Mirac disaster and then you wouldnt believe it

[mark35gun]

regarding my last post about my mirac lathe, communication error
i said i would post my findings so here they are...............
i could not fix the problem! after virtualy dismantling the whole of the electrical side of the m/c and 3 days of checking everything with a multimeter, re-terminating at least 40 cables and then re soldering every joint on all the machine, including all boards i re assembled the machine and after careful checking that the machine was ready i turned on the machine it referenced as normal all seemed fine for about 10 mins and then........"there has been a communications error you must re-start the machine"anyway the point to all of this is, i bought the lathe of a well known northern machine tool dealer i wont say who but i will say that i complained about the lathe as i had not had it very long at all and was supposed to be in full working order, without the slightest quibble they gave me my money back in full and sent two men out to collect the lathe and were very apologetic,
so it may be that i was sad to se the mirac go but what a refreshing change because they could have been difficult about it, so if anyone is thinking about buying from a dealer then they could do a lot worse if things go wrong.i have got my eye on a cyclone lathe now!

ps if you want to know who the dealer was then pm me
and i will happily tell you.

[pete S]

Hi All,
New to forum -have read many posts on Mirac - first post for me though. -My machine: Mirac 1989-90. Original 286 computer replaced first w/400mhz then w/500 mhz w/Windows 98, 60 gig HD, replaced orig main motor drive-KEB combivert w/KEB F5, have had to replace a few switches (20 plus years old- not surprising), Have had problems with the Barufaldi 6 station Turret. The rotary switch in the backend of turret is disintegrating have repaired it a few times-need a new one if anyone knows where to get, replacing stepper motors to Lin 340 in'oz (have not completed this task yet)

Just a side note here:
I believe it is too bad you had to give up the machine, I believe the fix may have been relatively simple -(it took me 5 weeks to figure it out though and 2 minutes to "fix" )
For best results -The machine must be run in DOS, booted directly from A-Drive The error screen "Machine comunication error .......please restart..." (resulting in machine lock-up) was caused by improper bios settings on the replacement computer I installed. I had this problem any time I ran the machine, produced at random intervals while running, and anytime the machine sat idling for any length of time. After correcting the bios settings - problem gone!
If you would like to know the settings I ended up with, let me know and I will go back and log them for you.

Thanks
Pete S