found NC Bridgeport

Some may remember 2 weeks ago I posted a question about converting an ENCO sqr column mill/drill to CNC.

Several people recomended buying an old NC or CNC machine and upgrading the controller.

Well,,,,I found an old Bridgeport the seller said was NC and had a tape reader. I think the controller was "bandit" and looked like Bridgeport also made the controller.

The mill looked more like a bed mill because the table was almost square. The ways looked to be chromed and perfect condition. Did not hear the machine run and there was know tool changer.
The seller claimed the mill was not used for production and was operated by a little old lady.

The price is affordable.

Question 1: Does this machine sound like it is worth looking into?

Question 2: Can the bandit controller be used or should it be just tossed and upgraded?

Question 3: Since I'm familiar with Gecko driver boards could I run the machine with those driver boards and a regular PC? Are there other CNC conversion options? Did someone mention a controller conversion kit?????????

Question 4: What do I tell my wife when she sees the machine sitting where her car normally is parked?

Thanks
Jim

Jim:

This is likely a Series 1. Not familiar with Bandit NC. Most I have heard of with tape readers were Boss controls or even earlier. The early tape readers were in a free standing console. See ongoing series in multiple back issues of Home Shop Machinist magazine. If Bandit control does not pan out, build a controller. If steppers or servos it can be made to work with PC and Geckos - you just need to get familiar with all the available info.

John

It may have been a Boss control. I was not that interested at the time I saw it. The cabinet was sitting beside the column and probably was or could be free standing. The seller said it was a high end NC controller but not CNC.

Any ideas what it is worth?
Jim

Jim: Mine is an early to mid seventies Series II. It was an NC, tape reader console long lost, control fiddled with extensively in a crude way, a stepper machine of course. Super chrome ways, good ball screws. Even had the amazing mechanical/pneumatic abortion called a spindle wizard on the side. Trashed control and other worthless stuff. I paid $850. 4J head needed to be gone thru extensively, which I am doing. Auto lube system riddled with leaks and clogs - it will be replaced complete, including new Bijur pump I picked up on Ebay. Mr. Bridgeport fixed me up with a near new set of the drive clutches for the high range, but I still need to get timing belt and vari-speed belt. Have acquired a good selection of servo motors - up to 40 lb in. stall torque. Will get to building control after all the mechanical work gets done.

John

Jim
Bandit controls did not integrate tape readers as far as I know. They were one of the early "true cncs". If that is what it has, it could be resurrected, but that would be like buying a $50 saddle for a dead horse.

Bandits only had 1000 lines of program storage, so the limitation is obvious if you wanted to do any fancy machining. They could be made to DNC, although the communications rate was pretty slow.

I'd recommend you go with a newer PC based do-it-yourself cnc, new drives, new motors, stuff that you can talk to somebody about.

You may find it interesting to read Doug Chartier's website on converting his Bridgeport Boss mill to a Centroid control:

http://www.cbrack.com/boss9/boss9.htm

cheers,
Michael

WOW:
So that was a spindle wizard or might have been?

The place I work had a spindle wizard and donated it to the local junior college.

So $2500 is not a steal??

Anything else?

Thanks
Jim

Jim:

I would say $2500 would not be too bad but only if the mechanicals were all perfect and ready to roll. Those vari speed heads go bad just from sitting around - you would be amazed at how rusty my vari speed sheaves were, just from not being run.

Spindle Wizard was just a BP option on these mills.

John

Question 1: Yes, I would definitally look into it.

Question 2: Throw away or resell for parts the old controller.

Question 3: Yes, Geckos are an option, but for servo's I prefer Rutex drives. Exactly which way to go depends on what's on the machine already.

I made a post to that other BBS on this subject:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net//Forum1/HTML/010644.html