[Fabric8r]

I just purchased a Bridgeport Mill with a Dated Controll. I cant down load to it from my pc and it uses conversational programming. It is a Anilam Crusader Series-M 3 Axis Controll. See picture below. I was wondering if And how hard it would be to use existing parts of this controll and upgrade it to a PC based system With Mach 2. I have ballscrews on all axises and It has SEM servo motors on all as well. Can I use the Axis Controll boards and power supply that it has or will I nedd to use another kind. I would appreciate any and all help. I would also need help wiring it.
Thank's in advance, Scott W.

[Toolbit]

I have a tree mill with anilam control. I was like you and thought it was very dated but if you take the time to learn the conversational control I'm sure you will be pleased. I programed a 10 curved blade fan for a century R/C helicopter to cut the blades and do all the work on topside of the fan was only about 30 lines of programing and with the use of the on board geometry calculator the x,y points were easy to find. I would suggest that you call the anilam people and buy the offline software for your particular control and you can transfere the programs by either floppy disc or DNC cables.

Oh by the way I downloaded the free version of deskengrave and with the g code to conversational program converter (this should be in your control's utility programs) the resulting program was 20,000 lines long for a name with only 5 letters. It ran flawlessly.

The Anilam control that I have was my introduction to CNC. I didn't know how to turn the machine on. Finding no mention of Anilam controls on any of the forms and with no manual the learning curve was difficult. One of the big things that I've learned is regardless of what control whether homebrew or store bought you need a good cad/cam program. Second thing is that with the conversational control and on board calculators you have a good chance to program the machine without spending the big bucks on cad/cam programs.

If you would like any help give me email [email protected]

[Fabric8r]

Is your anilam controll the same series as mine. The Anilam Crusader Series-M. Im just curious because I was told in another forum that this controll is only capable of 999 lines of code. You said you ran like 20,000. Was the program in your controll or did you have to drip feed it from the PC. I was also wondering about the g code to conversational program converter. Is this in my controll. you said it should be in my controlls utility programs. What and where is this. I use ONECNC for my CAD/CAM software and would like to down load programs to this controll if possible. Any and all information is greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Scott

[Toolbit]

I'm sorry that I got your hopes up but after going to Anilam's web site I think you might be stuck. According to what I could find out you are right about the 999 lines of program limit on that control.
The one I have is the 1100 series it has a 3.5 floppy disc drive as well as DNC (drip feed) function.

[xyzcnc]

Hey Toolbit I am still learning my "new to me" 1100 controller. Have you tried helical interpolation for thread milling? Just curious as to what this entails with this controller.

[Toolbit]

XYZCNC,
I've don't have a thread cutter bit so I've never tried to program a thread. I know it will cut a spiral and an ellipse. I would be interested in knowing how to cut a thread with a mill but so far I haven't needed to. I have (I hope) enclosed a picture of the results of my first cnc conversational program and introduction into CNC, the infamous Century R/C helicopter fan. There is also a picture of another little project with examples of conversational and gcode programming. If you figure out the threading let me know.

[Toolbit]

OOPS!!! it happens.

[Socrenko]

I have a Anilam Crusader ll controler is that older then the "M" series? and is there a program out there that I can hook up to my RS-232 Plug to be able to comunicate with my PC for of line programing?

Soc.

[Toolbit]

Hey Toolbit I am still learning my "new to me" 1100 controller. Have you tried helical interpolation for thread milling? Just curious as to what this entails with this controller.

xyzcnc, I finally needed to thread a part this is fairly simple with this control but you need to purchase a thread mill. To program threads goto Mill then select ARC then select MORE this brings up a picture of 3 different arcs select the middle one, this changes the arc input screen to one with origin of the hole or stud and a XYZ inputs (internal threads use major thread diameter, external threads use minor thread diameter)as well as REVS (thread pitch (threads per inch)). I'm like you the anilam 1100 is new to me also. The biggest help to me was buying the off line software it sure beats standing at the machine and pecking at the inputs. This way I can sit at my computer and write a program and put it on a floppy or use the DNC cable and drip feed. I hope this helps.

[Boring Life]

Any editor with up/download will work, baud rates should be set @ 2400 & aux codes have to be activated every time U power up the control (leave the power on) & aux 2701 will set the control to accept download, I have forgotten the other aux codes for power up. Check with the Anilam People

[Mike Mattera]

Skimming thru this thread I can answer some of the questions I saw.

The Cursader II is older than the Crusader M.
The Crusader II has 999 lines of program memory.
The RS232 port on a Crusader II is not quite standard.
Switch 2 & 3 (send & receive). They did this so you could use a straight cable (normally you would cross 2 & 3 in a standard RS232 cable.

Training for the Crusader II is available at the web site below.
Detailed training DVD's on the complete operation and inside tricks.

[mmcnall]

I have a anilam crusader m control that I program with mastercam 9 all the time. I had to modify one of the posts that came with it, but the crusader m readily accepts g code from the serial port. You use a straight serial cable (not null) and no more that 2400 baud. I added memory to the motherboard to the max of 64 kb and I can only get around 1000 lines of code too. The manual says that you can drip feed to it, however I have not gotten this going, as I am selling the mill, and don't want to fool around with it any more. The aux codes to configure the serial port settings must be entered in every time you power up if you don't have a good battery in the control (its on one of the cards). If you battery is no good, you'll know because the control won't save your program after a powerdown. If you need the aux codes I can scan them out of the manual and email them to you....Good luck

[Mike Mattera]

Fabric8r: Anilam make an affordable replacement control for the Crusader M. It's the PC based 3300. Very slick. Just unplug the old control and plug in the new conlrol. You can find out more from...
http://www.illianaindtech.com This guys out of Chicago and has been working with Anilam for over 20 years. Tell him I sent you.

Mike Mattera

[Mike Mattera]

Now Available:

Training DVD for the Anilam 3000M CNC Control.

http://www.tipsformanufacturing.com...0m_control.html

See the link above for product details.

Mike Mattera

[ramac]

I have an anilam crusader m on yci iron, 1989 and a 3300 m on aliant mill. had to reload software on the 3300 and lost programmable spindle option, anyone know the proceedure to edit config files on this control?

[Fabric8r]

Fabric8r: Anilam make an affordable replacement control for the Crusader M. It's the PC based 3300. Very slick. Just unplug the old control and plug in the new conlrol. You can find out more from...
http://www.illianaindtech.com This guys out of Chicago and has been working with Anilam for over 20 years. Tell him I sent you.

Mike Mattera

Thank you for the info I checked into it and I told them you refered me. But I dont think this is the rout im going to go. The upgrade is 7,500. Thats not Affordable to me. It seems like a nice system but it is still dos based. I'm thinking I want to go with my own controller using rutex drives and mach3 anyone have any info on how to go about this.
Thank you, scott

[RogerN]

I'm in a similar situation, except I need to upgrade a Crusader II. I'm looking for, or considering making, a microcontroller system that will take step and direction input from the PC and linear encoder input from the axis scales, and generate an analog output to the servo drives. This would make all the step and direction software out there compatible with servo positioning with DRO scales.

Other than that, I'm looking into EMC2 and a motion control board. I plan to use all the same connectors that the Crusader II uses, that way I can plug back and forth until I get the EMC2 system performing properly. The new EMC2 + Ubuntu Live CD ISO makes installation easy. I found a 4 axis motion control board compatible with EMC2 for $325. My CNC control will probably cost under $750 including used PC, Operating system, CNC software, connectors, breakout boards, and motion control card. That's 1/10 the price of the "affordable" Anilam upgrade.

[RICKG]

FABRIC8R,
Any progress on upgrading Cru-m control? I also have the same machine, sometimes it works, sometimes it won't. You have to do several board "reseats"
when it locks up. I also have a Anilam 3300M control on an alliant mill, but the 3300 is all conversational and will not accept G-code from mastercam

[Toolbit]

Rickg,
Your 3300 anilam control should have a g-code convertor in the utilitys section. If you don't have the anilam 3300 offline software you will need to copy the mastercam file to a floppy disc and then log your control to A:. The control on your machine will probably tell you that there is no file on the disc just keep pressing "display" 3 or 4 times then it will list the file. After you have it listed you can use the g-code convertor listed under the ulititys I think F9 also you will find the DNC option there under comunications. If the control has a problem with any lines it will tell you. Then you can edit the file. By the way the control likes g-code files that don't have line numbers. The first thing in the line should be something like G00, G01, G02
G03, G04, etc.

I hope some of this helps.

Toolbit

[RogerN]

I have a Crusader II that I'm working on upgrading to a PC based control. I plan to use all the same connectors so I can switch back to my Anilam control until I get the PC control running correctly. I have found the connectors at Digi-Key, 3 for the scales and 1 for the controller adds up to around $70.

I've been looking at EMC2 and just lately started to look at Mach2 & 3. EMC2 has configurations for motion control hardware that can send the + - 10V signal to the servo amps the same as the Anilam controls do. A 4 axis motion control board for EMC2 is available for $325.50. This has 4 encoder counters, 8 analog outs, and 8 analog ins, plus some digital I/O. I could make a direct replacement for the Anilam Control plus have capability of adding spindle off, CW, CCW, and speed control. Add an encoder to the spindle and you could have rigid tapping potential. EMC2 also has capabilities to read encoders from a parallel port, so you could add other stepper or servo driven axis as required.

Another possibility would be to get some electronics to convert PWM or step and direction to + - 10V analog out. That would let you use EMC2 without the motion control board and I believe I read that MACH can output PWM.

Whenever I come up with something, I'll post it and make my configurations available to anyone else wanting to upgrade from the older Anilam controls.