Boxford TCL 125

[JAZZCNC]

Hi John,

Linux CNC using the Linux operating system. I would suggest you buy a cheap PC to run it on rather than dual booting with a windows PC.

I won't blow smoke and say straight off there is a bit of a learning curve to Linux CNC and I'm not an expert on it either so won't be much help, but it's got a very good Forum and there are a few Linux users on this forum, Clive S is the Linux CNc guru and if you go this route I'm sure he'll point you in the right direction.

Regards the Spindle controller then it will be simple enough to re-use, forward, and the reverse is done using Contacotors that are controlled with Outputs from the controller and the BOB will provide 0-10V signal required for speed control. This is standard stuff and nothing special or difficult to implement.

The only bit that will get more difficult is if you want to re-use the Jog buttons etc on the front panel rather than using from the screen. Well, it's not actually more difficult and easy enough to do but does mean you require more I/O so you might need a different board like a Mesa card which provides more I/O. But that would be the case no matter which controller you used.!

I suggest you go to the Linux CNC forum and have a look around. Linux CNC can get deep but it's infinitely scalable with the right Mesa cards and there are some very clever people who support it.!

[John11668]

Linux does sound a bit intimidating when and maybe a further complication. I think I would like to get this machine up and running before going to another level.
I have been thinking out of the box
My mill table has plugs on the drive board for each axis cable .




If I were to make two leads to plug into x and z sockets and connect to x and z motors on the lathe then I should at least be able to test the axis motors .
I do have Mach 3 on the computer so should be able to call up a Lathe profile and set it up.

I might not even need to buy any gear at all. A good Yorkshire solution maybe , but must be careful not to upset the Lancashire men

[Doddy]

but must be careful not to upset the Lancashire men

My tuppeneth... Yes, derisk and debug with a known state. I do think LinuxCNC may be something to consider down the line (I use it on my ML7) but walk before you can run.

Just remember to set the motor current appropriately.

[depronman]

Linux does sound a bit intimidating when and maybe a further complication. I think I would like to get this machine up and running before going to another level.
I have been thinking out of the box
My mill table has plugs on the drive board for each axis cable .




If I were to make two leads to plug into x and z sockets and connect to x and z motors on the lathe then I should at least be able to test the axis motors .
I do have Mach 3 on the computer so should be able to call up a Lathe profile and set it up.

I might not even need to buy any gear at all. A good Yorkshire solution maybe , but must be careful not to upset the Lancashire men

It should work for testing
Long term it would not be a great solution
Are the stepper voltages similar?

Re linuxcnc for a basic setup the step and configure wizard will work perfectly
Download the package and burn it to a DVD then pop it in a laptop or desktop and let it boot from the cd. You will be able to run a ‘test’ version to get a feel for it before you install it to a hard drive
I can talk you through the very basics of linuxcnc if it helps
Paul


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Clive S]

This is one of the best and easiest to use linuxcnc Mint 19.3. Download

http://cnc.beaglebrainz.net/cdimage/...pace-64bit.iso

Then use https://www.balena.io/etcher/ This will make a bootable usb stick

Then set the bios in the PC to boot from USB

its as simple as that.

[JAZZCNC]

If you have the drives already then it's a no brainer to use for both. Clive S did this for years and run a Mill and Lathe from same Control box using a change over switch. Obviously you can't run both together but how likely are you to ever do that.?

Like Depronman says for a basic setup the Linux CNC Config Wizzard is easy enough to use and it costs nothing to try. You already have a working machine and know all the I/O pins so just try a Config with the settings for your Router and plug into a parallel port. Lathe is pretty much the same just less axis.

[John11668]

Will give it a try if only to prove the steppers.
Then maybe play a while maybe before I try linux. I suspect I will need some hand-holding if /when I get to that stage .
The computer I am using here cost me £50 3 years ago , and if initially I am not paying for drivers another one at £40 from Ebay isn't gonna break the budget.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Opti....c100005.m1851

And part of the cost will be getting paid by the guy who told me this was a working machine , only he doesnt know it yet.
What sort of a machine spec will I need to run linux and Am I better with 32bit or 64

And PS Anyone fancy a pair of Boxford boards to fix ?????

[Doddy]

I plumbed for the standard Stretch 2.7 64 bit linux distro. You don't need much to get linux to run, but it needs to run well enough - there's a kernel utility to monitor jitter on the real-time scheduler... On a little i5 (Viglen Genie) that's rock solid, other end of the spectrum with a thin client (AMD Dual-Core T56N) it was useless - at least out of the box. Bear in mind that your real-time performance becomes more critical with parallel interfaces and particularly using a software encoder set-up for spindle position (for threading). I wouldn't aim too low in terms of machine spec. Also, think if you're planning to use Parallel (probably best for a quick intro to LinuxCNC) - in which case make sure that you buy a desktop with parallel port. If you do ultimately go Mesa - I'd suggest a dedicated ethernet port for that - but that's easily added later down the path (though compels you to a machine that will take expansion cards).

LinuxCNC will frustrate you, at least at first. For me I'm still frustrated (why oh why doesn't Axis GUI allow a preset spindle speed on a lathe - and yes, the documentation says it does... but it lies!). Oh yeah - get used to substantial parts of the configuration being dependent on your choice of UI.

Damn, just noticed 2.8 is out. Maybe that's a job for later (I don't care for the older Debian installs). Interestingly there's a new Pi install - I'm not convinced on the merits of a Pi in this role, though. Anyway - 2.8 - don't believe there's much to backup to roll the version/Linux distro forwards. I'd be interested in anyone's experience of this (my current "reconfiguration" of my machines is currently in the heavy lifting phase... be nice to play with the Linux environment instead).

[Clive S]

Am I better with 32bit or 64

64bit as that is the most popular with linuxcnc.

See my post re the linuxcnc ISO.

[John11668]

Hi folks
Both axes jog fine when attached to my PC and Drivers, using my current mill profile and jogging X and Y so looks pretty much like the driver PCB in the machine is shot.
I will set up a lathe profile on Mach 3 just to check that I can operate that!

I will then go back to suppliers and see what they suggest with regard to their misleading description and the work I have put into getting to this point. I think I will insist on a replacement board at least , even if I do not use it.