .
That would require a way to move the U axis during G0 moves and the X during G1 moves, also moving the X to 0 while the U is moving. In gcode that would require changing X on G0 to U and adding G1X0 to that same line or directly under it.
That wasn't hard, now that you got me thinking.
It just needs something to be sure the X is at 0 when moving U.
Food for thought, will have to whirl it around some more.
Thanks for the push.

Now that is a much better idea. I will check that as soon as i get the machine moving under control, that will be after new years.
Tonight i will try to get the Mesa boards powere up on the bench and make some connections so i can check that the software is communicating with the boards ( 7i92 and 7i76e ), also install the 5i25 and 6i25 on 2 computers to have them ready.
I am going to try to use the built in encoders ( serail absolute enc. ) with 7i74 if at all possible, if not, i already have the incremental 2500 CPR for all axis and spindle.
The idea is to use 1 (5i25 or 6i25 or 7i92) with 1 7i77 and 1 7i74. There is also the tool changer and the 3 side tools that i will have to deal with, but that is only after all the rest is finished.
Thank you very much.