Mitutoyo manual CMM upgrade to CNC/DCC

Hello folks,

We were sold a Mitutoyo Crysta plus M some years ago with the promise that it could be retrofitted to CNC operation. Due to buggy software and one of the worst user interfaces they could come up with, it collects a lot of dust. One of the older fellas says they went back to Mitutoyo to quote the conversion, and they said it wasn’t possible.

Has anyone heard of this being done? I’m unable to find a source for hardware for the darn thing, and Mitutoyo representatives keep saying they’ll get my number to the engineers who don’t call back.

Who promised you? Did they have a reference or anything beyond a promise? I have certainly heard of retrofitting manual machines to be CNC operated but it is typically done by a skilled millwright (professional) or otherwise smart kid with a lot of time (amateur using open source software/hardware) to get it all specc'd out and running.

It depends on what you want to spend. Hit up google and search: retrofit manual cmm machine to cnc

I got plenty of hits that fit the bill.

I remember the sales guy saying the software was the same for both the manual and CNC versions. I don't remember him saying the manual could be upgraded to CNC.

I agree, the software is not easy to use.

Upgrading a manual CMM to DCC is no small task. I have done a few and questioned the time/money spent.
It can be done but the custom charges are way out there.
As a base a controller and the 5-10K per axis.
With enough free cash you can build a road racer out of a coffe table.
Bob

It’s a bit of a round robin; they don’t want to spend the 60k for a brand new CMM, but they don’t want to get pennies for the one they have (I think they paid 30k or so new). I’ve had my eye on used CMMs on the eBay, and they don’t move; even ones at decent prices. So if selling it is a loss, trading it in doesn’t give much of a return, the last ditch effort is to have

You can look on the Mitutoyo website, they still have the old advertisement for the Mitutoyo crysta plus M as “convertible.”

The DCC equivalent of that machine looks to be the Crysta Apex S.

Comparing them visually they look to have the same table and gantry, and that's all.

In the absence of any existing motion components, I'd say the conversion would be expensive and involved.

In your shoes I'd continue as you are doing and find a nice used machine for peanuts, then retrofit that instead. That's how I did it, and it worked out well.

I can very favourably recommend deva electronic controls as a source for a retrofit kit. I used them on our LK and it was a pretty painless experience that has worked well for the last 6 years or so that we've been running it.

Use whatever software you prefer from the list that they support. It's pretty extensive.

Then, you can buy one of their manual kits and retro it on your existing manual CMM, then use that as well on the same software.