Denford Mirac conversion help

**Hellfire** · 20-10-2016

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I would love to do servos with a closed loop if possible. But I am not sure if it is feasible or necessary. Time is my enemy, I spend 7 days a week working which only leaves a few nights for this.
there doesn't seem to be to many places in the uk to purchase the hardware I need.
what I do know, the turret is probably going to give me some grief setting up and the encoder on the spindle is going to be another pain.
The pdmx boards seem a good option as they can plug into each other with ribbon cables etc, but USA supplier. I guess there is no recommended setup, I guess I just want a no nonsense setup.

**John S** · 21-10-2016

Are the present moment only Kflop, and pokeys can thread inside Mach and for Pokeys it's mach4. Both are a work in progress, a long work IMHO.
Planet CNC can thread but it would be hard to do turret.

Possibly you best bet is Linux CNC but you will need a LOT of help.

**m_c** · 21-10-2016

I've just had a look at the Mirac lathe specs and realised potentially what turret it comes with.
If it is a Barafuldi TOE80, then you will not be able to control the turret directly via a Mach 3 macro, Mach 4 might just about manage the timing, but I wouldn't be 100% sure about that, as the timing requirements for the turret require fast responses to inputs/outputs.
Something like a KFlop could, as you can programme the KFlop directly to handle the toolchange, and Mach3 would simply command the KFlop to carry out the tool change.
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The other option is to use a PLC to handle the tool change (I used a Click PLC, and you're welcome to the code if you choose that option).
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One thing I should mention, is that even although KMotionCNC does everything I need it to in terms of running my lathe, I do miss the wizards in Mach 3. However, if you have a Mach3 license, most of the code will work, it's just canned cycles where things generally won't.
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Personally, given the Mirac will most likely use 12 or 24V control circuitry already, I'd be looking at something from CS-Labs, or a KFlop+Konnect(IO board)(+Kanalog if you want to run analogue servos with the KFlop closing the loop).
Smoothstepper/Pokeys only work on 5V.
I can't comment on PlanetCNC, but there are suitable MESA boards available for LinuxCNC, but as John says, help can be very hit or miss.

**Mad Professor** · 21-10-2016

Hellfire: I also own a Denford Mirac, but mine does not have the ATC.

Does your Mirac use the newer control board or the older LCB3?
Mine uses the LCB3, and I am using a Ethernet Smoothstepper in combination with the LCB3.

Best Regards.

**Hellfire** · 21-10-2016

Thanks guys, I think it is a Barafuldi TOE80 turret.
Regarding the turret, would it be possible to use the positional switch inside for indexing

**John S** · 21-10-2016

Smooth stepper can't thread yet either, It was promised 4 years ago mind you .........................

**m_c** · 21-10-2016

If you go to the Denford forums (www.denfordata.com/bb), you can download the TOE80 manual in the Mirac section (it's also in the Cyclone section).
It gives all the details for inputs/outputs and the required timings.
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John, the Smoothstepper can do threading using a single slot sensor as I used it on my old Conect lathe.
It's encoder threading that still hadn't been implemented the last I checked. I suspect the real reason for the lack of progress is the physical hardware doesn't have the capacity to implement it. I know the last discussion I seen about it, Greg was talking about optimising/freeing up resources, so I think it's another case of underestimating the hardware requirements, aka Gecko GREX and various others.

**Hellfire** · 22-10-2016

Originally Posted by Mad Professor

Hellfire: I also own a Denford Mirac, but mine does not have the ATC.

Does your Mirac use the newer control board or the older LCB3?
Mine uses the LCB3, and I am using a Ethernet Smoothstepper in combination with the LCB3.

Best Regards.

d411 issue 3 on the control frame, mint 3.28 on the chip

**Hellfire** · 23-10-2016

Came across these, are they worth having.
https://www.cnc4you.co.uk/Stepper-Mo...or-8Nm-Nema-34

**m_c** · 25-10-2016

Closed loop steppers are one possible option, and are a pretty good compromise between the existing standard (open loop) stepper motors, and a proper servo system.