Pacer Cadet

Hello,

Charity where I volunteer has been given a Pacer Cadet CNC. It's probably around 20-25 years old, but in a good condition and very sturdy.

We are unsure if it works, and it has been driven by some proprietary software from a Windows XP computer through USB to Serial to Parallel adapters.

We are wondering if anyone has any experience with this machine and any suggestions about the best way to convert it. The charity is an actual charity and not a tax efficient way for someone to get rich and it's not gonna be a money maker, so the budget is tight.

Spindle controller: Hitachi L200
Spindle: Perske 1.2kW / 23k rpm
Steppers? HY200
Motion board: Axiomatic C902
Controller board Axiomatic Cadet VMC Board (looks like an ISA board; PC connected to serial off the board; the parallel connected to motion board)

We were wondering if we could get away with sending command to the controller board from LinuxCNC or we should consider replacing controller & motion boards. Any advice and input welcome.


 

Thank you for a very quick reply!

I will take some more photos and check that cable going to the drive board next time I'm around.

Based on your suggestion, I feel like it's worth to do the budget way to show that all bits are working!

Regarding drivers, I think the steppers might be able to take ~80V but I can't find the datasheet (will give it another go some time) but since it's not going to run in an industrial setting, the highest possible speed is not really required, so TB6600 might be enough