Value of New Hermes 1219 engraving table

[John Jackson]

A gentleman is retiring from the engraving business and has his equipment for sale.

The engraver is a New Hermes 1219, but the proprietary computer died so he junked it. What is left is the engraving table itself, with steppers and cables.

I am in the middle of a retrofit on an older CNC router already, and so I can assemble the parts to make this operable from Windows XP running something like Mach 3.

What is this engraving table be worth, as-is?

I might try and capture some local engraving revenue from the schools in town, but this would be a hobby business. I have not got to the business plan stage yet; it is still at the impulse buy stage...

He also has a 24" plastic saw, a chip vacuum, a beveler and corner rounder available as well as some old (some very old) engraving plastic. Any ideas on what those items are worth used?

[Larry Alles]

John,
I had one of these systems back in 1985. Worked great but the computer with font cartridges gave out. I threw out the table because no one could
help me hook it up to another system. So for me it was worth nothing but
a boat anchor. Hope you have better luck. I did change the round shaft on the spindle to a square shaft to eliminate the twisting of the spindle.

[John Jackson]

Thanks!

John

[Dave Johnson29]

What is left is the engraving table itself, with steppers and cables.


The first question I would ask is how many wires in the cable to the steppers. If it is 4 I would pass on it as they will be bi-polar and not very useful. Most modern stepper controllers are now designed to favor uni-polar as they use less current to achieve similar results.

[Mike Mackenzie]

John,

I built those systems for New Hermes "way back" You can buy controllers that will run them however they may need DOS based programming to operate them.

There are other controllers you can get that are more expensive that will allow you to operate it via windows.

If you ask me I would not put more than a 1000.00 dollars into it. You can get a new smaller system for around 5K. I still have 4-5 of those systems and I can not give them away. I pretty much use them for parts

Dave those systems use a Vexta PH 296-02 for X & Y axis and a PH 268-21 for the Z axis.

My Suggestion would be to PASS don't spend any serious money on this!

[Dan Hintz]

The first question I would ask is how many wires in the cable to the steppers. If it is 4 I would pass on it as they will be bi-polar and not very useful. Most modern stepper controllers are now designed to favor uni-polar as they use less current to achieve similar results.
Not to hijack, but as a sidenote story...

A few months back I finished writing control code for a bipolar stepper (it was to replace a DC motor currently in use). The motor itself was no more than 3/4" long and 1/4" diameter, with a 1/4" long gear train stuck on the end. this was attached to an external gear that after all was said and done provided a 400:1 step-down. That itty bitty motor could lift 12+ pounds from the floor at several inches/second, and my tweaked acceleration profile (calculated on the fly) had it up to speed in less than a quarter of a second.

I was stunned at the power and speed of that little motor. The worst problem I had? Figuring out that a mere 10-15mils of slop in the gear train was making it lose steps whenever it changed direction, often causing the motor to do nothing. Once the problem was recognized a few tweaks in software prevented that from happening again (either way, the slip at the business end of the gear train was immeasurable). I tell you, anyone who knocks on steppers as being a poor substitute to servos just hasn't worked with both.

[Dave Johnson29]

I tell you, anyone who knocks on steppers as being a poor substitute to servos just hasn't worked with both.

Dan,

I was not knocking steppers per-se in favor of Servos, in fact quite the contrary I am a great fan of uni-polar set ups. They are a lot less complicated to install and run. Some modern controllers can equal the performance of Servos, providing you keep their operating limitations within their scope and do not create a situation where they may lose steps.

The comment against bi-polar is that they consume almost twice the power to do what a uni-polar will do. Sorry if that point was not clear in my post.

[Dave Johnson29]

Dave those systems use a Vexta PH 296-02 for X & Y axis and a PH 268-21 for the Z axis.


Hi Mike,

I am not familiar with those stepper numbers and too lazy to check. :rolleyes:

My main objection is against bi-polar motors and that would mean 4-wires. However they probably have a NEMA mounting and could easily be replaced with newer surplus uni-polar motors for minimal extra cost.

It sounds like a lot of work, but John states he is familiar with the workings of DIY CNC and it might make a great hobby adventure. ;) Having said that, I agree with you and would be talking in the range of a few hundred bucks for the entire thing.

[Dan Hintz]

Dave, I didn't take your post in any poor light... my comment was simply a continuation of my line of thought. :)

[John Jackson]

Thanks for all the advice!

When I was looking over the table, I did check and saw six wires coming from the steppers.

If I did take it, If the two NEMA 34 steppers did not have too high amperage I would drive it with a Rockcliff driver. I have visited Nick and seen his stuff in action, they seem to work very well. I can then drive it with Mach 3 and send g-code to it.

http://www.rockcliffmachine.com/RockcliffMotorDriverV108.pdf

This board sells under $200, I would also need a 24 volt power supply, enclosure, some relays and software.

Any comment on the other items for sale there - for example what is a 24" safety saw worth, or the vacuum chip extractor, or the beveler?

Thanks,

John