XYZ Prototrak PRO 2000

[Mr Fro]

I've got the opportunity to scoop one of these up. I don't know the price but I do know the seller and I expect it to be in quite good condition.

The trouble is that I don't know much about them. I know they're CNC and about Bridgeport size but that's about it!

Has anyone got any knowledge or had any use of one who wouldn't mind shedding some light please?

Cheers,
Fro

 

[cr500dom]

Easier to learn than full cnc
Think of it as a halfway house between a manual and full cnc

If you are starting from scratch, learning full cnc would be my choice
If you are coming from a manual machining background then the proto tracks are designed for you

 

[Johnnybravo]

Easy to programe but of no use what so ever if you want to go further with Cnc. Programmes are conversational and are written as events, not as G code. Very versatile machines and very quick to learn.Most people only scratch the surface of what the controller can actually do. Difficult to use in conjunction with a CADCAM package, but not impossible.

 

[James1979]

Easy to programe but of no use what so ever if you want to go further with Cnc. Programmes are conversational and are written as events, not as G code. Very versatile machines and very quick to learn.

^ that

I picked one up quickly in a place I worked for a while.

Nothing like the G-Code I use now. It was a good thing especially as I was a CNC novice but had a decent grip of manual machining.

 

[Munkul]

Don't pay too much for one. Think of it as a bridgeport that makes your life slightly easier some times.

 

[mtt.tr]

Don't pay too much for one. Think of it as a bridgeport that makes your life slightly easier some times.

I'd argue they are far more useful than slightly easier

 

[Johnnybravo]

Don't pay too much for one. Think of it as a bridgeport that makes your life slightly easier some times.

Did you ever use one , given you were asking the same questions as the OP in March this year?

I would say you are way off the mark there,or you never really got to grips with programming it, unless you have some magical Bridgeport that can do pocketing,contouring and bolt hole profiles on its own.The Prototrak system is a lot more than “ a Bridgeport that makes your life easier”. On a mill it’s brilliant. Never liked it on the lathe though, had that on an XYZ 455 lathe ,3m between centres and found it very annoying. Had a habit of cutting the corners of your profile off if it couldn’t think quick enough to compute the tool path,so after you realised what it was doing and had mullered a couple of parts,you had to turn the feed rate down. Like a dog chasing a rabbit through your garden and not following the garden path

 

[Johnnybravo]

Done on a Prototrak

 

[Johnnybravo]

The 3000 is just a bigger version of the 2000, control is identical.
Thread 'Talk to me about Prototraks...'
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/talk-to-me-about-prototraks.120180/

 

[Munkul]

I never used one in anger, to be fair. I just had a play with the controls on a 2000 and 3000.
My centroid mill is just as easy to program conversationally but can also take Gcode, runs in true 3d all the time and is incredibly flexible compared to prototrak of the same age, so I suppose I'm just being snobbish you're absolutely right to pull me up on that.

I have a mate who loves his two xyz 455s, had them for about 8 years now and they've been worked hard, one of them the console is dead and he has a beige box and monitor hanging on the headstock to control it now but they're both getting replaced by Alphas.

 

[James1979]

Done on a Prototrak

View attachment 365348

That’s what we were making. Arcs with hole patterns, basically.

I found that really easy to pick up.

 

[Mr Fro]

Thanks guys - interesting stuff.

I've seen a video of a technician programming a modern one and it looks pretty intuitive. This one is from the 90s so a bit more "retro" but I presume the same functionality.

Much as I... enjoy... manual machining, the prospect of tapping in a programme including pockets and hole table etc then pressing "go" really appeals.

When I said CNC earlier I meant "bung in some numbers and whizzy stuff happens" rather than import gcode so my mistake.

It seems like a good way to increase productivity / repeatability to me. Still waiting to hear back from the guy though...

 

[Johnnybravo]

Thanks guys - interesting stuff.

I've seen a video of a technician programming a modern one and it looks pretty intuitive. This one is from the 90s so a bit more "retro" but I presume the same functionality.

Much as I... enjoy... manual machining, the prospect of tapping in a programme including pockets and hole table etc then pressing "go" really appeals.

When I said CNC earlier I meant "bung in some numbers and whizzy stuff happens" rather than import gcode so my mistake.

It seems like a good way to increase productivity / repeatability to me. Still waiting to hear back from the guy though...

It will boost your productivity tenfold. Well worth acquiring. Pity you aren’t closer or you could have a play on mine. I came from a cnc background, offline programming g code etc. Moved continent and first place I worked at had one. Initially thought it as a huge backwards step, but after a couple of weeks I realised it’s worth. I have machining centres, vmc’s and a 4 axis lathe. I wouldn’t be without my 3000slx. Very capable and useful , quick to programme when I don’t want to disturb another machine. I don’t use it as much as I used to, but I definitely won’t be selling it any time soon.