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  1. #1
    I've just bought a Harrison M250 that has factory-fitted CNC system, but the control system didn't come with it. As a result I essentially have a lathe fitted with stepper motors, adjustable stop switches and an encoder on the spindle. I know enough about electronics to sort out drivers for the motors etc. but being new to CNC I really don't know where to start with the control system - I gather that Mach3 is a good option for the SW but ideally I want a controller that will use the features of stop switches and the spindle encoder - it would be easy to use just the two motors but it wouldn't be long before I wanted to do something like thread cutting, and as the lathe doesn't have a full set of change wheels I might as well put the money into improving the CNC features.
    So, the question is whether anyone can recommend a control system that would work with Mach3 and interface to the stop switches and spindle encoder.
    BTW FP on MYCNC, so Hi to all!

  2. #2
    Hi Adrian,

    Welcome to the forum from down under. Looks like two of the better options for CNC Lathe Software may be:

    1. KmotionCNC
    2. Acorn Centroid

    based on what I recall seeing in fairly recent threads which included:

    http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/11430...9159#post99159

    http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/11917...442#post102442

    BUT, I'm NOT in the know on this, so please wait for more informed comments . . . . .

    Andy

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  4. #3
    Clive S's Avatar
    Lives in Marple Stockport, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 23 Hours Ago Forum Superstar, has done so much to help others, they deserve a medal. Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 3,333. Received thanks 618 times, giving thanks to others 78 times. Made a monetary donation to the upkeep of the community. Is a beta tester for Machinists Network features.
    Hi and welcome to the forum.

    First Mach3 will only count one pulse on the spindle it will do thread cutting of a sort but not rigid tapping etc.

    You would need some sort of motion control board to do the step making in hardware.

    There are better controllers out there. I use a mesa card which is used with linuxcnc (free) but it does take some time to learn it. You can also put mpg's on it to be able to use the lathe manually.
    ..Clive
    The more you know, The better you know, How little you know

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  6. #4
    Chaz's Avatar
    Lives in Ickenham, West London, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 3 Weeks Ago Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 1,600. Received thanks 110 times, giving thanks to others 69 times.
    Quote Originally Posted by AdrianW View Post
    I've just bought a Harrison M250 that has factory-fitted CNC system, but the control system didn't come with it. As a result I essentially have a lathe fitted with stepper motors, adjustable stop switches and an encoder on the spindle. I know enough about electronics to sort out drivers for the motors etc. but being new to CNC I really don't know where to start with the control system - I gather that Mach3 is a good option for the SW but ideally I want a controller that will use the features of stop switches and the spindle encoder - it would be easy to use just the two motors but it wouldn't be long before I wanted to do something like thread cutting, and as the lathe doesn't have a full set of change wheels I might as well put the money into improving the CNC features.
    So, the question is whether anyone can recommend a control system that would work with Mach3 and interface to the stop switches and spindle encoder.
    BTW FP on MYCNC, so Hi to all!
    Ive just installed Centroid Acorn on a Harrison M300. I'd never look at Mach 3 again, not the same league.

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  8. #5
    m_c's Avatar
    Lives in East Lothian, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 3 Days Ago Forum Superstar, has done so much to help others, they deserve a medal. Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 2,908. Received thanks 360 times, giving thanks to others 8 times.
    It all depends on how much functionality you want to add.

    If you're happy with on screen jogging, and no fancy tool changer, Centroid Acorn will achieve that. If you want to add an MPG for jogging, then the Acorn is out (it only supports a single encoder input, and has limited inputs and outputs).
    If you want more functionality, then a Dynomotion KFlop will give it, but it's not as easy a system to implement.

    Mach is still an option, but being realistic for a lathe, you'd either have to ditch the spindle encoder and go single slot, or buy a motion controller that does support encoder threading with Mach. IIRC only the full fat CS-labs controllers with an additional MPG module support it, or a KFlop can work with encoders and Mach3. Some of the Galil controllers probably also support it, but I'm not sure on how well they work with Mach.

    I think the CNC Drive UC controllers can support multi-slot threading, but not a full encoder. They also have their own control software, UCCNC, but I'm not sure how much support it has for lathes.
    Out with that, you're into a bunch of controllers that can only support single slot threading, or controllers with no threading support. The best guesses I've seen for the number of turn/lathes users in the hobbyist/retrofit market, have all been less than 10%, so there just isn't the same level of support compared with mills/routers.

    LinuxCNC with a Mesa card is another option.

    Off course, the other option is a standalone controller.

    It all comes down to how much money you're willing to spend, and what functionality you'd like.
    Avoiding the rubbish customer service from AluminiumWarehouse since July '13.

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  10. #6
    Chaz's Avatar
    Lives in Ickenham, West London, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 3 Weeks Ago Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 1,600. Received thanks 110 times, giving thanks to others 69 times.
    Quote Originally Posted by m_c View Post
    It all depends on how much functionality you want to add.

    If you're happy with on screen jogging, and no fancy tool changer, Centroid Acorn will achieve that. If you want to add an MPG for jogging, then the Acorn is out (it only supports a single encoder input, and has limited inputs and outputs).
    If you want more functionality, then a Dynomotion KFlop will give it, but it's not as easy a system to implement.

    Mach is still an option, but being realistic for a lathe, you'd either have to ditch the spindle encoder and go single slot, or buy a motion controller that does support encoder threading with Mach. IIRC only the full fat CS-labs controllers with an additional MPG module support it, or a KFlop can work with encoders and Mach3. Some of the Galil controllers probably also support it, but I'm not sure on how well they work with Mach.

    I think the CNC Drive UC controllers can support multi-slot threading, but not a full encoder. They also have their own control software, UCCNC, but I'm not sure how much support it has for lathes.
    Out with that, you're into a bunch of controllers that can only support single slot threading, or controllers with no threading support. The best guesses I've seen for the number of turn/lathes users in the hobbyist/retrofit market, have all been less than 10%, so there just isn't the same level of support compared with mills/routers.

    LinuxCNC with a Mesa card is another option.

    Off course, the other option is a standalone controller.

    It all comes down to how much money you're willing to spend, and what functionality you'd like.
    On the iPad so quick response from me. Centroid now has an integrated MPG option, 240 usd or so, well regarded. You can also now use something like a shuttle controller as a supported interface.

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  12. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Chaz View Post
    Ive just installed Centroid Acorn on a Harrison M300. I'd never look at Mach 3 again, not the same league.
    Thanks for the recommendation - the Centroid forum seems pretty good so it looks like I'm going to be looking for a decent spindle encoder (it's got an optical HP one that's way under the minimum spec.) and also a VFD that's compatible with the Acorn - if you have any suggestions for one that's not silly money I'd be very grateful. I'm liking the idea that I might be able to do rigid tapping!

  13. #8
    Chaz's Avatar
    Lives in Ickenham, West London, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 3 Weeks Ago Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 1,600. Received thanks 110 times, giving thanks to others 69 times.
    Quote Originally Posted by AdrianW View Post
    Thanks for the recommendation - the Centroid forum seems pretty good so it looks like I'm going to be looking for a decent spindle encoder (it's got an optical HP one that's way under the minimum spec.) and also a VFD that's compatible with the Acorn - if you have any suggestions for one that's not silly money I'd be very grateful. I'm liking the idea that I might be able to do rigid tapping!
    Just get a cheap and cheerful Hyangyung one on Ebay. £100 ish and sorted. There is a guy on ebay, near me, selling good quality encoders for circa £45.

  14. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Chaz View Post
    Just get a cheap and cheerful Hyangyung one on Ebay. £100 ish and sorted. There is a guy on ebay, near me, selling good quality encoders for circa £45.
    Cheers - those VFDs look like great value. Do you have a link for the guy selling encoders? The minimum recommended spec is 8000p/r (seems excessive?) and even the 2000p/r ones I've found are in the hundreds of quid.
    Last edited by AdrianW; 26-09-2018 at 11:09 PM. Reason: No text in previous post!

  15. #10
    m_c's Avatar
    Lives in East Lothian, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 3 Days Ago Forum Superstar, has done so much to help others, they deserve a medal. Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 2,908. Received thanks 360 times, giving thanks to others 8 times.
    Quote Originally Posted by Chaz View Post
    On the iPad so quick response from me. Centroid now has an integrated MPG option, 240 usd or so, well regarded. You can also now use something like a shuttle controller as a supported interface.
    I did have a look last night after I posted to see what they've been up to, and noticed that, but $240 for a XHC pendant you can get on Aliexpress for $99 does seem a bit steep.

    Cheap and cheerful option for KMotionCNC is a gamepad. Quite a few people use wireless Xbox controllers.
    Avoiding the rubbish customer service from AluminiumWarehouse since July '13.

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