Category: Computers and Hardware
I have absolutely no idea.
This machine has a huge cabinet for a power supply. That cabinet is full of transformers and such. I do not know if the power supply is "regulated" or "linear." When I look up those terms, they appear to refer to the same thing - a power supply that uses a transformer to regulate voltage, before rectifying and smoothing. What is the distinction I should look for? I'm positive that there are no modern switched power supplies in this machine.
I believe that this machine has several different voltages in the control cabinet. According to "Boss5" over at CNC Zone:
"You'd be spending your money in the wrong place. The original motors put out plenty if you feed them at the proper DC bus voltage and amperage. You should see 140 IPM with a 6 amp driver backed by a 160VDC bus. The matchbook sized hobby stuff is designed to run double stack size 34 motors, operates at relatively low voltage, and can generate about 200 watts under optimal conditions. Running torque starts at about 70% of holding torque values, and drops of rapidly with speed unless you have plenty of driver voltage to kick the motor in the rear and push out the constant torque zone (knee of the curve) to 1000 full steps per second and beyond, before it starts dropping. It takes serious voltage to overcome the winding inductance. If you are looking for 200 IPM, then spend money on new size 42 motors in conjunction with a proper driver.
You don't need a power supply, the stepper drivers of this style simply use 120 AC input. You can search ebay for used name brand American drives, like Pacific Scientific, Superior Slo Syn, Compumotor, or buy new China made product... goggle Leadshine. These are sold on ebay under various names, Keling appears to be a distributer that rebrands them. I'd go direct to the manufacturer's site, as it is very complete and they carry all the latest, not just old outdated models / stock. You can order online through their American distributor. Look for DM1182 or DM2282, these are digital drives sized for NEMA 42 steppers and you can buy the communications cable and download the programming software to tune for max performance, if needed. Runs around $200. A Gecko sets you back about ~$150, and then you need to build a power supply and provide a heatsink. If you want to save money, scout ebay and you should be able to find similar drives in the $75-150 range used from the previously mentioned American manufacturers, but they won't be digital programable, however robust for sure. Like I said, ditch the hobby stuff, get serious. Remember to wire the motor windings in series, they will accept 6 amps RMS (8.2 amps peak) without overheating, but make sure to use the current reduction when idle. FYI, the Bridgeport factory settings were 8.2 amps per winding unipolar, driven by 56 volts DC per winding. Wired in series, the heat load is identical to the factory setting if you use 6 amps RMS with a modern bipolar drive, and the windings will each see approximately 80 volts, thus the reliable top speed will increase to about 140 IPM, rather than 100 IPM. Make sure the machine ways are well lubed, it makes a difference."
I have no idea if any part of this machine works. I have not attempted to apply power to it, nor do I have access to 460V 3-phase power in my shop. It looks like the mice living in the bottom of the control cabinet might have been nibbling on some wires. Most of these sat in the corner of a shop for decades. They spoke a proprietary language, and the way you provided them programming was by a reel-to-reel tape drive that read holes on a punched paper tape. These machines were basically obsolete when they were new.
