[Galane]

Should be on its way to me tomorrow.

$(KGrHqV,!rkFJUWf7Y1sBS(-CduW7Q~~60_57 by g_alan_e, on Flickr

Going to need some work to get it going. Either it will be useful for some projects I want to do, or I should be able to sell it locally for a profit once I have it fixed up.

I wonder where Intelitek has moved the downloads? The links on their downloads page are just to the same page.

[Fastest1]

Not likely to be plug and play. Probably can interface with the existing electronics.

[Galane]

It's still in the truck, backed up to the front of the bed, but I can see a box in its back with Animatics on it. Should be the PML2000. Will get it unloaded tomorrow and check it over for obvious issues like disconnected wires etc.

[Galane]

Found the downloads http://www.intelitekdownloads.com/Software/ but WTH? Only DOS software for the PLM2000 ??? Why would they have DOS and Windows software for the stepper motor PLM1000 but only DOS for the servo motor PLM2000?

So, next step is to dig though my old computer stuff for a serial cable and a PC I can put DOS on. I know I have a copy of MS-DOS 6.22... somewhere.

[Winterwatchers]

I just brought a used prolight mill home today, its probably the exact same model you have. Mine is missing the cnc control box, but the spindle electronics attached to the back looks pretty good. I am planning to upgrade all to new steppers and g540 controls, Unless I can find the original electronics somewhere which I hear is not cheap.

I will be paying attention to your attempts at rebuilding.

[Fastest1]

Stick with the G540 or similar. Do not go backwards. Now if you had the original electronics and they were free. I might say to attempt to reuse them.

[Galane]

I just brought a used prolight mill home today, its probably the exact same model you have. Mine is missing the cnc control box, but the spindle electronics attached to the back looks pretty good. I am planning to upgrade all to new steppers and g540 controls, Unless I can find the original electronics somewhere which I hear is not cheap.

I will be paying attention to your attempts at rebuilding.

If you have steppers it's a PLM1000. One of those minus the big black box and proprietary ISA or PCI card... you are stuck with refit/upgrade unless you can locate replacements for the missing hardware.
The PLM 2000 and 2500 had servos and the controls all in the box attached to the mill, with a single RS232 connection to a computer without any additional proprietary hardware.

The 2000 had the option of a 5,000 or 10,000 RPM belt drive spindle. The 2500 had a 42,000 RPM direct drive spindle. 1000 and 2000 are R8 spindle and the flat on the nose is big enough to work with Tormach TTS holders. For some reason the 1000 was the only model to have Windows software (and DOS) while the other two only had DOS software.

I got mine running, some doofus had cut one of the spindle motor wires and added in a pair of 5 ohm wire wound resistors in parallel, vaguely "connected" with alligator clips. After removing that and reconnecting the wire properly, I ran it with the two test files that come with the DOS software. Used an old Micron laptop booting off a DOS boot floppy made with Windows 7, using a USB floppy drive because the only old laptop I have with a built in floppy drive doesn't have a serial port.

http://www.intelitekdownloads.com/Software/
http://www.intelitekdownloads.com/Manuals/CNC/Obsolete/
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Byhq...NhVXBnT00/edit <-Lots of useful technical info on Light Machines, stuff that was "eyes only" for LM dealers and techs. For some reason it's an archive file in an ISO. WinRAR can extract the archive from the ISO, then you can delete the ISO file.

Hopefully someone who knows the deep, dark secrets of software like LinuxCNC will get inspired to use that info to add support for Light Machines mills, and their PLT3000 lathe.

I have no idea what material the frame, saddle and head are made of on this mill. Nonferrous because a magnet doesn't stick. Cast aluminum? Some kind of resin? Plenty heavy for the size. There are assembly instructions in that big archive which mention steel inserts to mount the rails. I like the use of round linear bearing rails and the bellows protecting them.

Do NOT unscrew the lifting eye. It's glued in with locktite.

[inthebay]

$2k eh, hopefully you can get it spinning without too much hassle.

[Winterwatchers]

If you have steppers it's a PLM1000. One of those minus the big black box and proprietary ISA or PCI card... you are stuck with refit/upgrade unless you can locate replacements for the missing hardware.
The PLM 2000 and 2500 had servos and the controls all in the box attached to the mill, with a single RS232 connection to a computer without any additional proprietary hardware.

The 2000 had the option of a 5,000 or 10,000 RPM belt drive spindle. The 2500 had a 42,000 RPM direct drive spindle. 1000 and 2000 are R8 spindle and the flat on the nose is big enough to work with Tormach TTS holders. For some reason the 1000 was the only model to have Windows software (and DOS) while the other two only had DOS software.

I got mine running, some doofus had cut one of the spindle motor wires and added in a pair of 5 ohm wire wound resistors in parallel, vaguely "connected" with alligator clips. After removing that and reconnecting the wire properly, I ran it with the two test files that come with the DOS software. Used an old Micron laptop booting off a DOS boot floppy made with Windows 7, using a USB floppy drive because the only old laptop I have with a built in floppy drive doesn't have a serial port.

http://www.intelitekdownloads.com/Software/
http://www.intelitekdownloads.com/Manuals/CNC/Obsolete/
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Byhq...NhVXBnT00/edit <-Lots of useful technical info on Light Machines, stuff that was "eyes only" for LM dealers and techs. For some reason it's an archive file in an ISO. WinRAR can extract the archive from the ISO, then you can delete the ISO file.

Hopefully someone who knows the deep, dark secrets of software like LinuxCNC will get inspired to use that info to add support for Light Machines mills, and their PLT3000 lathe.

I have no idea what material the frame, saddle and head are made of on this mill. Nonferrous because a magnet doesn't stick. Cast aluminum? Some kind of resin? Plenty heavy for the size. There are assembly instructions in that big archive which mention steel inserts to mount the rails. I like the use of round linear bearing rails and the bellows protecting them.

Do NOT unscrew the lifting eye. It's glued in with locktite.

Thanks for the info. Some of the manuals links on other sites go to a page that no longer exist. I have steppers and other cnc stuff that I bought to go with a x2d mini, but the prolight jumped out at me and it is a tad more expensive than littlemachineshop. It is heavy and putting it in the basement is a pain.

The headstock, z carrier, and saddle are aluminum, and most of the bolt holes in the polymer concrete are aluminum as well. I was surprised by that. I originally thought everything besides the frame is cast iron. It put a slight dent in my enthusiasm. I will see how it performs cutting steel, if it sucks I might buy some durabar or just sell it.

[Fastest1]

Likely to be a nice machine and cut steel. Maybe not fast, but accurate for most of us. Small work envelope.

[Galane]

$2k eh, hopefully you can get it spinning without too much hassle.

It runs fine, just only with the DOS software so far. I'm looking at what's available in free or cheap CAD/CAM to create the G code for things I want to make. What these mills are definitely better than are all the Taig and Sherline based "training" machines that replaced the 80's and 90's era of reasonably strong and powerful benchtop mills and lathes.

In contrast to this mill's cost, I bagged a barely used JET 9x20 for $50. Going to make some Acetal nuts and CNC it, using this mill to make motor mounts and other parts for the lathe. Lost my desire for a Denford ORAC after finding out it's just a Compact 8 clone under the added stuff. The 9x20 will be pretty much the same but with a bit more capacity, especially after I put a multi-rib belt on to drive the spindle.

[Fastest1]

What does the ribbed belt change?

[109jb]

What does the ribbed belt change?

The 9x20's use a teeny tiny v-belt to drive the spindle. In my experience it is prone to slip unless light cuts are made, especially at larger diameters.

[megclay]

Hi
Galane
mecsoft freemill has a post processor for the prolight
works ok