Churchill Computurn 290 retrofit (again)

[Hood]

It seems to go under a few different names, Wroclaw, Ponar Wrocklaw,, Tokarka, Polamco to name a few, then obviously Churchill and there was actually one for sale locally a month or two back that was branded Newall but it was the 2m bed version and I just don't have the room for that.
The model is TUR-50SN and I originally thought it was a Tarnow but they seem to be TUJ... then agian probably made by the same Polish CoOperative.

 

[Hood]

I thought previously a pendant would be a handy thing for when positioning tools for the tool setter but according to the SZGH manual you could not have certain features on the control panel if an pendant was attached. The things that supposedly wouldn't work were
Panel MPG
External Halt switch
External Run button
Rotary feed override switch
Rotary Spindle override switch.

For me the only two that I couldn't live without were the two rotary switches but I decided to have a go and see so I quickly lashed together a temporary pendant using the old switch panel from my lathe when it was Mach3 controlled.
I wired up the MPG and two rotary switches, one to give me X and Z axis selection, the other to give me x1, x10, x100 increments per click of the MPG.

Today I tested it out but it didn't go as planned. The rotary switches worked fine but the MPG on the pendant wouldn't work but the one on the panel was still working which I found strange so I double checked I had all the parameters , that I needed to change, set correctly, I did. So I hauled out the scope and the MPG on the pendant was working fine so I thought it must be an issue with the input socket on the control. I decided to see what would happen if I wired the pendants MPG in parallel with the panels MPG, well that didn't help, the panels one was still working but the pendant one was not or occasionally it would stutter the axis a bit.


I put the wiring back the way it was and decided to remove the power from the panel MPG, once I did that the pendants one worked, I then wired the power back to the panels MPG and it now worked but the pendants one didn't. I then wondered what would happen if I fitted a switch to break/connect the power to the panel MPG.

It worked.
If the power was to the panel MPG it worked, if I broke the power to it the pendant worked. But I still had the issue of the rotary switches not working so I decided to see what would happen if I set the parameters for them back and lo and behold they again worked and everything else seemed to work fine, so onto RS to order some 15 core curly cable and a housing

Vid of the MPG switching between panel and pendant by using the switch.

 

[Hood]

The pendant housing and curly cable arrive late this afternoon so before I left the workshop I got the housing milled for the MPG and buttons and also for a HD15 socket. The curly cable is not the best so I will have to see if I can find some heavier duty 15 core and also a bit longer.

This evening has been spent fitting the components and doing a bit of wiring.

I still have to make a front panel up with some engraved lettering but not sure what I will use. The one for my Plasma I had a bit of chromed plasticard and it was fine but I don't have any left so I will have to look around for other options. I also have to make a centre disc for the MPG as it is no longer a Mach3 controlled lathe

 

[Hood]

Bit of an update with some pics previously posted on the forum.
I found an aluminium lid off an old PC case and used that for making the panel for the pendant and MPG centre.

I bent up a bit of stainless for the bracket for hanging the pendant on and also welded a bit of 8mm round bar to the top of the handle to stop the pendant swiveling when mounted. (sorry for blurry pic)

And a pic of it in place.

Before I headed home I cut a bit of aluminium angle and made a plate for a socket.

I also hacked out a hole in the bottom of the cabinet with a grinder so that I could mount the plate.

Headed home and the evening has been spent soldering up a load of wires. Also got a right angle adapter today for the plug on the pendant so that the cable orientation is right. I would have preferred to mill the hole for the socket in the base of the pendant but it would have interfered with the rotary switches so I had to go with the angle adapter even though it is a bit more bulky.

 

[Hood]

I got the socket fitted earlier this evening.

From the outside.

From the inside.

Makes life a lot easier when positioning the tool at the toolsetter or even to stock as I can lean right in to the lathe and see how close I am. With slant bed lathes it is easy to see how close you are to the stock but as mine is a conventional bed with the rear turret getting the X close to the correct diameter is not easy unless you can lean right in and view from the top.