I Bought a Giant 40 Year Old CNC Machine 

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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!!!!

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

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?

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!

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.

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

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!

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

Perfection! A real art piece

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.

Love the editing! Great video

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

Such a great video! Looking forward to what you have in store next!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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

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

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

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 😱🤩🤩

Exponential sales, brilliant! 😄

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.

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

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

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.

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

I can't shake the feeling that infomercial Sean was trying to tell me something...

Man buys industrial robot just to have assistant camera operator.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Sweet machine, thanks for sharing 👍👍

It looks like you need a stock feeder! !

I used to manually program Mori Seiki lathes many years ago. I don't even remember the G-code, but there are cycle codes you can use, so it would be way less code than your cam software produce. Also the code you get from your cam software isn't very optimized which I find strange. Like the start. If the rod is let's say 50mm, it would make more sense with something like G00 X55. Z5. G01 X47. F* Z0.2 X-2. G00 X45. Z2. (Liked and subscribed)

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

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

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?

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!

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

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

Consider making movies for Netflix. You can do much better than most Netflix series. As a hobby machinist and hobby filmmaker - I am seriously impressed!

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!

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

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

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

The real answer is 'Why not?'. Yes. Yes it is.

Great video! Thanks

Fantastic video! Keep it up Sean!

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!

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 :)

Holy shit! This is pure art

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

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

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

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.

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

It looks just like the '80's Bostomatic I got and retrofitted. Had the tape reader and everything. I got all the original docs with it, including the purchase order for a quarter-million bucks.

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

Great stuff. Love the videography style.

In my previous life, I wrote G code for GE Fanuc controlled horizontal turning centers. I never used the clunky graphical tools. I typed it up on a PC and pushed it to the tool with the RS232 port.

I was going to buy one but shipping was too much.

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.

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.

I ran a lathe just like that in high school (co-op job) back in '84. Good memories, for sure.

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.

Sean posts.. I clickk.. Making Canada proud one video at a time.

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

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

Primer vibes. I dig.

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.

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

For those who aren’t familiar with Computer Numerically Controlled machines, they’re actually quite simple. If you want a machine (for example a robot arm) to draw a shape, then you have to give it instructions. And that’s the funny part. It’s not complicated. It’s just simple addition. There are only two kinds of orders that you can give a machine: 1. Go to a specific place. or 2. Go from one place to another. So if you want a robot arm to draw a square, you tell it to go to “Point A” which is (for example) two feet off the ground and pointed exactly North. And if you want the robot arm to draw a square that’s two feet on each side, then you tell the robot arm to go to Point A, then go up two feet, then go right two feet, then go down two feet, then go left two feet. The robot arm will draw a square. The starting point is called “absolute” and the relative movements are called “incremental”. In life, moral standards are the absolute starting points, and deviations from moral standards are incremental adjustments. The absolute moral standards of truthfulness, goodness, and reciprocity are a big problem for communists because they’re liars, thieves, and parasites. They don’t want moral absolutes. So they take those absolutes and then incrementally move them in a direction that suits their desires. “Fraud” is incrementally moved to a higher position so that dishonesty becomes a positive value. And “Sin” is also moved “up” so that wrongdoing becomes positive. Fraud and Sin together are celebratory moral vandalism. In order to hide these incremental changes, the absolute starting points must also be hidden. That’s why black crime is massively underreported, and white collar crime is almost never reported. And that’s also why the Military has its own secret internal court system. Most crime in America is hidden to prevent the disastrous erosion of moral absolutes from become obvious. If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering what a robot arm has to do with moral absolutes. It’s this: The computer software that’s used to program CNC robotic machinery is exactly the same software which is used to program Hollywood Movies. The only difference is that Hollywood uses the software to move concepts. A movie will place “Fraud” and “Sin” in absolute starting positions, and then through software control of the script and the colors, will incrementally move “Fraud” to a new absolute position; and “Sin” as well. The movie “Doubt” caused “Fraud” to rise. “American Beauty” made “Sin” a positive value. The makers of a movie decide beforehand how fraud and sin will be combined in both absolute and relative terms. So if you’re wondering how subversive messages have become so powerful over the last few decades, it’s because CNC software has become more powerful. I.B.M. makes the computer, and companies like Siemens make the software. If you really want to watch a movie, then tell a Hollywood to display the CNC “Fraud” and “Sin” overlays while the movie is playing. It’s Final Cut Pro.

Really Cool storytelling!

I ran one of these old Mori’s for years at a shop in Odessa Texas. We didn’t use tape, but I definitely stood there programming G-Code line for line. Luckily the one I ran recognized canned cycles, some don’t. These things are hard to kill.

YOOOO THE EDITING IS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Your machine is so clean.👍🏻✔️😀

Man, i really enjoyed the feel of the video. Amazing. Subscribed. Wish i found it sooner.

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

cool as hell

Beautiful

Fantastic video.

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

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.

Perfection!

That last shot was incredible