[rustyh]

Hi All,

A general question, what would are people reviews of the Arrow 500 cnc machine?
I found a second hand one Im interested in buying

Cheers
Rusty

[meckardt55]

What control does it have on it?????

[rustyh]

Hi,

It has a Heidenhain 360 control

[Bubba]

One thing that I would caution you on is the how to power the machine, PeteFromTN bought a 500 and ran into some problems providing power to the machine.
The first one was that he thought it should be 220V 3PH but soon found out it has been set up for 208V! Once that got straightened out, he never could get it to work right off a rotary phase converter (220V single phase to 220V three phase). Kept running into various problems and finally gave up on the origional control and retro fitted with linuxcnc and new controllers. (Acutally new servos and controllers) He sold off all of the working controls.

[meckardt55]

I haven't seen any Arrow 500 machines with a Heidenhain 360 control. Most of the machines have a A2100DI or Fanuc control. In fact I have seen very few other machines using Heidenhain 360 control and the one that I know of did not like it. Limited support and limited service available. I would pass on this one and find one with a A2100 control or Fanuc. Just my opinion.

Mike cncmachineservices (dot) com

[rustyh]

Thanks for all the input chaps, muchly appricte it

I have check the photos of the machine and the power seems to suggest it would work on a 240v 3 phase, Ive attached a photo.
Also attached a photo of the machine in case Im wrong about the controls

[pete from TN]

Yup I have the same basic machine here in my shop. I did run into problems with the original control but honestly I bought it used and NOT working so I was bound to have issues I suppose. I have since retofitted it with new computer and LinuxCNC control and gutted the electronics to install all brand new cabling and motors and servos. It is a much nicer machine now and I run it almost daily. The Basic machine is actually quite nice. It is quite accurate and makes a beautiful finish on my parts. Mine does not have a cartridge spindle so I may have a bit tougher time swapping out the bearings but the rest of the machine is quite simple. The original control on mine was the Emerson Control Techniques FNC system. It is actually a decent control but it is relatively old now and as with most of these controls it has limited program capacity and from what I gather from the previous owner it was limited to 3d movement speed due to this as well. Now that I am running linuxCNC it is very smooth and quiet and program length issues are a thing of the past. I have not done much 3d work on it yet but I understand that will not be a problem anymore either. I am still working on the control retrofit but it is nearly complete. I don't know what your intentions are with the machine but so far I am very pleased with my purchase and I would buy another one in a second at the price I got this one for. I have no experience with the Heidenhain control but from what I understand of them they are well supported even now. Never seen a Cincinatti arrow 500 with one installed on it tho. Good luck with it either way> Peace

Pete

[rustyh]

Thanks Pete, Thanks everyone.

I have a choice of this machine or a Bridgeport VMC 500

Just don't know which one to choose

[meckardt55]

If you don't have an electronic background with PLC knowledge and servo integration experience I would not look at the Arrow as a retrofit prospect. From some of the feedback on this site, it takes a long time to get the machine retrofit working correctly. If you can fine someone like "pete from TN " above that will sell you the I/O logic software, it would make a difference in the time it takes to retrofit the machine. It looks like pete has a lot of knowledge about the LinuxCNC control and the steps needed to retrofit a machine.

Mike cncmachineservices (dot) com