I Bought a Giant 40 Year Old CNC Machine

[@SeanHodgins]

Infomercial Sean might be unhinged, but you can still support the channel at shop.idlehandsdev.com

[@bonkbonk92]

Old CNCs, clever video editing, humor, perfection! Keep it up man!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks!

[@christianheidt5733]

I'll program that on the machine in like 1/2 hr using g71, g72, & g75 and it certainly won't be 300 lines of code! Great vid!

[@christianheidt5733]

Also I can reprogram depths of cuts on the fly by changing variables in the can cycles. Which means I can prove out the program in 5 minutes flat. Been doing this for 35 years now

[@hacksmith]

That was fantastic!!! Loved the narrative -- these videos just keep getting better!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! That really means a lot.

[@llMarvelous]

Guys, you grew so large, you’ve done many epic things, help this man grow too, such a potential, I can’t believe he has only 150K, this content deserves couple of millions at least @SH keep up keeping up, man, you doing amazing! It’s very inspiring, coz I’m doing stuff too, and your videos got to me at right time! Thank you!

[@evanbarnes9984]

Dude, you've become the William Gibson of KZbin maker channels! I love the cyberpunk nearby alternate reality and the overtones of Max Headroom and Lance Boyle of Megarace

[@SeanHodgins]

The possibilities are literally endless now

[@justinbanks2380]

Such an accurate comment! Spot on

[@UnexpectedMaker]

Sean, your workshop is looking amazing (from what I could glimpse) - I'd love to see more of the space when you are ready!

[@SeanHodgins]

I should get a mobile livestream working and do a Q&A workshop tour!

[@Roetz40]

I used to own a MS Sl-5a. These are incredibly well made machines and the fanuc controlls (I had a 10t) were way ahead of its age. Keep this machine, fill the lubrication system every once in a while and it will run forever with really great precision and stability! Loved the cyberpunked session!

[@SeanHodgins]

Love to hear it! I want to keep it going for as long as I can on the original hardware. We’ll see how that goes. Thanks!

[@jsihavealotofplaylists]

​@@SeanHodgins Bubble memory?

[@idus]

@@jsihavealotofplaylists I was using dnc until it froze at 100k lines on my mill. I think lathes have smaller programs when 2axis and dnc should be just fine. Off topic but you mentioned memory and I had to add to it.

[@markoreilly3414]

1st CNC I ever worked was a MS TL-5 , saw it installed as a 2nd yr apprentice (17), it's still in use now, & I'm 57, that's 40 yrs of constant use in the same shop ! Awesome machines.

[@WatchWesWork]

Those are still pretty viable machines. Those are "yellow cap" Fanuc brushed DC servos. It should use a +/- 10V analog signal instead of step and direction. The 6T is a good control that can do anything a 2 axis lathe should ever need to do. The offsets are kind weird as I recall, they don't really have a work offset, but there are ways around that. I had a 1980 Mazak Slant Turn 15 with a Fanuc 6T control. It was a solid machine.

[@SeanHodgins]

Still learning more about it every day! It uses a grid system with G50. I'm not doing that though. I'm just basing all of the tool offsets from tool 1. So tool 1 is "0, 0" and all the other offsets are the difference from there. So I will call, say tool 2, with T0200, so that it switches tools, then T0202 to load the offset and move to that location.

[@WatchWesWork]

@@SeanHodgins That works. You may find it more convenient to set your tool Z offset from a fixed location (face of the collet nose or whatever), then set the G50 from the same location. That way you don't have to reset the tools for every job, you just have to set the G50, which as I recall is done inside the program. There were some other weird things. Using constant surface speed the RPMs would go wonky during a tool change. That was so annoying I pretty much gave up using it. Also I had to add a couple relays to trick the PLC so I could do bar pulling. Without those relays the control would not allow a feed move with an RPM of zero or with the chuck open.

[@rep2403]

On my machine, I tool index and set my Z offsets from Z G30 2nd reference return pos position. There are a lot of ways to do this, but for me, this is the cleanest way to work with a machine that only has offset for wear(there is no geometry page). My format is G30 U0 W0; Txx00; G50 X0 Z0; then set G50 Xx Zx (offset values) from this location. This is, of course, if you have the optional 2nd ref return on the machine. My machine moves the slides the instant it pickups the values in the wear register at the TxxXX line. Can you give you a heart attack if the values are too large or might over-travel if done at home pos. It's good practice to limit your offsets to about .010

[@galactica1980]

Was about to say they are dc M series servos. Beat me to it man.

[@CrawfordMethod]

There are a couple of ways to do tool offsets on a 6T machine... the most modern way is if your machine has the “custom macro B” option. If you have this option you can write a little code to made it behave like a modern machine with geometry offsets. My machine doesn’t have this option, it’s slightly older with the DC spindle and the brushed servos. You have a very desirable old piece of iron! I have a video on my channel describing how to program with G50 offsets if you want to see another way to do it.

[@TradieTrev]

That's a mad project mate! I wish you the best of luck, the old ladies were meant to last!

[@SeanHodgins]

She fired right up!

[@hirochima26]

about 5:30 i used to work on a MAHO1000 and in order to get all lines of program sent to the cnc you need EOT in the end of the programm which is " alt + 4 " ,otherwise i always get 5 lines missing, and that should solve the problem of missing lines in the end it would be nice if you reply with a feed back :3

[@SeanHodgins]

And again, learning incredibly useful information from the comments section. Thank you!

[@hirochima26]

@@SeanHodgins you're welcome glad i could help :D

[@justinbanks2380]

6:48 your lighting and narration. And this bit of closing black bars, but made real. So unique and creative! Awesome man!

[@thefahj-122]

As an individual who has been running machines like this since the 80's, the punch tape does not necessarily run the machine. It was mainly storage media because the machine has internal storage. The only time we ever ran machines off the tape was if the program exceeded the storage of the machine. Machines that were just NC, required the tape to run. We typically wrote programs longhand on a programming sheet then, used a Flexowriter typewriter to create the punched tape. You could splice the tapes with edits or make edits at the machine then connect a tape punch to the RS-232 to punch a new tape. Also, programming is simplified by the use of canned cycles that allowed you to rough and finish by defining the finished shape and using a 2-line code to establish depth of cut and stock allowances. CAD\CAM software was available but, the cost of the software was almost as much as the machine. Back in those days, a machine like this cost about 3x the average cost of a house. Those old Mori-Seiki lathes were indestructible along with the Fanuc controls. Nice score!

[@SeanHodgins]

Really cool, thanks for the history! I’m not sure how to use the canned cycles yet. I would love to find a tape punching machine just for fun.

[@ParallaxFPV]

Just stumbled upon your channel and i'm thoroughly impressed with the production quality/entertainment value of your content! Cnc turner here, you're going to want to look into canned cycles for longhand gcode programming, line by line positional programming is great if you're generating it using a post processor and DON'T have to type it all out by hand, it does give you a lot more control over each movement but you can produce programs far more quickly and introduce a more parametric structure to each cycle with canned cycles, once you've got the basic format down for each type of cycle you can simply tweak the conditions to your liking and get a result much more quickly than essentially spelling out every movement the machine needs to make. They're the next best thing to conversational programming and can save a lot of time once you get to grips with them.

[@samtennery1182]

just came across your channel. I was a cnc machinist for 35 yrs. I ran and programmed several mori lathes. SL-1 SL-6 SL-8 and SL-80. all with fanuc controls. mostly 6t but some with earlier versions and some newer up to 10t. then mori went into "conversational programming" where you could describe a part boundary, part geometry, tooling geometries, and it would generate g-code for the tool paths on the machine. similar to mazatrol programming on mazaks. glad to see these can still be in use today.

[@samtennery1182]

that thing looks pristine it must've been in shrink wrap or something. i even still have an old mylar program tape from back in the day but its for an allen-bradley control on some warner-swasey lathes. they were a previous generation of programming called leading zero and in radius programming. so a 1.125 dia. would be X005625 on the program. from the looks of your x-z program numbers your using mm dimensions.

[@MarcSallent]

I came here super early and the $1 spinners were still available, but shipping to Barcelona was $10... So not buying the spinner but buying one of those Super Thanks. I prefer you to keep the money and not some postal service

[@SeanHodgins]

Wow thank you! Shipping costs are the bane of my existence.

[@wizrom3046]

I've done elec tech work on that era of machines ie 70's and 80's CPUs. Those huge boards full of chips use a lot of DC power and get real hot, so you get bad connection issues on connectors due to heat and chip failures due to heat. If you want to use this for proper production work, I recommend real good fan cooling of the enclosures using modern fans that move more air (ie remove more heat). Also, check the DC supply lines for ripple and noise they are usually under-capacitored and the caps degrade over years too. You can scope the rails and check that, and examine electros for bulging cases. Also sagging 5v rails etc. Another good idea is to put liberal amounts of a good brand name electrical connector lube on all the plug connectors, especially important if it has been in or will be in a higher humidity environment. Good luck!

[@nefariousyawn]

This is very exciting. I'm no machinist, but the beauty looks beastly enough to cut more than a little brass. Have you tried programming the arm to do the loading and starting on the machine?

[@SeanHodgins]

Yeah I don’t think it even knows the brass is there.

[@handleshtick]

Wow, this was great! It's been a long time since I've seen so much creativity and ingenuity packed into a youtube video. And the machine is sick, very jealous! Hats off!

[@BloodAsp]

Awesome machine! Not too long ago I traveled shop to shop retrofitting these bad boys to receive their programs from wifi. It was a fun job, I had a good boss, but rarely saw them as I was on the road a lot. I dealt with the gambit of machines from shiny new, micro, old crusty trusty, the behemoths, and so on. My favorite to see were always the age old ones where the circuitry hasn't seen the light of day since the days of yore, those always had beautiful hand routed traces. What an art! The issue you had with the end not sending was a common error. Take a look at the hidden special characters and what your machine expects. I don't recall off the top of my head what your machine expects, but that is the likely cause in my experience. I honestly miss that job, but seeing all the shops, electronics, set ups, parts, infrastructure, not to mention the people was great. I took something with less travel for a bit of sanity though. Maybe the funniest thing was when I had to get on a machine to retrofit it, told the foreman, he laughed, said the only guy who knew how to operate that dinosaur was out. I asked to look at it anyway, started poking at it, and got it up without ever being one one of those specific machines before. The dude flat out offered me a job on the spot. I chuckled and asked if he'd be paying for my three day commute each time. Besides, I don't actually know how to machine, just how to interface with them. This video brought me back to those days, thanks.

[@BloodAsp]

It looks like bunger8658 already mentioned the specific one, awesome viewers!

[@SeanHodgins]

Great story, it will be a sad day when there are no more of these old dinosaurs. Luckily there will always be a small handful of people keeping them going. I like the wifi idea. I've been thinking about it more and more and it would make more sense to just have a raspberry pi to send over the program. and I could maybe program it to automatically enable the "read" and set the program name. I will look into the end character, that does sound like what is happening. I think maybe I forgot to add it into the NC transfer program.

[@MrChaso123]

Is there anyway you could point me in the right direction of how to upgrade an old dinosaur to take programs over wifi? Currently using Dnet hubs and punching over the programs. Would be amazing to bring these old machines into the 21st century…

[@BloodAsp]

@@MrChaso123 I'm not with that team any more, but if you run a machine shop that you wanted up, I'm sure they'd talk with you. Leave an email and I'll send you their site. If you are particularly ambisious, Sean's mention of a raspberry pi works for others. I'm haven't seen it my self, but I've heard of it and can beleive it's been done a number of times.

[@rep2403]

The Fanuc System 6 b is a very robust piece of hardware. This one of the first "modern" controls. I think its 1st control to have that fancy CRT. I'm convinced one these controls will be running when they are a 100 years old. The oldest I run was installed in December of 1979, runs almost every day with little to no maintenance. Some I/o board relays are getting wonky thou, replaced the main power supply once, and replaced the encoder cables in 2006. The other hardware is untouched in my 20 years of knowing the machine. This control made me an undying Fanuc loyalist with purchasing newer machines. It has it quirks but, if you look thru the lens of 1980. It's was ground breaking technology. Long live the SYSTEM 6!!!!

[@SeanHodgins]

I’ll be 97 when it’s 100 so it may be a little bit difficult to test this theory but I’ll try my best!

[@Screw_This]

Glad to see you survived the persistance of vision Christmas tree of death project. This is another great video. And that lathe is a beast.

[@SeanHodgins]

This version of me did at least!

[@Cartierusm]

Good find. I bought a 1978 Mori SL1 Lathe about 6 or 7 Years ago. I ripped out the electronics and servos and put new servos in, built an electronics cabinet, used mach 4, wrote some code for the Mod Bus and PLC to control the tool changer and now it's like any other modern CNC Lathe, but better as Mach 4 is way easier to learn (I've been using Mach for 20+ years) than FANUC. They are great lathes, enjoy.

[@SeanHodgins]

Want to do it again? haha Ill see how long I live with the original system.

[@Cartierusm]

@@SeanHodgins LOL Sure!! Where do you live? Should I email you from the email in your "about"?

[@lariatcanada7226]

This is exactly how I learned when I took CNC machining in my second year in college. Writing code on Windows 95 then using RS-232 to "drip" the lines into a running machine because it had a very limited memory. A pro tip from a bad student is to make bigger spaces on your number lines. Instead of counting N01,N02,N03, etc. Go N001,N005,N010. That way if you mess up and need to add something in you can edit directly on the machine adding a line in between. Loved the video!

[@lzus6676]

Having suffered through a similar project myself, i can recommend to change your PP to only add sequence numbers on tool change. It dramatically reduces the filesize and transfer times while being funtionally an improvement if you need to jump to certain operations.

[@SeanHodgins]

That is an excellent idea, I hadn't thought of that. Searching without the sequence numbers is just as easy since a computer screen is right there.

[@steveggca]

Hi Sean nice looking machine ! If it is a 1985 or later machine I might have done the original installation, assuming it was sold new in canada . The servo drives are +/-10vdc analog Not stepper .if you look on the drive you might see a DAC chip . If you need a new rabbit hole to fall into Do some research on bubble memory. That was the original memory used There once was a thriving business of selling unauthorized replace memory boards because bubble was very expensive and not so reliable Oh if you have not done so already its Extremely important to check the condition and length of the servo motor brushes .there is a section in the manual explaining how

[@SeanHodgins]

Thats amazing, it is a 1985 I believe! Great! Ill check it out. I have all the documentation for the machine. I might even have a receipt if the brushes were ever replaced.

[@drafty0183]

One of our oldest machines (an Okuma MC60-VA) uses bubble memory. Not very big at all, but then there's the floppy disk for a backup, and program storage.

[@kfasllc]

The machine appears to be in great condition. The electrical cabinet looks really clean (perhaps you gave it some TLC after you acquired it?). These Mori Seiki SL1 ~SL8 series lathes were real workhorses here in Houston, Texas in the oil tool industry in the 80s and well into the 90s. There are still many machine shop owners here holding on to these for "sentimental value" (the very first CNC machine they bought etc.). In case you do not have yet, here are some manuals you may want for future reference. Fanuc 6T-B Maintenance Manual B52245E, DC Servo M-Series Maintenance Manual B53265E, AC Spindle Maintenance Manual B53425E. Great video!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you! I actually didn't clean any of the electrical stuff. Some of the seals are crumbling to pieces, but everything looks well taken care of. Thanks for the manual references. I have the Fanuc 6T-B one I think, but missing the others.

[@Mitch3D]

Great video! I love these old CNC restorations, it would be cool to make a modern post processor to punch tape converter so you can use the original tape reader. I ordered one of those spacetime spinners, love the idea of doubling prices to make limited edition items.

[@SeanHodgins]

Limited edition, those are the words I was looking for! Anyway, I had that exact conversation with my friend today, the punch tape idea. I would love to get the punch tape working on the machine.

[@BloodAsp]

Ohhh, that is a rager of an idea, I love it!

[@steveggca]

@@SeanHodgins Hi Sean If you are going to do tape punch right, the name you need to know is Facit . there should still be a few machines around , be warned though, industry abandoned tape in the mid 80's without a single tear shed (except maybe by Lars the NA Facit distributer) , any that are left would be setting abandoned and forgotted in a storage room. With the addition of the rs232 port and some actual program storage memory (see my bubble comment), programs were loaded either with a pc on a cart, or all the cool kids would have a Facit n1050 (Lars is happy again) floppy drive. the n1050 (and/or a PC) could also "dripfeed" the program, if it was larger that storage memory. We used to use words like non-volitile way back then 🤓. Any how back to tape, before "large" non-volitiale memory , the tape was spliced into a continous loop ,read as needed, and then stop at program end ,ready for the next run. Once again there were cool kids and they would use mylar instead of paper. The aerospace companies had profiling milling programs 100's of metres long. Have you by chance wondered why early cnc refered to program memory in Metres?

[@alangunn7254]

I spent a fun week or two some years ago getting "BTRs" (Behind Tape Readers) working on a bunch of machines in Scotland. 🙂 They were for machines that ONLY had tape readers (No RS232!) and simulated the action of the holes sliding past the reader! :-)

[@MakerGrigio]

Sean, you are an inspiration to makers everywhere! writing, editing, Shots, lighting. and a unique promotion. Fantastic! just saw this, spinner is already at 8 bucks.

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! Yep $8 almost sold out. I think the ideal price is $16 so still a deal. Lol

[@zacharyclark4524]

That thing is surprisingly clean for as old as it is! Nice work too!

[@PCBWay]

Just blown away when watching the end ! Good story and excellent acting. ❤

[@SeanHodgins]

Whos acting? 😆 Thank you!

[@agepbiz]

Love the editing! Great video

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks, there wouldn’t be any video without it! 😁

[@adicahya]

wow ... Sean. The workshop i was working, bought a second-hand CNC 5-axis once. When we bought it, i think is around 15 years old or something. We have some trouble with it. Sometimes works, sometimes not, until we gave up one day. See all the PCB board, the chuck, the tools and everything brings back memories :)

[@SeanHodgins]

Ill keep is going as long as I can, but this machine is definitely a lot "simpler" than a 5-axis. I hoping it will stick around for awhile.

[@itsbattlebusdad]

Have no idea what a single piece of this equipment is or does, but the editing in this video is just great

[@SeanHodgins]

I like to think you gained a little bit of knowledge, no? Lol

[@tugaric]

bro, I'm equally amazed you got space to store all of those beauties. I might be hyper jalous. Anyway awesome vid

[@SeanHodgins]

I'm still amazed every time I walk into the place.

[@victorinamine3720]

I'm from Brazil and I watch your videos. I loved your channel. Fantastic!!! Keep posting videos with this machine

[@bluustreak6578]

As a machine interested computer programmer, I have dreams about getting an old cnc machine sometimes, filled with panik over the work needed to get it running, mixed with faschination over what it can do. This video speaks to me with the layers of lore, synthwave, and machining. Like a clip from a weirdly interesting movie

[@SeanHodgins]

I knew I wasn't the only one! I was a little worried it wouldn't work, but good thing I was wrong. Just need to keep it going.

[@fedeyoutub]

nice video, I'm really curious about the spindle runout, and the precision of the axes, could you do a test with a comparator to see the precision of the repositioning?

[@cielakovsky]

Great video! Wow, 3:34 and other PCBs is like poetry (I am more electronic than mechanic) :) Good luck with this machine!

[@SeanHodgins]

They are really cool. Thank you!

[@aerobiotic]

New (old) toys are fun. Glad to see you posting videos again.

[@SeanHodgins]

Really fun, even more so now that I know it works!

[@richardhaugh5076]

Worked on those machines when they were state of the art. I go back to the nc machines that used vacuum tubes. Our Mori’s were the first cnc machines with a crt. Brings back good memories. Going to retire next year with 47 years in the machining business.

[@hamadaag5659]

It's so encouraging to see someone I look up to who also has T1D, this is amazing.

[@WieslawPaleta]

Synth music in your productions is just great! I love it :D

[@MichielDeJong56b5g]

Perfection! A real art piece

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you!

[@davidbootle6207]

I worked on this machine in my career as a machinist. These old machines used to use punch tapes to input programs, it was basically a very long piece of paper that would be printed from a computer and the machine would then be fed this and input a program by reading the spaces and dots on the paper. Really cool stuff, however we have a server connected to it now which makes the process much faster lol. This make is also a gearbox machine so it can pack quite a punch on some material, rather then the more modern driven machines. Makes it real good for cutting large square blocks if that kind of work comes around.

[@SeanHodgins]

I want to find one of the punching machines just to see it work!

[@alexcrouse]

I just stumbled across this channel and this video was ART. Fantastic work! Welcome to the world of old ass machines!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! Now I just need to keep it going!

[@falklan]

When I started an industrial machine shop program they had recently purchased a CNC mill, and by the time it was delivered and installed, it was obsolete. None of us had CNC training and I was one of the last few people to complete the 2 year course before they closed the machine shop program.

[@TomCei]

Back in 2009 I worked on one of these exact cnc lathes. We called it the Mori Shocki. There was a short somewhere and if you touched the control panel while closing the door, you'd get a nice little shock. We also had to keep the back open and a fan on it to keep it from overheating. Poor machine shops, man lol.

[@GermanMythbuster]

OMG you have to build a flux capacitor in to the Tape reader compartment! 3:48 - The door window looks just like in the movie 😱🤩🤩

[@salimbenbouz]

Normal people: Place logo and animate scale. Sean: Programs the "the assistant" robot arm holding a physical cut out and films a timelapse instead. 😂 I can watch hours of this stuff! I absolutely appreciate the level of detail and thought you put into your productions Sean. Can't wait to get my 0xFE294302. Question: Is infomercial Sean referring to the 13th key from couple years ago? 🤔The writing on the board behind him looks like some sort of a puzzle ... am I reading too much into this?? Has the key been found? so many questions

[@SeanHodgins]

I love how that shot turned out so much

[@userjhansen3197]

To my knowledge, the key has not been found

[@salimbenbouz]

@@userjhansen3197 interesting 🤔

[@kayboku7281]

I used to operate a very similar range of cnc machines when i was an apprentice fitter and turner, and yes we did load one of the okumas with punch tape! But that was old technology then (1994), but cad cam did not exist, so you had to write the gcode programs by hand. Most of the machines had 5 1/4 inch disk drives, so you could write the program on a 386 computer, put it on the 5 1/4 inch floppy disk and put it onto the machine. Nice to see one still running!

[@kayboku7281]

is it an okuma with a fanuc controller? I cant quite tell from the video

[@Supercecco85]

We have Mori Seikis in Ansaldo Energia in Genoa, we use them to produce the smaller blades for Gas and Steam Turbines. The versions in the Blade Workshop are now newer than this one but fairly sure we used one like this one 30 years ago.

[@djoobstil]

That was awesome. Just the right amount of strange to captivate until the very end. Loved it.

[@SeanHodgins]

Need to be a little strange to want to buy one of these machine tbh lol

[@mchristr]

You're living the dream my friend. I'm probably too old to learn CNC programming but I'd love to waste my retirement playing with a manual Bridgeport.

[@1jarvin1]

That commercial gives me such Mr. Robot vibes somehow. Very surreal vibe, well done!

[@SeanHodgins]

It’s not a gimmick!

[@austiwawa]

Fantastic video! Keep it up Sean!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! I think you're in the area? If you ever want to come check out the shop let me know. (jump on the discord if you want)

[@radekgrabski3482]

I love what you`r doing, love your creativity and sence of humor. I wish you will produce more ! grettings form Poland Europe !

[@SeanHodgins]

I definitely will, Thanks! Hello to all my viewers from Poland!

[@scottbrowder4967]

The old Mori's are great machines and can make some really nice parts. The G code isnt that bad to program manually once you get the hang of it. Try and find the operators manuals, they really have a wealth of info.

[@SeanHodgins]

Yeah I'm actually getting pretty quick on the controls. I'm figuring out all the machines little quirks. I actually do have all the manuals and (most of) the machine repair and maintenance history. Pretty crazy.

[@Will2Nibbles]

i just love this, every time i see an upload i drop everything to watch it, i LOVE your channel. Keep up the exquisite work, i love the style

[@SeanHodgins]

Wow I appreciate that, I hope your job isn’t like monitoring a nuclear reactor or something though. Lol

[@randomrouting]

Sweet machine, thanks for sharing 👍👍

[@SeanHodgins]

No problem, thanks for watching!

[@hunterws]

I used to work at Fastenal in Winona MN, they still enter manually. When it's manual, there are many fewer lines than with a slicer. You just tell the machine what the print says, set stock, check tools and go.

[@SeanHodgins]

Works great for simple parts! But does Fastenal manufacture their hardware? I thought they were just a distributor!

[@hunterws]

A lot of fastners were straight forward, custom head size, custom threads, odd hex hole, etc. Rows & rows of manual lathes in their customs division ... 28 if I remember right. Then on the other side you had all the broaching machines. @@SeanHodgins They distribute & manufacture. Do a lot of induction shaped fastners too, all in Winona :)

[@hunterws]

@@SeanHodgins Here's the induction aspect & post processing. " Fastenal Manufacturing Liner Bolts " kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWK2mnRrebifj8Usi=nCb-vOECVQ2v9g6m

[@instaboiidsg2117]

YOOOO THE EDITING IS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! ✋

[@seancollins9745]

i just refitted a 1979 Cincinnati milacron cinturn 12u, your machine appears to have DC brushed servos and yaskawa drives, i did a linux cnc conversion. multiple people have refitted that family of machine on the forums. nice lathe

[@SeanHodgins]

Wow thats a cool machine! A conversion Its definitely something I've been considering... If I find the time I might, especially now that I know more about this one.

[@garrettparmenter938]

Love the video artistry and making of oddities. Im tier 3. Happy to help.

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks you! We will let the will of the people decide on the final price. haha

[@Sammers987Man]

2:08 *YES I DO* thank you for documenting this machine before it is lost to time!

[@SeanHodgins]

You’re welcome, the videos currently available online are interesting but not a lot of details on them. I’m glad you appreciate it as much as I do

[@rust_embedded]

Exponential sales, brilliant! 😄

[@SeanHodgins]

It sort of ensures I won't need to make them forever!

[@justinbanks2380]

I can't even imagine the number if underwear changes required to get such a powerful machine up and running to do first live cut while still learning how to use. Knowing errors could be both very damaging and costly

[@alexanderdiogenes8067]

That revo-style test piece/toy top really came out well!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks!

[@bablela26]

Dude what a amazing machine! I hope it's well maintained (seem very much so) and not abused (that's less sure lol). We had (a bit bigger) machines in our university, and they where still performing well despite the extreme abuse of the students (one to mention was a friend who sent the tool full speed in the spindle and it DESTROYED EVERYTHING nearly hitting him too (thank god the glass panes are very thick security glass, and also the metal bars like you have) but after a couple of weeks of replacing what was broken, it ran fine forever after... But it's inevitable that the precision will never be the same) Although I'm not sure loss of precision is a problem for hobby machining

[@SeanHodgins]

Wow that would be a scary experience haha. The window is super thick, I need to polish mine on the inside so I can see through it again. Yeah tight tolerance is less concern for what I do, but I haven't done any real testing yet.

[@pancho8708]

try putting a percent sign at the end of your program. its missing something at the end of the program causing it to not load up all the way. i always put a % at the biggening and end of program

[@cmleoj]

Your machine is so clean.👍🏻✔️😀

[@SeanHodgins]

It only required a little scrubbing!

[@cmleoj]

@@SeanHodgins hours and hours…

[@SshanIcsS]

Holly shit. This Videos are awsome. Pls make more. As an CNC Operator I cant get enough.

[@SeanHodgins]

Awesome what kind of machines do you run?

[@SshanIcsS]

@@SeanHodgins In training I started with a Deckel FP2 and a Maho Mh500 milling machine (both from the 70s and very popular in Germany. Nowadays very popular for home use). Today I am working on machines like a Herme C32 or a C22 and from time to time on an Index R200. No machine older than 5 years but the enthusiasm for the old machines remains. No new machine can keep up with that. The machines give you something back when you work on them.

[@jeffgreenfield7025]

I repaired more of those old single digit SL's than i could count. At least you got the Fanuc version, the Yasnac version was next to impossible to get control parts anymore. The worst part of them i think was doing the turret alignments, turret disk has to come off to get to the taper pins and bolts, 0's and 1's weren't too bad, the 3-6 were a PIA.

[@SeanHodgins]

I don't want to think about it... hahaha Good to hear about the 0-1s.

[@steveggca]

Hi Jeff I known exactly what you mean. I used to work for the canadian mori seiki dealer, and have done dozens of turret aligments . We only sold Fanuc controls so didn't have to deal with Yasnac. As I mentioned to Sean earlier , its possible that I even installed this machine at it's original location. Sean, the turret alignment procedure is in the maintenance manual, how to check alignment and if needed, how to correct. If you don't have the manual I'd be happy to advise (plenty of free time , early retirement😀)

[@lachlanlau]

That is one beautiful old machine. There is a magic to vintage machines you just don't get on anything new..

[@SeanHodgins]

I wouldn't mind a new one either... haha but I do love the look and feel of this, and like the idea of keeping it going for another however many years.

[@redbulberny]

Nice work🎉

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! I gotta get it up and running again. Just moved shops

[@bansci]

Millception Dude, amazing work both in getting it working and in video production.

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you! I'm still amazed I got the machine running.

[@peterblack7400]

I used to run the twin turret version of this machine, with the 10t controller. It was slow as, but was still making parts until I left the firm I was working for in 2015! Spare parts (and a decent sparky who could work on the machine) were hard to come by, so good luck!

[@idus]

There are very few videos on these machines. I’m working on getting my tool changer working on a mori seiki cl20. Siicckkk video! Glad you posted this

[@SeanHodgins]

Cool, what do you need to do to get it working?

[@idus]

@@SeanHodgins the turret motor has a weird trigger sensor for sensing the tool position. Trying to get Linux Cnc to either decode the two sensors and using the stock lobes or installing my own 8 -1 tooth for sensing tool #1 then all consecutive tools after missing tooth will have a tooth till the empty tooth which resets count. Just not sure how to do it and I don’t want to over stress components with all that hydraulic pressure if I get the timing or count wrong. Kind of nerve racking.

[@antoniovelez8780]

When i was getting my CNC training we had an old FANUC we had to program by hand, i must have spent dozens hours punching in g-code on that thing. Fond memories of that old beast, still ran like clockwork and was more than capable of churning out quality parts.

[@SeanHodgins]

Amazing, did you produce the g-code based on the designs as well?

[@antoniovelez8780]

@@SeanHodgins Yes, we learned g-code by hand before any CAM, so we were able to do some simple parts, run them through the simulators(cool machines, worthy of their own video) and punch them in. Most stuff was done in more modern machines with CAM generated code, but if you asked nicely and proved you could handle a machine with a little less safeguards built into it, the teacher would give you the "keys to the beast". Blew my mind for how well it ran for a 40+year old machine, especially with the added complexity of a tool changer.

[@jassembenmeriem4621]

the mori seiki SL-1 WITH FANUC 6T is a masterpiece with that kind of precision on the 80s , i fix two of them last year , just be carefully when homing the machine the limit sw sensor can make problem and be also the turret sw , also make sure when you send program throw rs232 port that the speed is max 4800 and you pc has same earth as the SL-1

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you! When you say be careful homing, do you mean just go slow so it doesn't crash if it misses the sensor?

[@jassembenmeriem4621]

@@SeanHodgins yes slow speed when homming the machine and you can test them by your self go to diagnostic page and go to the registre of the home sw input for exemple if your home on x axes it x4.0 go to the registre 4 on the diagnostics and look to the first bit if it's change from 0 to 1 that ok if no that a problem

[@midwestcyberpunk]

In a genre of mostly dry but informative videos, you always manage to squeeze out creative gold

[@midwestcyberpunk]

or brass in this case

[@SeanHodgins]

Love it.

[@gizelle-s]

You're criminally underrated, you never fail to impress!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks so much for the kind words! It really means a lot.

[@andyspoo2]

How much electricity does it take to run that thing for an hour? Love the tool changer. Does it sense the end of the rod or do you have to manually line it up each time?

[@Lurchone1]

That's older than 40 years. We have one in the shop I'm at (use to have 2) and it's a workhorse for small parts. Ours has a collet chuck. Easy to program; just sucks needing to set the G50's for the tools each time you set up a new part.

[@SeanHodgins]

I don’t do it that way. Just use tool offsets, but it’s not as efficient as using G50 I don’t think.

[@MakeKasprzak]

Awesome. It lives!! Also, the Panasonic PVM makes an appearance! 😆

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks! I love that thing, still working great!

[@espenbjrnbak3863]

Really Cool storytelling!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thanks!

[@directive0]

Worlds coolest motion control rig!

[@SeanHodgins]

So useful!

[@Thomas-je5rj]

Tellement sympa comme projet ! Tout mon soutien cette chaîne est une perle

[@SeanHodgins]

Awesome, Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@charlesnunn5352]

Very nice good to see the old girl running. Rock solid lathe one of the best Mori Made and the Fanuc 6T is just as well made. It's If this SL-1 is out of the southern California area good chance I crossed paths with this machine. I worked on them back in the day. Have fun with it. Thank you it brought memories

[@SeanHodgins]

This one is up in Ontario Canada! Thanks, Ill keep it going for as long as I can

[@tristanpatterson3843]

Great stuff. Love the videography style.

[@SeanHodgins]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@TomoHawKzZ]

I just found this channel, I'm not sure what pulls me in more, the DIY projects or the overhanging sci-fi lore of impending doom.

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you! More to come.

[@autodidact7127]

Your 80s sub 90s perspective aesthetic is so ticht!

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you!

[@jamesmac7040]

That's cool. Is it possible to replace the electronics to modernise it to usb?

[@SeanHodgins]

You can add newer electronics, but its a bit of a process and not super cheap. Maybe some point in the future when its needed. I can more easily put in a small raspberry pi to simplify the transfer though. So I may do that.

[@jimmywesterberg9957]

My first video! It was awesome so hoping for many more CNC videos in the future! 🤟

[@chadjensenster]

Holy shit! This is pure art

[@douro20]

Those are nice and very robust lathes. I would get an SRAM board to replace the bubble memory in the System 6T control if it hasn't been done already. You can actually put several megabytes of SRAM in place of the bubble memory board and it is much more reliable than the bubble memory.

[@SeanHodgins]

Interesting! I will look into that. It hasn't shown any real memory issues yet, I don't think anyway. Just a direct swap or do I need to change parameters?

[@douro20]

@@SeanHodgins If I remember right it should plug right in.

[@mikejurkowski]

Bought and paid for. Sweet idea. Fantastic weird vibe to the video.

[@SeanHodgins]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for buying one! They're all shipped out now.

[@vitymp007]

Great video! Thanks

[@ProtogenPilled]

Holy shit! I absolutely loved this video! Sean you simply do not post enough this was wonderful The production was next level too! also Karl Casey music is a nice touch, it's so cool there are people like him willing to make such bangers and just decide to give em' out for the low low cost of exposure

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you! I am learning to post more now that my shop is in a "finished state", where I'm not focusing on the shop itself. Karl Casey is amazing. His channel is doing quite well.

[@ProtogenPilled]

@@SeanHodgins Absolutely! That's wonderful news to hear! I quite look forward to seeing more of your videos! Good luck and god speed soldier o7

[@fixyourautomobile]

I enjoyed writing G-code on the alpha keyboard 1982 Tsugami CNC lathe with a tool changer. Man I got good at diagnosing, resetting, and rebooting the machine and manually zeroing.

[@SeanHodgins]

It can definitely be therapeutic!

[@fixyourautomobile]

@@SeanHodgins once you exceed the spectrum of emotions whilst learning from an elderly engineer with odd habits, it then becomes so but only while nobody is watching while you work. HAHA.

[@Keith-j7h3v]

Those old machines are stronger, and can take more agggressive cuts without developing chatter and harmonics than newer CNC Lathes. Until recently, I worked for 30 plus years at a great job shop that has lots of these older CNCs side by side with new machining centers. I enjoyed your videos, and liked seeing these old work horses still making chips and pumping out precision parts . Take care.

[@SeanHodgins]

Thank you, I have yet to really push it(I probably won't ever), but it really is a beast of a machine. I appreciate it! Ill keep it going for as long as I can.

[@qualifiednot]

gcode line by line by hand is RAW