Starmill PC

gimpwinches · Thu 27 Jan , 2011 1:28 am

Hi, I have a starmill and I want to convert it to mach3. I can find the stepper motor dirvers but im unsure what to do about the spindle motor.
I got the make and cat number from the side of the motor, heres a link to the motor and a link to the specs.
https://www.baldor.com/products/detail.a ... ralPurpose
https://www.baldor.com/products/specs.as ... ralPurpose
how will I be able to control this motor?

For the steppers I will be using a 24v power supply as they are 24v stepper motors, Then I will be using a 3 axis driver.

Thanks
Tom

Thu 27 Jan , 2011 10:04 am

I presume there have been various electronics used on the Starmill, so can you find a serial number and post a picture of the electronics ?

I'm pretty sure you'll be able to use the spindle drive that is currently used...

gimpwinches · Sat 29 Jan , 2011 1:20 am

Just uploaded a few pics to Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomhazard/ ... 927496624/
Thanks

Martin · Sat 29 Jan , 2011 11:40 am

The spindle drive is a Sprint 400 drive. You can download the data sheet from,

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2305

gimpwinches · Sat 29 Jan , 2011 23:51 pm

How would I control the spindle motor?
Im guessing I can use this https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT to control my steppers
and ill get my input voltage from https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT
And im using them with mach3.
How will I get the voltage for the spindle motor and how ill control the spindle speed?
Thanks

angel-tech · Sun 30 Jan , 2011 0:14 am

what year was the starmill made

gimpwinches · Sun 30 Jan , 2011 2:25 am

Despach dates Feb 1995, I dont know if thats the date you need or not.

angel-tech · Mon 31 Jan , 2011 11:15 am

gimpwinches wrote:Despach dates Feb 1995, I dont know if thats the date you need or not.

the conversion to mach3 is a lot easier than you think. You can keep the original steppers, drivers and power supply. All these items are perfectly suited for the job they're doing, all you need is a breakout board and an isolated analogue spindle board.

Mon 31 Jan , 2011 11:19 am

How will I get the voltage for the spindle motor and how ill control the spindle speed?

The mains voltage and fuses or breakers for the spindle drive are already in the machine aren't they ?

To control the spindle I think you will need a plugin board for Mach that can output 0-10v analogue
https://www.machsupport.com/plugins.php

It must be possible as someone is using mach with a sprint drive here:
https://www.mycncuk.com/forums/media.php ... ils&mid=30

angel-tech · Mon 31 Jan , 2011 11:30 am

The V3 board from diycnc is perfect for the job.

gimpwinches · Tue 01 Feb , 2011 3:41 am

Is there any walkthroughs or anything of what the best way for me to do this is? I already have the 3 axis control board and 24v supply and mach3, but if i was to use the original controllers how would i go about it and what would be everything i would need for the steppers and spindle to run.
Cheers

Tue 01 Feb , 2011 10:21 am

Try cnczone for more info on Mach retrofits.
You need to look through the Starmill electrical drawings, working out what you need, what you can disconnect and how to rewire things to the Mach board.
I wouldn't think you need to remove anything but the current CNC control...at the end of the day, all you want to tap into is the step + direction inputs to the stepper drives, the speed analogue input of the spindle and the home switches. (here you will need to be careful you aren't mixing up common supply voltages when connecting them to the mach I/o board)

angel-tech · Tue 01 Feb , 2011 12:51 pm

gimpwinches wrote:Is there any walkthroughs or anything of what the best way for me to do this is? I already have the 3 axis control board and 24v supply and mach3, but if i was to use the original controllers how would i go about it and what would be everything i would need for the steppers and spindle to run.
Cheers

I've pm'ed you my number if you want to give me a quick ring i'll guide you through it.

gimpwinches · Fri 04 Feb , 2011 22:44 pm

Another quick question. Im installing mach3 tomorrow and hopefully testing the machine out. With mach3 what do I need to know about the machine to set up the axis travel. Im guessing I will need the gear ratio from the motor. I can see that 2 of the axis have like 2.5-1 reduction on pulleys but does anyone know about the ballscrew?
Cheers

angel-tech · Fri 04 Feb , 2011 23:23 pm

if you're using the original drives and steppers its 200 steps per unit in metric

gimpwinches · Tue 08 Feb , 2011 1:29 am

Got the machine all up and running now. thanks for the help. Im controlling the spindle manually using a controller from RS components. Its does the job ok. But the controller itself makes quite a loud buzzing noise, Its ok for now tho.
Thanks Again.
Tom

Information