1999 milltronics vm16

Hrtfabrication · Jan 18, 2020

Hey guys, i am looking at buying a 1999 milltronics vm16 i believe it has a centurion VI control. The seller says it has less than 2000 hours on it and it looks like it, but the machine is up on wood blocks and not under power because he never set it up after moving to his new location (he is retired now). The machine comes with a renishaw digital probe and around 20 cat40 tool holders and 2 vises, a 5c collet set all the manuals and some odds and ends. He is asking 17k for it.

What is something like this worth if i can get it under power to inspect it and everything works? Anything i should look out for? Whats the general thoughts on this machine.

Also, this would be my second cnc mill my first is a bridgeport btc1 that has been retrofitted with mach 3 for a control, one of the things i love about this setup is the ability to post gcode from fusion360 and just load it via usb into the control. Im under the impression that most older cnc mills like the vm16 used floppy disk or an rs232 serial cable to load gcode into them, is it possible to put a usb converter on a milltronics control like this one? how do i get my fusion post into this machine? Sorry for all the newbie questions but a guys gotta learn sometime, i appreciate any thoughts or comments best regaurds,

ss_user · Jan 19, 2020

There are 16's out there for a LOT less money. Of course one really doesn't know condition. ;-)
I trust you have a good 3 ph lead into your building. Thirty amps or more of 3 phase is significant. If you run a converter or rotary that is a lot of single phase. Maybe you are in a commercial area where good 3 phase is readily available.
I'm not a fan of Mach but then I run linuxcnc. Somewhat different animal but a bit more capable. Still you are your own support which scares away most commercial shops.
On any PC based control I would highly recommend ethernet for a feed. Length of feed is 100 m so that makes it easy. I have a 24 port switch in the house and a 4 port switch in the shop.
Rather capable CNC's with a dead control go for peanuts. But then you spend a lot of time getting it functional again. Won't work if you need to make money with it right away. Good luck which ever way you go.

Pete Deal · Jan 21, 2020

Aren’t those pc based controls? I looked at a milltronics about that vintage some years ago and it was pc based. A 1999 pc is pretty hard to do much with.

Aejgx6 · Jan 21, 2020

I'd guess 5-6 grand if it really does work. 20k should get you a 10yr old machine that size.

KMoffett · Jan 21, 2020

Maybe there is some info here that will help:
Documentation Library | Milltronics USA - Let's Invent
CNC Control Parts and Repair Service | Milltronics USA - Let's Invent

Hrtfabrication · Jan 21, 2020

Thanks for the response but I dont believe this one is pc based, it uses a centurion control but i could be wrong

Hrtfabrication · Jan 21, 2020

So the general consensus is that hes asking way to much even if its like new? What is a realistic price for this machine in very good condition? I think i mentioned this but it comes with a renshaw digital probe and 24 cat 40 tool holders and 2 vises of unknown make could have been kurt could have been imports, also came with a 5 c collet set up, some parrallels and some end mills

Keyepitts · Jan 22, 2020

I'm running a '96 Milltronics VMC, we purchased it about 6-7 yrs ago for $12K (which was overpriced at that time), so...

If the mill has not been powered-up for a long time the memory battery is probably dead, and maybe leaking acid even. So be ready for that. Parts are readily available, and reasonably priced from Milltronics and other suppliers.

I like the Milltronics Centurion control, pretty good conversational for its day, and yes, you can fit a USB adapter to load programs. Posts from Fusion work fine.

Hrtfabrication · Jan 23, 2020

Thanks for the reply, so if the memory battery goes dead the machine looses its parameters right? How hard is it to get the machines paramaters from milltronics? Is it still possible or worth it to bring this thing back to life? It looks brand new it would be a shame for it to die for good there

Brian · Jan 23, 2020

Boy a lot of misinformation here. All Milltronics use PC based computers, to this day. A Centurion VI is relatively current and can be serviced by the factory or several good techs, Sporty Bob is one over on the CNC Z one forum, which isn't mentionable on this site, so we'll see if that come thru. All the computers store the parameters on Eproms, at least in the Centurion V versions, so while you may need to replace batteries on the Sim card and the mother board, it's not a huge issue like other controls.

As for price, sounds about double to me....

Hrtfabrication · Jan 23, 2020

Thanks Brian good to know

Hrtfabrication · Jan 25, 2020

Does anyone know if a 99 vm16 can rigid tap?

KMoffett · Jan 25, 2020

We purchased a Milltronics VKM4 with a 7200 control several years ago. The rigid tap function was a $1400 option.
Ken

Brian · Jan 25, 2020

If it has the spindle encoder it can. My son has a 96 Partner 1H and it rigid taps.

tobydbaker74 · Apr 6, 2020

Hrtfabrication said:
Does anyone know if a 99 vm16 can rigid tap?

This post is several months old but yes they have a option to rigid tap. You will have to look up at the top of the spindle where you can change the belt and look for an encoder. You can also call milltronics with the serial number and in about 2 minutes the will tell you all the options it had. Milltronics is unbelievable with their records all the way back in the 90s.

The VM 16 you should pay no more than 8k and that's In great condition. If the computer HD or boards are dead that will cost you little under 1500 with shipping to get it upgraded to get rid of the sim card and running again.

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Hrtfabrication · Jul 23, 2020

so i did end up buying this machine, paid 8k for it, just got it in my shop and leveled and wired in yesterday, everything works and it is in excellent shape, all the axis and spindle are nice and quite. It has a floppy in it so i was able to run it through a program and it ran fine... question i have is, can this machine network, could i connect to it through a laptop with a db25 to ethernet adapter or am i gonna need to add some cables and hardware to do that, or should i just get a floppy to usb converter? any help is appreciated , thanks

Brian · Jul 24, 2020

You can do pretty much anything... You can add a network card and use it that way, beyond my capabilities computer wise, but Sporty Bob or ZZZZ on the other forum could probably tell you how. You can add a Floppy Emulator that uses USB sticks, and if you like, you can wire in a cable to the RS232 port and hook it to your computer. I used RJ45 to DB25 and DB9 connectors and made a cable, takes a bit of messing about getting the wiring perfect, but not hard (if I can do it, it isn't hard).

I have documents on the RS232 and probably instructions and such on the network card I bought but never used. I don't have it any longer as I changed out my machine to a Centroid control, but at least you would know about what to get and so forth.

tobydbaker74 · Jul 24, 2020

You can network them. DNC4U works great. If it's a large program I will just load them in sections with the usb floppy emulator then do a program calls. One part we just did was 4mb and did fine that way.

Bob also has a new motherboard option that will give you full usb support and no partition. Just plug in the usb and reads it.

You can also call milltronics with your serial number and they will give you all options it had. One of mine has a 10k rpm spindle and didnt know it.

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stagen · Sep 13, 2020

Have you taken a peek in the computer “card cage” to see if it has a Single Board Computer (SBC) or a regular motherboard? If it does have a SBC and it’s the right model, I have figured out how to add hot swappable USB drive capability.
Otherwise the cheap Gotek Floppy Emulators work just fine for programs that fit on a floppy, but with the ease of plugging in a USB.

tobydbaker74 · Sep 14, 2020

stagen said:
Have you taken a peek in the computer “card cage” to see if it has a Single Board Computer (SBC) or a regular motherboard? If it does have a SBC and it’s the right model, I have figured out how to add hot swappable USB drive capability.
Otherwise the cheap Gotek Floppy Emulators work just fine for programs that fit on a floppy, but with the ease of plugging in a USB.

Would you mind telling us how?

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1999 milltronics vm16

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