Looking for opinions on the BOSS 5 machine.

Electronics are fairly irrelevant, as they have been trashed already.
The current owner has all the goodies to convert it to PC control
(Mach3, Gecko drives, etc).

It seems the mechanics of these machines are fairly well respected.
Anything in particular I should look for?

Can the stock steppers be half-stepped with the Gecko drives? I know
the BOSS6 could do that, but I don't know if that was a change in the
steppers, or drivers or both.

It sounds like a pretty good deal to me, but I want to make sure of
what I am getting into.

He has a BOSS 5 machine that has been dissembled and he has gone
through entirely. Supposedly the power supply has been checked by
Bridgeport and is good. The steppers are good. The rest of the
controls are shot.

Only mechanical issue is a thrust bearing on the y axis. And the high/
low cog. Neither seem significant. (to me at least).

For electronics/software, he has 3 new Gecko drives, a touchscreen,
Mach3 and some other miscellaneous interconnecting stuff. He is also
offering a seat of BobCad to go with it for a price.

Which I guess brings up another question. Anyone who has used BobCad,
what do you think of it? I have used GibbsCAM and Solidworks for
relevent experience.

Thanks for your time guys.

JW

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:09:50 -0700 (PDT), jw
wrote:

Looking for opinions on the BOSS 5 machine.

Electronics are fairly irrelevant, as they have been trashed already.
The current owner has all the goodies to convert it to PC control
(Mach3, Gecko drives, etc).

It seems the mechanics of these machines are fairly well respected.
Anything in particular I should look for?

Can the stock steppers be half-stepped with the Gecko drives? I know
the BOSS6 could do that, but I don't know if that was a change in the
steppers, or drivers or both.

It sounds like a pretty good deal to me, but I want to make sure of
what I am getting into.

He has a BOSS 5 machine that has been dissembled and he has gone
through entirely. Supposedly the power supply has been checked by
Bridgeport and is good. The steppers are good. The rest of the
controls are shot.

Only mechanical issue is a thrust bearing on the y axis. And the high/
low cog. Neither seem significant. (to me at least).

For electronics/software, he has 3 new Gecko drives, a touchscreen,
Mach3 and some other miscellaneous interconnecting stuff. He is also
offering a seat of BobCad to go with it for a price.

Which I guess brings up another question. Anyone who has used BobCad,
what do you think of it? I have used GibbsCAM and Solidworks for
relevent experience.

Thanks for your time guys.

JW

Can't help with the BP, but as a Bobcad user I can say it's not
MasterCam but it is a very good low cost Cad-Cam program. works great
in 2D still have not mastered the 3D part of it.

how much does he want? What version? BobCad does discount their stuff
quite a bit off the price listed on their web site.

If he had registered it, he has to unregister it, sell it to you, and
then bobcad will charge you a $75.00 fee to activate it for you.

Thank You,
Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

On Oct 2, 9:00*am, Randy wrote:
On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:09:50 -0700 (PDT), jw
wrote:



Looking for opinions on the BOSS 5 machine.

Electronics are fairly irrelevant, as they have been trashed already.
The current owner has all the goodies to convert it to PC control
(Mach3, Gecko drives, etc).

It seems the mechanics of these machines are fairly well respected.
Anything in particular I should look for?

Can the stock steppers be half-stepped with the Gecko drives? *I know
the BOSS6 could do that, but I don't know if that was a change in the
steppers, or drivers or both.

It sounds like a pretty good deal to me, but I want to make sure of
what I am getting into.

He has a BOSS 5 machine that has been dissembled and he has gone
through entirely. *Supposedly the power supply has been checked by
Bridgeport and is good. *The steppers are good. *The rest of the
controls are shot.

Only mechanical issue is a thrust bearing on the y axis. *And the high/
low cog. *Neither seem significant. *(to me at least).

For electronics/software, he has 3 new Gecko drives, a touchscreen,
Mach3 and some other miscellaneous interconnecting stuff. *He is also
offering a seat of BobCad to go with it for a price.

Which I guess brings up another question. *Anyone who has used BobCad,
what do you think of it? *I have used GibbsCAM and Solidworks for
relevent experience.

Thanks for your time guys.

JW

Can't help with the BP, but as a Bobcad user I can say it's not
MasterCam but it is a very good low cost Cad-Cam program. *works great
in 2D still have not mastered the 3D part of it.

how much does he want? *What version? BobCad does discount their stuff
quite a bit off the price listed on their web site.

If he had registered it, he has to unregister it, sell it to you, and
then bobcad will charge you a $75.00 fee to activate it for you.

Thank You,
Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

He is asking $300 for the Bobcad on a laptop to go with it.

Jeridiah