Denford Orac conversion to new CNC controller
Posted: Tue 23 Mar , 2021 12:06 pm
Hi all,
Recently I bought an Orac with production number 64 (june 1984).
The previous onwner has completely stripped all CNC related parts (control cabinet is empty and steppers are removed, main motor still present).
All important surfaces (bed, bearings, ballscrews) were completely free of rust and heavily covered in oil and grease.
Over the last days, I completely disassembled the machine, except from the main spindle which I could not get disassembled without using excessive force. All parts are now cleaned and re-lubricated. Next step will be ordering all CNC controls to convert it to EdingCNC, which is a (semi)professional CNC hard- and software controll from a Dutch company.
Plan is to mount 2 Nm stepper on the x-axis and a 2.5 Nm to the y-axis and adding VFD to the main motor.
I would like to build an enclosure comparable to the one in the image-link below.
viewtopic.php?t=3782
The original belt covers I will preserve for authenticity as they contain the numbered tags, but discard the original stand and electronics bay as this is dented, rusty and it puts the lathe too high over my workbench anyway.
Now I have some questions:
- Was anybody succesful in replacing the main bearings? And if so how did you get the assembly apart? I did not succeed, not even with heavy pulley pullers
- Does anyone know the RAL color of this lathe? I would like to repaint the bed and give the new enclosure the same (similar) color.
Regards,
Xander
Belgium
Recently I bought an Orac with production number 64 (june 1984).
The previous onwner has completely stripped all CNC related parts (control cabinet is empty and steppers are removed, main motor still present).
All important surfaces (bed, bearings, ballscrews) were completely free of rust and heavily covered in oil and grease.
Over the last days, I completely disassembled the machine, except from the main spindle which I could not get disassembled without using excessive force. All parts are now cleaned and re-lubricated. Next step will be ordering all CNC controls to convert it to EdingCNC, which is a (semi)professional CNC hard- and software controll from a Dutch company.
Plan is to mount 2 Nm stepper on the x-axis and a 2.5 Nm to the y-axis and adding VFD to the main motor.
I would like to build an enclosure comparable to the one in the image-link below.
viewtopic.php?t=3782
The original belt covers I will preserve for authenticity as they contain the numbered tags, but discard the original stand and electronics bay as this is dented, rusty and it puts the lathe too high over my workbench anyway.
Now I have some questions:
- Was anybody succesful in replacing the main bearings? And if so how did you get the assembly apart? I did not succeed, not even with heavy pulley pullers
- Does anyone know the RAL color of this lathe? I would like to repaint the bed and give the new enclosure the same (similar) color.
Regards,
Xander
Belgium