Could Linux CNC reasonably be made to work in a prototrak type mill?

I’ll speak to the Utility of the TRAK DPM bed mill. I’ve used them at various shops for years. For one- off simple parts or general toolroom activities they are very very well done machines. It’s one of those things that you can’t really explain to people who have never used one. It’s like having a VMC with a manual mill spindle head. They have the quill and z-axis scales combined so once you set Z zero you can move the quill and the z-axis with one readout. Also, as mentioned earlier you can go from manual DRO mode to CNC without losing your zero set points.

I’ve been holding off for years saying I would not turn my good manual mill into lame CNC…BUT…If I could have my manual mill mimic what a TRAK does…YES, I’m pretty sure I’m going to do it. For production I’ll look at a small VMC with tool changer, flood coolant..enclosure..etc

For my retrofit I’m going to attempt to have z-axis on the knee and leave the quill as is except for a combined scale with the knee like the TRAK has. I have some Kollmorgen nema 34 motors and drives I want to use. The Knee may require a gearhead…