Denford cyclone conversion

[m_c]

If you were to stay with the analog servos, you'd need something like CS-Labs CSMIO/IP-A, Dynomotion K-flop with Kanalog, or there are Mesa boards that can handle it for LinuxCNC.

Have you got a photo of the turret?
I thought Denford only fitted either their own turret, or Barafuldi turrets.


Personally, I'd fit modern servos with step/dir control if I was to retrofit another cyclone.
Although I fitted new servos to mine (I opted for a 400W on the X, and 700W on the Z), I still ran them in Analog mode, as I wanted to use a Dynomotion Kanalog board for the extra IO it gave (their Konnect expansion board only came out after I'd done my retrofit).

For what I mostly turn now, I'd also consider a standalone controller. However I did like the the Mach3 turning wizards for quick programming when I first got my Cyclone running. Even after I moved to running KMotionCNC, I still kept a licensed copy of Mach3 on the computer for generating code, as it was handy for occasional simple parts, instead of dragging a laptop out to the workshop.

[depronman]

If you were to stay with the analog servos, you'd need something like CS-Labs CSMIO/IP-A, Dynomotion K-flop with Kanalog, or there are Mesa boards that can handle it for LinuxCNC.

Have you got a photo of the turret?
I thought Denford only fitted either their own turret, or Barafuldi turrets.


Personally, I'd fit modern servos with step/dir control if I was to retrofit another cyclone.
Although I fitted new servos to mine (I opted for a 400W on the X, and 700W on the Z), I still ran them in Analog mode, as I wanted to use a Dynomotion Kanalog board for the extra IO it gave (their Konnect expansion board only came out after I'd done my retrofit).

For what I mostly turn now, I'd also consider a standalone controller. However I did like the the Mach3 turning wizards for quick programming when I first got my Cyclone running. Even after I moved to running KMotionCNC, I still kept a licensed copy of Mach3 on the computer for generating code, as it was handy for occasional simple parts, instead of dragging a laptop out to the workshop.

I’ve stripped the cyclone down a little more tonight and removed the panel work so everything is now very accessible
I removed the Z servo and cables and connected to the Parker Digiplan BT30 driver
All powered up and worked perfectly. Connect the +/-10volts together and motor is stationary then connect a 3 volt dc source and motor spins one way reverse the polarity and the motor spins in the opposite direction. Increase the voltage and motor speed increases
Fairly basic test but appears that the servos and drivers are in good working order

I might be missing the obvious here -
With step/direction I understand how that works in that the controllers wants to move Z 10mm it knows how many steps to move and in which direction to achieve the 10mm movement
With the +/-10volts I understand the polarity part for direction control but how does the controller instruct the servo to move 10mm. I get the speed of movement is controlled by the voltage applied (more volts = greater speed) but how does the controller know when the 10mm have been achieved?

I have asked dynomotion to confirm that their kflop and kanalogue will work with the servos and drivers that I have and also that the ATC can be controlled but I’m awaiting their reply
Are there any gotchas that I need to be aware of with the dynomotion kit ?

Cheers
Paul


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