Emco 6 lathe help

Hi,

I just bought this emco 6 lathe, but I don’t know where start. First, I don’t have III phase power in my place. I have a rotary converter. I don’t have any software related to the machine. I have the manuals.

Please, I will appreciate any help to get this machine running.

Regards,
Luiguicam

welcome to the forum good buddy. you're gonna be here for a while.

You're going to start by supplying balanced, protected three phase power to a three phase load center or just a breaker box.

What emco 6 lathe is this? Is it emco or emco-maier? What's the exact model number, I'm not familiar with the machine you have got.

If it is CNC, please also specify what the control manufacturer and model number is.

We'll get you started for sure.

I assume that you are the 'Luis' and that you sent me a personal email earlier?

The Emco 6 came in a few flavors, but technically it is an Emco Maier. Anyhow, they made a Compact 6 and a Compact 6P; the 'P' is for pneumatic and added a chuck closure and pneumatic tailstock.

The machines were also rebranded (and repainted) as EmcoTurn 120 and 120P (respectively). They are functionally the same. They all had an 8 toolholder turret. *Most* of them have 4 boring tools and 4 'other'. A few of the later models have 8 slots in a circular disk. I think they take VDI tooling, but don't quote me on that.

These are stepper based controls that are generally regarded as being a pretty capable. I believe they follow one of the Fanuc formats pretty closely. The controls *must* be loaded with MSD data to tie them to the machine. Generally this is done through the tape drive, but it is entirely possible to use the RS-232 port if the firmware is above 2.something.

I can repair the stepper driver boards if they burn out. Those are the Achilles heal of the control and Emco wants roughly 1K to exchange. I can do it for $250.... And no, I am not going to get rich doing it!

The EmcoTronic control came in two flavors... The T1 and the TM02. Internally they are near identical, but the T1 has a polycarbonate membrane panel whereas the TM02 has more traditional computer type keys.

The machine can *only* be run on three phase 380V. It was always sold (in the US) with a transformer! It is also very touchy about the voltage it gets and you should *only* use a well tuned 3-phase converter. I recommend the Phase Perfect, but you *can* (usually) get it to work with a rotary as well... It just requires tweaking... most often in the acceleration department.

I have finally collected all of the manuals and even the training tapes. The latter are kind of funny. They are a series of 4 tapes that are damn near impossible to find (Emco doesn't have them anymore either). They were filmed in the 80s and the dress-code matches the vintage! Even so, if you are new to CNC lathes or the EmcoTronic controls, they might be of benefit.

Hopefully this helps!
--Alan

Hi guys!
I have all the emco maier manual's for the compact 6,just can't make head's or tail's out of which wiring diagram to use for 220 to 380...any help?
Dean

Hi guys!
I have all the emco maier manual's for the compact 6,just can't make head's or tail's out of which wiring diagram to use for 220 to 380...any help?
Dean


Did you get the transformer with it?? If so, I can take a pic of the wiring from mine. If not, it won't run. The control needs "needs" 380 as Alan posted above. You would have to find a 220-440 to 380 transformer.
Dave

Dave is absolutely correct. You simply *must* have the 380V step-up transformer, assuming you don't have 380V in your shop (chuckle... who does in America?).

The label on the machine is, albeit, a little misleading. But don't be suckered into thinking you don't need 380V. Here is the reason why.... The spindle on the larger Emco line (i.e. not the Compact 5) is a 400VDC motor. It *must* have 380V in order to run.

You don't mess around with trying to prove me wrong... I will tell you why. You do *not* want to burn out one of your boards or you will be contacting either me or Emco Maier. Well, one way or the other you will contact me because Emco will scare you silly! Their rates have been rising tremendously since the dollar fell (they are an Austrian company). The last person told me that a stepper board is now close to 3K to exchange; I will do it for closer to $400.

But that is the stepper board. Sadly, I have *almost* gotten the spindle board set worked out, but not totally. There are some things I can fix and there are others I cannot. As the volume is almost insignificant (and the time to figure it out seems infitite!), it is a tough thing to work on... but I'm getting there... The point is, however, you don't want to mess around with the power and possibly burn out the board.

WARNING: "you don't want to mess around" means *no* sticking screwdrivers into the spindle board pots! The pot wipers are *hot* and you will absolutely, positively, touch the side of the chassis when you tinker with the pots! The result will be, you guessed it, a call to me (fortunately, my track record on fixing that particular problem is getting better).

Finally, if you have any problems getting the machine running, especially on a rotary converter, let me know. I can help you out with some of the parameters and such. These *may* solve your problems.

Now for the good news. When people get these machines running, they love them. The footprint is small and they are accurate. I know of several people that run these machines near constantly in their businesses. One guy has 3 of them and nothing else. The point is that you may need to be patient (mandatory for any CNC that is cheap enough to be affordable by the home guy... why? because technically it is probably obsolete and hence is generally used).

You can pick-up transformers at several locations as surplus. Check around your home town because the transformers are heavy (hence expensive) to ship. The original transformers supplied by Emco were 4KVA. I would recommend you stick with something like that... www.phaseperfect.com sells these new, along with an excellent phase converter (the Cadillac of the industry).

Regards,
Alan

New compact6 owner.

I have just acquired the machine and nothing else, no software, manuals etc. My initial idea was to retrofit it.

It would be helpful if I could get hold of manuals and wiring diagrams so that I can get an idea of what I can keep and what will need to be changed.

I did get a transformer stack with the machine but have not yet hooked up my phase converter to it to see what if anything is working. From what I am reading here that my old rotary converter may not even be up to the task. The converter will run my Bridgeport just fine but it is far from being balanced.

Some guidance from anyone who has done conversions to these machines would be helpful.

George

Haven't done any conversions but did resurrect one from the dead. Did you get the control with it or just the base? It has stepper motors for the x and z axis and it has a DC spindle motor. Don't remember what the turret has for a motor, it does have optical sensors to tell it what tool position it's in. If you got the control the software is in it. Your small rotary converter will run it to some degree, it will power it up and you would be able to start the spindle at 150 rpm but I doubt it would start any faster than that because of the voltage hit it takes to run it. At least you got the transformer, the control runs on 380 volts (European)
Dave

Is this what you got?

Dave

emco turn 120

wrench said:

I assume that you are the 'Luis' and that you sent me a personal email earlier?

The Emco 6 came in a few flavors, but technically it is an Emco Maier. Anyhow, they made a Compact 6 and a Compact 6P; the 'P' is for pneumatic and added a chuck closure and pneumatic tailstock.
I also have a emco turn 120 and need a power supply and manuals. if you can provide me with these, I would appreciate that . If there is a charge for this please let me know. I am going to look up phase perfect I think 7.5 hp would work .
The machines were also rebranded (and repainted) as EmcoTurn 120 and 120P (respectively). They are functionally the same. They all had an 8 toolholder turret. *Most* of them have 4 boring tools and 4 'other'. A few of the later models have 8 slots in a circular disk. I think they take VDI tooling, but don't quote me on that.

These are stepper based controls that are generally regarded as being a pretty capable. I believe they follow one of the Fanuc formats pretty closely. The controls *must* be loaded with MSD data to tie them to the machine. Generally this is done through the tape drive, but it is entirely possible to use the RS-232 port if the firmware is above 2.something.

I can repair the stepper driver boards if they burn out. Those are the Achilles heal of the control and Emco wants roughly 1K to exchange. I can do it for $250.... And no, I am not going to get rich doing it!

The EmcoTronic control came in two flavors... The T1 and the TM02. Internally they are near identical, but the T1 has a polycarbonate membrane panel whereas the TM02 has more traditional computer type keys.

The machine can *only* be run on three phase 380V. It was always sold (in the US) with a transformer! It is also very touchy about the voltage it gets and you should *only* use a well tuned 3-phase converter. I recommend the Phase Perfect, but you *can* (usually) get it to work with a rotary as well... It just requires tweaking... most often in the acceleration department.

I have finally collected all of the manuals and even the training tapes. The latter are kind of funny. They are a series of 4 tapes that are damn near impossible to find (Emco doesn't have them anymore either). They were filmed in the 80s and the dress-code matches the vintage! Even so, if you are new to CNC lathes or the EmcoTronic controls, they might be of benefit.

Hopefully this helps!
--Alan

Click to expand...

I have a turn 120 and need manuals both operators and service.
I will be ordering a phase perfect power supply . If you can help with documentation manuals it would be nice. Thanks

wish I could have a copy of your manuals...or a source to obtain a copy

Wrench I have been reading the threads,I need manuals in order to work with my turn 120
If you could help I would be greatful or I would be quite happy to sell mine.
I have the lathe and computer,but no power supply.

I want to replace the motor on my 120P that I just got. Does anyone have the specs on the motor?? I have been told that a 3 to 5 HP 230V 3PH motor with an IEC 100 frame will work? Is it a 100S or a 100L frame? What does the end of the shpft look like. Does anyone have a picture of the motor plate handy. Any ideas where to find a motor reasonably??

Second problem is the turret--- I am missing the part that fits in the slots to hold the tools-- any source for these pieces? If I can find a diagram, I could machine them but would rather just find some. Also, is there a source for bushings for the 16 mm hole tool holders or do I need to make these also??

Thanks for the help.

Mark