Karl Townsend wrote:
On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:26:49 +0100, David Billington
wrote:
Karl Townsend wrote:
I was considering a new Sieg X3 CNC mill earlier in the year but in the
end I bought a 2nd hand Denford Triac PC from a machine tool dealer. I
had contacted a well known UK vendor of the Sieg X3 CNC and they would
do a demo but wouldn't or couldn't provide any contacts of existing
users and I didn't get any reply to a similar question on the UK
engineering news group. I had concerns about the column rigidity of the
X3 and have subsequently had that confirmed by another with the non CNC
X3. The Triac is about the same spec but seems more heavily constructed
and the column depth where it bolts to the base is about 3 times that of
the X3. I'm refitting it with a break out board and will by using EMC2.
The Triac is fairly common in the UK but I understand they're available
in the US also. Mines came with quick release tooling which I think is
standard, the basic spindle taper is a ISO30. The Triac is also
available as standard with an ATC.
I hadn't heard of this unit. I found a clip on U tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol_sFbcKekM
It looks good. How much does the machine weigh?
Karl
Karl,
Have a look here http://www.denfordata.com/downloads/dos/TRIACVMC.PDF
for some details. Mines without the ATC so 240kg (528lbs) according to
those details. Not sure if that includes the base/enclosure.
Looks like 700 lbs. complete. That would fit in a bedroom. I just put
it on my eBay search. Maybe one will turn up on this side of the pond.
Karl
Karl,
Been away in Holland for the weekend since the last post and just
recently back earlier this evening. Because of the size of the machine
and the enclosure it's in and my single status it's going in my house
(workshop full), not a bedroom, but a downstairs work/study/storage
area. If interested, if you haven't already found it, then maybe the US
contact list on the Denford site might be worth a look and contacting
some local US resellers
http://www.denford.ltd.uk/index.php?... 38&Itemid=89
..
I bought the Triac PC untested due to lack of the control PC but was
happy with the virtually unused appearance to buy it for about half what
the X3 CNC would have cost new. I'm happy to retrofit it although just
buying the software from Denford would get it going. Actually the
software can be downloaded free it's the license that costs a couple of
£100 last time I looked. I like the idea of doing the EMC2 control. The
other factor I'm please with is that the components used by Denford are
standard industrial controls from known makers, I could rip most of it
out but intend to use all the standard stepper drivers and the spindle
speed controller from the original unit initially. I've seen some
comments about the quality of the Sieg X3 CNC electronics and one guy
I've spoken to had a standard super X3 spindle drive card fail within an
few months.
IIRC the early Triacs used a Fanuc control and the later PC variant such
as I have use a PC based control system which talks Baldor MINT
language via a serial cable to the Baldor MINT control card in the
control box which interfaces with a custom card to handle the IO and
isolation etc. As the software can be downloaded I did and looked at it
and it seems that the MINT language is BASIC like and things like the
ATC are controlled by it with scripts which an be read in the likes of
notepad.exe so transferring that to some EMC scripting system may be
easy if ever required.