Opinion on MH700C

[tomp]

Hey folks, Seeking enlightenment concerning Maho MN700C. Im familiar with Deckel FP3/4NC but not the Maho.

Ive been corresponding with the seller of an 83 vintage MH700C with 4th axis. Iron looks good with about 4500 hours BUT
the control is mono chrome and the pendant is HUGE. Did the early MH700C have the cnc432 chassis in the pendant rather
than control box? It does have the handwheel box so thats a plus.

Would that make it an odd ball with limited updating possibilities?

The book says software P01 but I doubt thats the real level. What level is needed to do helical milling like my old
FP3NC.

-Tomp.

 

[tomp]

Another question on the CNC432 control. What version introduced helical machining?
Or do all 432 versions support that?

 

[tomp]

Or am I a nut case for even looking at this machine

 

[pgh-team]

Hello Tomp,
Yes, on the older MAHO 432 /Philips 3360 controls, the electronic was mounted behind the Flat-Panel.
(we are guessing it's a gray panel, without Soft keys (F1-F5) below the screen)

1. Establish the SW Version
a) Switch on and press MENU (or TEST)
b) Select machine constants
c) Cursor to N ans enter 900 Enter -search- Now the SW Version is displayed (i.e. 1xx or 3xx)
d) Cursor to N ans enter 901 Enter -search- Now the SW specification is displayed (i.e.6053 etc)

Now we know the version,

2. If it is a SW 1xx (P01), it is very expensive to upgrade to a higher level (for helix)
virtually all modules have to be replaced.
3. If it is a SW level 3xx there are a number of options,
a) upgrade to SW level 400 /500/600/700-they all require new CPU and possibly additional HW
- and it slowly gets to a more modern CNC control

We've checked on the old specification of SW 100 and on some Versions Helix was possible.
We need to know the SW level & version.

We hope we could be of some help.
Regards,
PGH-Team

 

[tomp]

Thank you so much for responding. Ill request the levels and post.

 

[MahoMachinist]

Or am I a nut case for even looking at this machine

Hello tomp,
My first CNC machine was a MH300C with 432-9 control, I bought this without reading/knowing too much about Maho.
Very soon I realized it was way too small for my needs, and the 432-9 control didn't support drip feed.
But the control is very nice if you want to run ISO, it did for example support helical 3-axis movement in both planes (G17 / G18). I think around 1200 NC-blocks was the maximum program length.

One year later I found a MH700C with 432-10 so I bought this machine, and I got to say I was really satisfied with it!
Very stable and strong machine creating nice surface finish, and the 432-10 CNC is a very powerful control- it did support drip feed and having much more memory capacity (around 10 000 NC-blocks capacity, but the memory and software was upgraded in mine).

One minus with the MH700 is the spindle speed (depending on what you will use it for), my machine had maximum 3000rpm.
And, I think most Maho machines are default G18 (horizontal) so if you're running vertical machining your Z axis is your Y-axle in the programming. But this can be switched in the parameters (harder to switch in the operators head..).
A nice thing with the machine is the possibility to adjust milling angle and switch between horizontal and vertical machining, by simply remove the vertical milling head with the hinges.
The automatic gear shifting is also a nice feature, and the axis-stroke is very good for its footprint (e.g. supporting pretty good tool lengths).
I would recommend a 432-10 control in front of 432-9.

Best Regards,
MahoMachinist

 

[tomp]

Thanks for the feedback on the 432-9/432-10. That would have been a real limitation. I assume the 532 is more advanced overall.