Rf45 clone to cnc help please

Im pretty certain its the same mill. It was over 2 years ago it was first on c/l thats when I tried to buy it but the seller got wind of it haveing upgraded electronics and running usb and backed out. Then not too awfully long ago I saw it back on CL with the same picture that I saw from the original ad. I had already purchased a g0704 and converted it at that point.
I had spend a fair amount of time researching and found out that no it was not a usb machine and would not work without changing the BOB..
 
My mill has a usb cable connecting to the computer and i never took a deposit from anyone. The guy i got it from also had bikes in his garage. All of my bikes are harleys and quads.
 
It would be same time frame i brought it. And when i 1st went to see it the guy gave me a address that was around the corner frm his house. Not trying to be rude but a strange little guy? I thinkhe wore glasses?
 
Plus my address comes up on gps and always have. I am guessing its the guy who had it before me?
 
It would be same time frame i brought it. And when i 1st went to see it the guy gave me a address that was around the corner frm his house. Not trying to be rude but a strange little guy? I thinkhe wore glasses?

Yep, thats the guy who was selling it to me. Its a small world :)
 
Ok guys thanks so much!
I know there isnt any encoders on the lead screw.
As far as info on the drives and steppers there is no stickers or info on the drives or steppers. Cnc masters took that off. There is one video on YouTube where a guy with the same controller modified his to run mach3 and that is where i was able to find out the little i know.
Budget? Lol... shoestring, but the mill is a i gonna make this work or die trying! I am into this for a lil more then i wanted but still less then a new one.
Jbolt do i need to know what drives i have for sure before i can order the pmdx-126 and pmdx-107? I dont know how to figure if these are true geko again going by the youtube video where the guy says they are.
I realized guys are using the head instead of the spindle but at this point i only want to replace the needed electronics to run it. The quality of the ballscrews and mounts are something else i will change later because of the way they did them.
And i will open the control up and take some pics and figure out how to post them.


A little background about me.....
I own a jet (bridgeport clone) mill with x powerfeed and dro pros readout. A darshin 13x lathe with quick change tool post, mig and tig welders plus tubing bender with a hydraulic conversion i made,drill press,grinder and a new msc carbide grinder i just picked up. I have been in machine work and welding for over 20 yrs. I have built a few motorcycles and cars. And from time to time i even have a paying job. My son is 13 and helps me every time i turn on the power so he is getting a education other then playing video games lol. I put everything i make right back into my shop with hopes of one day never punching a time card again. I would like a haas mini mill one day soon and the cnc masters rf45 clone is supposed to be my production mill for parts i wanna make and sell but at this point i am way to angry to turn it on. So i appreciate eneryones help. Also i am located in central pa so if anyone close by ever needs anything like tooling or help please let me know.


The Bob, motion controller and spindle control will work with any Mach3 system but there is probably going to be some rewiring of the motors if the factory control system is proprietary. If you have Gecko drives they are easy to identify. They sell many OEM versions without covers or labels. Power supply(s) will depend on drives and stepper specs.

Is there a link to the youtube vid?
 
I found the video.

In the video he says they are not Geckos, just wired like geckos. Not sure what that means. It looks like he had to solder leads onto the driver boards for the step & direction signals. The motors have a plug so you should not have to modify that. He's running a 60v transformer for the stepper power. I would be inclined to go higher voltage if the drives will handle it. Motor specs will determine the amps needed. You can also get toroidal power supplies with multiple voltage outputs for other voltages to power the Bob & motion controller.
 
Yes thats the video i was talking about. I didnt get home till now so thank u for posting it. Jbolt i appreciate what u posted and without sounding like a complete idiot lol i dont understand any of what u said. If i need to buy drivers i can still keep my steppers right? Or can i figure out how to use them? Davd Flowers lives a few hrs away but i am frm that area so i am beggin him lol to help me build the same mill he was going to buy. After talkin to davd its sad because the original seller backed out of their deal to sell to me at a higher price. I am not upset i paid more i am however mad the guy broke their deal.
How do you figure out how to wire the drives? I believe cnc masters simple took any stickers or id marks off the box because another guy told me he blew his drive and order one but i cant remember what he said. This mill has sat to long and its time to make get my mill going and i am glad to have you guys trying.
Today i was going to post pictures but i was out trying to bid on overflow work. The one shop is willing to send me some production but its alot of radius and pocket work.not really tight tolerances so it perfect for my mill. I do eventually plan on eithet replacing the spindle lead screw with a external ballscrew or do the column. Can i buy the power supply big enough to power a big stepper for the column, or use a separate column stepper power supply?
 
And a windows 7 32 bit computer plus a breakout board with parallel port and cable?
Am i right in this thinking? This would be the more expensive way tho right?
 
Back
Top