2012/5/12 k...@gmail.com <kliegelmach...@gmail.com>: > There is a bit of talk on some machine shop forums, arguments perhaps, that > retrofitting a machine is a waste of time.
[irony=true] Yes, of course, retrofitting 20-years old machine with a budget 7K EUR is total waste of money, better purchase new machining centre for 180K EUR. That definitely is not a waste of money. [irony=false] I am 101% sure that opinions like You mentioned are actually posted by people, connected to manufacturers or distributors of overpriced machines. Because, if everyone will use their machines as long as the basic mechanics last (and solving the electronics problems and minor mechanical issues by retrofitting them) will considerably reduce their sales. So I always am very skeptical about such opinions. Unless I do personally know that person. > And that it's time and money well spent to just buy a good used > machine and move on with making money with it. Why would anyone sell a used machine in perfect condition? Even if they do, the price will be adequately high. I guess that machines less than 5 years old fall into category - used, but still in great condition. If new machine costs 180K EUR, how do You think, will it be cheaper than 40-50K EUR? I do not think so. It depends, on what do people do during retrofit: I have been offered a 4-axis CNC mill. Produced 24 years ago. Total runtime - 0 hours. The controls cabinet was damaged, when it was transported from factory, the machine has never been turned on. The price - ridiculously low. Estimated cost to get LinuxCNC running on it - less than 2KEUR (included - brand new PC, I/O electronics, servo drives and wiring, partially included - my own time and effort). Total cost - maybe 10% of the previous example. So tell me one good reason, why should I refuse that deal? On the other hand, if retrofit is associated with use of Siemens (or whatever other ridiculously overpriced stuff) solutions, then I agree - IMHO that is total waste of money. I have heard that the licence for their CNC controller software alone is 7-8K EUR and it will not do anything that LinuxCNC is not capable of. Even better, try to change something there - add function You would like to have or whatever. Did I mention that their CNC controller probably will work only with their proprietary field bus and require their servo drives, which cost 20x Mesa drive price? The licence price alone would let You to retrofit all the electronics and drives and get LinuxCNC up and making chips. It is all about money and cnc industry is so overpriced that they will do whatever it takes to keep people away from retrofitting their old machines instead of purchasing new (even if You purchase used machine, the seller is very likely to purchase brand new from the distributor). Viesturs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
