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Aircraft Instrument panels are larger than most knee mill tables.
Bridgeport Series II Interact have larger tables. Older Series II units have steppers.

0.1 uF 25V 0603

1. Encoders do not increment counters - hm2/hm2_7i95.0:     IO Pin 018 (TB1-01/TB1-09): Muxed Encoder #0, pin Muxed A (Input)
hm2/hm2_7i95.0:     IO Pin 019 (TB1-04/TB1-12): Muxed Encoder #0, pin Muxed B (Input)
I have tried all encoder inputs using a stepper motor with attached encoder in differential mode. See signals clearly at TB1

2. Steps in Axis UI show movements from jogging in registers but do not show up on output pins TB3 or TB4 . 
Tech at Mesa sent me a code snippet that did produce very slow signals at TB3 but the commands are not clear to me and I don't think they help debug.

From startup: 
Machine configuration directory is '/home/bill/linuxcnc/configs/7i95t_xyz'
Machine configuration file is '7i95t_xyz.ini'
Starting LinuxCNC...
linuxcnc TPMOD=tpmod HOMEMOD=homemod EMCMOT=motmod
Note: Using POSIX realtime
Found file(REL): ./main.hal
hm2: loading Mesa HostMot2 driver version 0.15
hm2_eth: loading Mesa AnyIO HostMot2 ethernet driver version 0.2
hm2_eth: 192.168.1.121: INFO: Hardware address (MAC): 00:60:1b:15:82:8b
hm2_eth: discovered 7I95T Thanks for any help. I don't want to pull my hair out, but is is getting close.... 
Bill Witt

Usually, Maho and Hurco are very good and easy to retrofit, personally i would go for Hurco BMC-20/30/40 depending on how big you need.
I am leaning towards Hurco as i did a 20 a while back, and it was very easy to use the toolchangers existing control board and wire it to Mesa, has no gearbox, and from my reading here takes much less overall effort/time.

Is it shorted?
If not, that is not the issue/problem/reason.

You are welcomed, always.

A short "yes, I'd use it", "no" or "G93 is fine" helps

G93 is fine for me


 

Hey,

Yes, you are right- When looking at the system, most parts are still available as "new" or refurbished. I got some prices for complete packages...But that's way too much, looking at the rest, that still is 30+ years old !

Indeed one Encoder of the X axis was broken and caused these random errors. Luckily I bought some spare motors, where I could take one encoder off.

Now I am just having a problem with the 4th axis, it's acting weired- so oscillating when moved. And then the Simodrive shuts off, based on the heavy back and forth movement. I will try to get a new or pretty good replacement board ( 6SC6100-0NA11) it's the board with the "Analog PID" potis.

Just hoping, that this will fix it.

Overall I am just happy with the machine, got a new mini pc, installed debian 13 and the current version and got er running in 2 days after almost 4 years .

Thanks guys!

 

Hello, please can you help me with value of capacitor C91 of board mesa 7I48?. Thanks.
 

I'm starting a search for an older CNC vertical/knee mill for my home shop and thought I'd introduce myself and ask for advice before buying something.

I'm currently looking at an older Wells-Index CNC mill, but I'm not committed to a particular machine yet.

My objective isn't to gut an old machine and replace everything. I would like to retain the original mechanical and electrical hardware where practical—including DC servos, feedback devices and possibly the servo drives/amps. The obsolete CNC control is another matter, it's a 70s vintage Bosch and going in the dumpster (or I might make it into a coffee table .  Thinking about LinuxCNC/Mesa.

Typical work will include aircraft instrument panels and other aluminum parts, but I also want a real mill capable of occasional work in steel.

I'm comfortable with electrical/electronic troubleshooting, software configuration, and I can spell Linux. My main concern is driving the old servo amps and are they serviceable and/or repairable.  I think the old brushed servo motors are OK. 

I'd appreciate advice from people who have restored or retrofitted older industrial CNC mills: What machines from this era are worth saving, and what should I inspect before buying?

Thanks in advance
 

Small update: the Archimedean spiral cycle (face spiral groove/thread) is now verified by a real cut on my lathe, not just an air run. Cut-tested so far: turning, facing, taper, sphere, threading, boring, chamfer/radius and the spiral.

I also wrote a few articles that may be useful even if you never use the program:

- Threading in LinuxCNC: G33 vs G76 - turngcode.com/en/blog/threading-in-linuxcnc-g33-g76/
- G7/G8: diameter or radius mode - turngcode.com/en/blog/g7-g8-diameter-or-radius-linuxcnc/
- Tapered threads on a CNC lathe - turngcode.com/en/blog/tapered-threads-on-cnc-lathe/
- Using the generated code on other controls - turngcode.com/en/blog/turn-gcode-on-different-cnc-controls/

Questions and bug reports are welcome here.

I have decided to try another computer my plasma.
I tried to update to 2.10 on my old setup, but somehow failed.
Since my linux skills are so bad, I decided I should have a linux expert at my side with my newest attempt.
Problem is, I don't have the words to explain to them what exactly I need help with, so I'm asking for help I what directions I should give them.
First off, since it's a fresh install, am I better off installing linuxcnc 2.9.8 and then updating to 2.10, or just start with 2.10?
I assume I use the linuxcnc github to source the correct files?
Basically, what should I tell someone familiar with linux, but not linuxcnc, to get them started on the right path to helping me get linuxcnc 2.10?

In case your curious, I want to use 2.10 for some of the plasmac updates and so I can use pnccomf for my 7i97t.

Thanks in advance, I know there is a lot of information on how to do this on this forum, but when I tried, lunuxcnc would still open to the previous version. Hopefully with a little help, I'll get it this time.

My initial plan was to create an "All In One" setup/GUI interface. I did a similar wire diagram as yo did. I was toying around with Unreal Engine years ago and got the graphical idea from that. under the hood it's goal was to simulate actual physical machine wiring.

I got bogged down in just trying to get the UI buttons to do what they should. lot's of safety concern logic, graphical rendering issues..

Along the way I learned that there is an "API." So here I am rewriting it.

I can kind of read C++ and do some coding in other languages as well, but AI is just so much faster than me at writing the actual code. Basically with a couple clicks a users with mesa cards should have a working tunable setup. That was the hope anyway. I've been working on this for the better part of 6 months or so. multiple Debian reinstallations. I am now trying to learn linux terminal (gross).

I had an old I5 pc that I am repurposing. I have an old GTX1070 I was trying to get to work with the RT kernel (fail), so the gcode preview wouldn't take so long to load with 5MB+ file sizes.. I get that users can run linuxcnc on PI and other micro controllers, but I thought I could just repurpose this old pc to do the job, and have some cool bigger "out of left field" features. haha

Yes got some mixed responses, G93 works for some. The ones who'd like to try, seem to want it as a G-code, which makes sense...

+1 for new  the motors and drivers. In my opinion, it is quite possible that the error is caused by a defective servo motor. Is there a flexible coupling between the servo motor and the ball screw assembly?