Why did I wait so long to do a Series 3 upgrade????

After having my Series II machine almost 6yrs I finally did a Series 3 upgrade!!! Since I had the machine setup/ready to move back to my shop in Washington it just seemed like a perfect time. Holy smokes what a difference in the way it runs, it's quieter and I swear the surface finishes are better but its probably just my imagination. The Z axis rapids from 65 to 90 seems blazing fast and the first thing I did was ram my Haimer into my part when doing a Z touch off. My fault for not paying attention.
Anyway I am kicking myself for not doing this years ago.

I had the same thought when I finally did mine.

Great, glad your upgrade went well. As a new owner, I like reading about these machines chugging along years later.
And plus one on hamier 60$ probe. I broke one, only one and still my most expensive tool crash yet. "was on phone" .
Keep us posted what your up to, always like looking at other peoples fine work!
md

When my machine went down last month, I asked (I think it was Matt) if it would be worth making the switch to Series III at that time and he told me It would be a little better, a little faster and a little smoother, but if I was happy with the way my machine performed, he wouldn't make the change.

My machine moves 90 IPM in X Y rapid. That's not very fast, but neither is 110 IPM. I am used to working on machines that rapid at 2,000 IPM and are capable of G1 feed rates of 500 IPM.

Since I bought my machine in July 2011, I have learned a lot of tricks to speed up some of the processes even on a slow machine.

One change I did make on my machine was the drive belt. I watched a friend of mine change the belts on one of his FADALS. He was using Gates belts and I wondered if that would make a difference on my machine. I tried it and it made a huge difference. Before I made the change, I couldn't get a decent finish at 5,000 RPM. The best I could do was 3,500. Now, 5,000 RPM is no problem.

Its good to know about the Gates belt, I had severe vibration at higher spindle speeds ( not all due to the belt) I went to the Fenner link belt, it was a bit noisy at first but did quiet down after a time.
I have the series 3 and am happy with it.

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Originally Posted by Steve Seebold

One change I did make on my machine was the drive belt. I watched a friend of mine change the belts on one of his FADALS. He was using Gates belts and I wondered if that would make a difference on my machine. I tried it and it made a huge difference. Before I made the change, I couldn't get a decent finish at 5,000 RPM. The best I could do was 3,500. Now, 5,000 RPM is no problem.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve Seebold

My machine moves 90 IPM in X Y rapid. That's not very fast, but neither is 110 IPM.

Since I bought my machine in July 2011, I have learned a lot of tricks to speed up some of the processes even on a slow machine.

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Steve, that is was I always told myself but after the upgrade I think I was being cheap and in denial, tool changes with the ATC are faster now and cutting seconds off of total machine time per part adds up over the course of the year and 1000's of parts. The less time the cutter is not cutting the better. I've got a Fenner to throw on, just haven't done it yet, sooner than later. Now if I can just figure out where I packed it when I moved??????????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve Seebold

One change I did make on my machine was the drive belt. I watched a friend of mine change the belts on one of his FADALS. He was using Gates belts and I wondered if that would make a difference on my machine. I tried it and it made a huge difference. Before I made the change, I couldn't get a decent finish at 5,000 RPM. The best I could do was 3,500. Now, 5,000 RPM is no problem.

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Steve,
Which of the 20+ Gates vee belt models did you buy ( I assume for a PCNC1100)?
Bevin

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Originally Posted by bevinp

Steve,
Which of the 20+ Gates vee belt models did you buy ( I assume for a PCNC1100)?
Bevin

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I don't remember what he part number was. I took the old belt down to O'Riley Auto parts and got one that was he same length and width. I'll look around and see if I can find the receipt or the label. If you saw my work space, you'd think " NO WAY ". Neatness has never been high on my list of priorities.

Now just crank up your IPM and you will be flying at 160ipm in no time :) Well Z can't do 160ipm as it overshoots the limit switch, I think I have that at 140ipm.

I think I am finally ready to upgrade my series 2 to series 3. However, I looked at the upgrade kit and see it comes with control board and three motors and drivers. With a new board and 3 phase axis motors how do I control my 4th axis? Am I out of luck?

Thanks for the help.

The 4th control isn't affected. It's just the X, Y & Z upgrade. No worries, I still run 4ths on mine.