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Hi I am now the proud owner of a newing hall Millgrav, an older model but in beautiful condition, my question is about the controller and setting up, as there is no instructions to show how to use one of these machines, is there anyone out there in cnc land who may have some written instructions that they might want to share???
Sorry can't help but I have recently picked a fulling working Roland engraver up from a school, came with all software and book but to be honest it was that old fashioned. You had to jump through nested menus upon nested menus that I never even bothered plugging it in and ripped the dedicated boards out of it and will fit a combined Chinese 3 axis board which will be fine for such a small machine as this.
My reasoning behind this is that all the other home shop machines are on Mach and I don't want to learn another program, plus files will be interchangable between the router and this engraver if size allows.
You could try this method:
http://xkcd.com/627/
:whistling:
School had a Roland PNC2300A, but after I'd gone the stepper driver (as you described - lots of menus) broke, so they just dismantled it for parts ... such a waste as it could easily have ran from a cheap Chinese board and mach3. Was a very useful machine ... my friend even cut Titanium on it!
That's the one I have Jonathan, the 2300A, also picked up the matching mill, a PNC3100, jogs but won't run a program.
That's going the same way, gut and transplant, waiting for a batch of driver boards from china.
What program have you tried to run it? We ran it just via Techsoft 2D Design V2. You just drew the part, drew contours for the toolpath and assigned different tools and depths to different colour lines. Then just print to the 2300.. I thought it was quite good since as you're actually drawing the toolpaths you have full control, easy to use system (though hard to do anything other than 2.5D).Quote:
Originally Posted by John S
(any news on those rails?)
Didn't try to run it but Vectric do a driver for it so presume it just sent it out a bit like HPGL via a printer driver.
Came with all leads etc but as I say I don't want an orphan program.
Heading out there to measure up / photograph etc, email me your email address, don't think I have it.
Hi just found your post on a random google search, did you get anywhere with this? I spent about 10 years programing and running this machine so should be able to help you. You state the old model I take it the machine is fitted with the older style square white control unit not the apex model? Have just registered on here so drop me a line if I can help in anyway I will.
If you do have the old control unit you can only program basic commands via G-codes for general milling purposes, if you wish to use it as an engraving machine you will need suitable software for your pc, I very much doubt the old newinghall software will be available, plus their dongles cost lots! I will see what information I can dig out on it its been a while.
Hi
I have just joined the group, and hope to learn enough to be able to bring a machine to life.
I started out building a gantry type Engraver/miller using a 4' x 2' surface table as the bed and weldments for the arms and overhead track. collecting endless ballscrews, slides, steppers and obsolete drivers along the way. The engineering evening class closed after a guy released a machine vice onto his foot, so the project was abandonned.
I have bought a Newing Hall Mill Grav machine with the Apex1 controller upgrade, from a local business which closed after 80 years trading. The machine had no software as the firms office had been the victim of an arson attack. I have downloaded the only program available from Newing Hall which appears to be only a job setting out program, they tell me this obsolete machine is no longer supported. I expected to be able to plug the machine into the serial port and at least jog it, no such luck!
Does anyone have any experience or information as to what is needed to have the machine talk to a computer.
I have a demo version of Mach3 but presumeably this would involve bypassing the Apex controller altogether.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Many Thanks
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pars
Hi
Did you make any progress with your MillGrav? I am in much the same situation see my introduction first post (enclosed)
Hi
I have just joined the group, and hope to learn enough to be able to bring a machine to life.
I started out building a gantry type Engraver/miller using a 4' x 2' surface table as the bed and weldments for the arms and overhead track. collecting endless ballscrews, slides, steppers and obsolete drivers along the way. The engineering evening class closed after a guy released a machine vice onto his foot, so the project was abandonned.
I have bought a Newing Hall Mill Grav machine with the Apex1 controller upgrade, from a local business which closed after 80 years trading. The machine had no software as the firms office had been the victim of an arson attack. I have downloaded the only program available from Newing Hall which appears to be only a job setting out program, they tell me this obsolete machine is no longer supported. I expected to be able to plug the machine into the serial port and at least jog it, no such luck!
Does anyone have any experience or information as to what is needed to have the machine talk to a computer.
I have a demo version of Mach3 but presumeably this would involve bypassing the Apex controller altogether.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Many Thanks
Mill Grav
Roger may not see your reply so i will give him a knudge for you
Oh by the way he has changed all of his tronics out for up to date stuff and is running Mach3
Hi New Member ( name and address withheld ), i have gutted my machine as i was dismayed how BASIC the controller was, i felt that someone had found my old BBC basic computer and given it back to me to use again!!!
I have so far rebuilt the z axis to use a Chinese water cooled spindle motor and inverter and therefore done away with the belt driven spindle and the very noisy motor mounted top central of the mill grav i have also stripped out all of the original electronics and i am currently building a PC mother board with a smooth stepper to give two IO ports and a serial port to control the inverter, i am intending to use one port to work with a MPG and the other port as limits and over travel switches all of this is to be run under windoz and Mach3 much to 2e0poz's dismay and his attempts for me to run Linux... i am stead fast with this windoz rubbish
So far everything seems to be going to plan ( if i had one ) and i am now wiring and configuring the MB and all of the IO's.
it is possible that i may be able to obtain some software for your apex controller..... but do not hold your breath, the chap i bought my machine from has another with the apex controller and my be willing to run off a copy, but he is an excellent engineer not a software wizz...!!
I think your design building on a large surface table is an excellent idea, but impossible to move is it compleatly cancelled or will it fly again??
Roger
Hi Roger
Many Thanks for your reply, I am not fully sure if your machine had the Apex controller which you have removed or had the original electronics in the machine cabinet. I notice Newing Hall show Apex controllers on there current engraving machines but I understand them to be a later model.
Re the "Table" engraver, I will probably keep the table and sell off the other components when I can get the MillGrav running.
One idea I incorporated was to have the surface table long edge skirts machined parallel with a register so they could take ball slides. As a cost saving experiment I machined a flat bottomed 90deg vee groove centrally in a 80 x 20 flat this held a 30 x 30 square rail with the corner removed, held with recessed socked head screws at close centres. Essentially creating a bolt on adjustable vee guide. By shimming the upper and lower faces of the vee groove the rails could be adjusted parallel to the tables surface and to each other. Thats the theory but never put to the task. The gantry "saddle" was to be a machined vee with a 2mm PTFE "gasket" type gib strip. pre loaded again by shimming.
Hi New Member ( name withheld ), i have spoke to my friend and he has asked what software you want>> also what controller you have, he describes it by the number of buttons along the top of the front panel. perhaps you can take a photo of it this would help greatly.
Roger
Attachment 5856
Attachment 5857
Attachment 5858HiQuote:
Originally Posted by cncezee
This is the Apex controller fitted to my MillGrav any help you can offer would be very much appreciated.
Hi New Member
I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but my friend john has been unable to find any of the software that came with his machine, he informas me that he never used it anyhow as he uses a really weird program called casemate this outputs a hpgl type of language and machines in layers and colours...way too weird for me and this prog is well locked up with dongles
So perhaps you will go a similar rout to me......Wire cutters...................
I have this weekend i have got the MPG ( manual pulse generator ) working and calibrated along with the spindle inverter working under Mach3, i will soon be fitting processing power back into the box on Millgrav..
If you want any tips on how to do this i will be very happy to help
RH
Hi there, Its nice to see a millgrav in good hands there. I worked at Newing-Hall as a fitter for 20 years and in that time I built or worked on just about every millgrav that we made. Its 10 years since the company went under but I think Pantograph Services of Leeds took over the handling of Newing-Halls affairs. I like the new spindle arrangment you have there, the large aluminium pulley on the original motor could sometimes cause trouble with vibration. The millgrav was one of my favourite machines because it did away with the old pantograph which could sometimes be difficult to set up and it was so easy to knock it out of square meaning a service call out to reset it. There were a couple of variations of the millgrav in that one had a solid aluminium plate holding the Y carriage and that had the slots for the ball blocks permanently machined at 90 deg to one another. The other had two aluminium plates on a spigot that allowed the two to swivel. We then had to manually set the plates at 90 deg to each other and dowel them with tapered pins. These machines were sold all over the world, The Jet Propulsion Lab USA (NASA) had one, Australia, South Africa, UK. Anyway, you will have to post some video footage of the machine working when its all up and running.
Ian
I have spent many hours trying to get information about the Apex Controller which shows only two lines of text at once. What I cannot work out is how one sets up the controller to receive G-code. There are three formats, one being a Windows 'special' which works OK with JLS. However the more modern CNC software outputs G-code. Software purchased from BobCad USA was expensive, and from samples they wrote an interface using the information from Newing Hall which took months, but nobody seems to know how to select G-code for the interface. The Millgrav has new ball screws and is quite a nice machine, but the controller seems to let it down. I wonder if you would remember how to set it up for G-code. Cheers for any info you might have!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pars
I am not used to posting stuff, else I would paste the text in, but it appears that is not possible. The filr I wanted to send you is an RTF, so in order to send it I have renamed it with the extension PNG. If you actuall get this you need to copy the file and rename it to an RTF. The file is called JLS_FIRMWARE_INSTALL Good luck!Quote:
Originally Posted by cncezee
No sorry, I can not see how to send this RTF, so contact me: - [email protected]
Stocky Welcome to the forum. I would remove your email because of the spammers out there. Also you do realise that this post is about 5 years old.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stocky
Hi Ian,Quote:
Originally Posted by jif
I've been using a PantoCut in my engraving business for nearly 10 years now. Would I be able to contact you to discuss what servicing & maintenance procedures I've been neglecting? I believe mine is also out of square. Or more specifically the spindle doesn't move perfectly straight in the x-axis, but instead has a slight arc to it. I guess the pantograph needs adjusting?
I hope you are still around and this request finds you.
Cheers
Rick
***UPDATE***
Just found and bought a MillGrav! These are very rare in Australia. They were over $80k (AUD) back in the 90's when new. Can't wait to put it to use!
Good afternoon All
We have 3 millgrav in our business and have been running them for nearly 2 decades from the JLS software,
We have decided to upgrade the software and are going for CADLINKS engraving lab but we seem to be hitting various issues when handshaking the apex controllers we have both 2 key anf 3 key versions
any help would be appreciated if some has some experience of this I really dont want to flash the Apex controller as if it doesnt work their scrap and getting the firmware again is nowon impossible except from pantograph in leeds
like I said any help would be appreciated
I'm triple jealous! You have 3 times more MillGrav in your life than I... ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Archersigns
These guys are the original manufacturers of the Apex controllers: www.irridianindustrial.co.uk
They should be able to advise if what you want to achieve is possible.
Please let us know how you go. I'm happy enough with JLS but I do have EngraveLab and could be useful alternative. :)
The folks at Pantograph are the most helpful company I've ever had the pleasure to deal with, I would speak to them about this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Archersigns
I was there a few weeks ago regards a Router/engraver I've got to build and they freely allowed me to pick their brains and vast knowledge regards engraving machines. They showed me around the whole place and spent best part of 2 hours offering advice and making suggestions knowing full well the only business they were likely to get was for a £130 engraving spindle. They really are Genuine helpful people who want to help and they have forgotten more than most so-called experts think they now about engraving and it instantly shows when you meet and speak to them.
UPDATE - Overt the last 12months I have been able to successfully output G-Codes (full 3D) made in Fusion360 to the MillGrav via the Apex2 controller. :yahoo::yahoo::yahoo: