ShopSabre 3636

[Carl Beckett]

Have been continuing to modify my CNC, when a listing for this SS popped up locally.

5hp ATC spindle - 5 tool stations but I assume more can be added. 36x36 working area. Vacuum table. Digitizer. Running WinCNC so that is a learning curve.

Heavy (was a bit of a project to get home and now sitting unassembled on my garage floor.

The downside is that it is 3 phase. That 'might' only mean the VFD would need swapped, in which case looks possible with modest $. Else I do have a RPC I run other equipment on but would be simpler for me to run on single phase.

The stepper drivers are Mitsubishi MR-E-40A-KH003. Appear to work on single phase 240

I have to say I am wondering if it is 'too much overkill' for me. We will see.

Only beginning the putting it together phase, so not entirely clear what I got myself into. But that is part of the fun, no?

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[Jim Becker]

The power can be dealt with in various ways. Do keep in mind that it may not be quite as simple as swapping out a VFD because of the level of integration of "all the things". You may want to touch bases with the manufacturer about what would be required to run the machine on single phase. ShopSabre is a very good company and yes, it's "beefy".

WinCNC shouldn't be a concern. It's an industrial level controller in capability that's been affordable. Both ShopSabre and Camaster have used it for many years, although the later has now transitioned to Centroid

My single biggest concern would be the table size. I own a similar machine from Camaster (no ATC) but it's 4x4 so I can at least throw a sheet of plywood or MDF up on there, either half or full sheet with extra support. It's rare I do that, but I can. That would not be a possibility on a 3x3 machine but it's not necessarily a problem for you depending on what you want to do. I strongly suspect that the particular machine you are looking at was made for a specific application, given the larger spindle HP and ATC, 3-phase power and the small 3x3 table format that still has vacuum.

[Carl Beckett]

Little bit of progress. That is it for now.

Will see what ShopSabre suggests for conversion. Worst case I put Centroid on it (happen to have an extra Acorn controller currently available).

The table size is a step up so I have not yearned for a full/half sheet historically. The bigger concern is edge work, which 'might' be possible with some tinkering - still TBD.

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[Michael Burnside]

Man, what a cool machine and that's a quality spindle you got there too. I think 36x36 is a perfect size for most things without having to take up too much space.

ShopSabre is a good company, as Jim said, so I wouldn't hesitate to reach out if/when you have any questions.

[Carl Beckett]

First cut! (it is a masterpiece!!)

Did convert to the Centroid Acorn. A learning curve but the Centroid documentation and user support is fantastic.

And a shout out to the ShopSabre support team as well - they provided some key info and were also fantastic.

Prelim wiring rats nest shown that still needs cleaned up. But just like that, I have a monster of a machine with a fully functional ATC and latest/greatest control software.


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[Jim Becker]

Congratulations!

Camaster just migrated all the new non-high end machines to Centroid controller software instead of WinCNC. 'Glad you were able to do the conversion on that very nice machine!