We bought the Norte VS-2000, built in 1987, to replace a conventional machine with the approximately same parameters.
It wasn't cheap and new, but a cnc machine anyway meant an improval for the machine shop.
Soon it proved the only weakness was the Sinumerik 3 Controller.
This controller was hopelessly outdated.
We cannot complain about the friendly servicemen of Siemens.
The drawback is there are only a few out here that can service this controller, and they cost their weight in gold.

Since the Norte VS-2000 is mechanically a super machine, perhaps a retrofit was the solution.
So Siemens made us an offer of 74.100,-Euro for the retrofit.
The drawback of this offer is that all the mechanical work, by replacing the servo's came to our crew.
We estimated that this would take about two months for a crew of two workmen alone.

When in 2011 the controller ,once again , striked we left the machine standing idle.

At that time we were combatting a defective Fanuc Controller and explored the internet.
We encountered EMC˛, and installed the CD with Ubuntu on a pc in the lab.
As time passed, (the fanuc controller was rescued)we stayed playing with EMC˛.
We also looked at other controllers available.

Now in february 2013 we bought the MESA Cards, tried it out with a PYVCP panel and a surplus encoder.
To give it a try was a weighed risk; on the one hand only a few professinal machines were well documented.
On the other hand LinuxCNC seemed at first glance to be in the DIY area.
My mistake. (I apoligize for it)
From then on it went on very quick to my own surprise.
A lot is thanks to having played with LinuxCNC upfront.
The hardest part was the tuning of the Servo's.
THE MAIN ADVANTAGE WAS THAT WE HAD IT IN OUR OWN HANDS;
THE EARLIER ZOMBIE MACHINE WITH THE SINUMERIK 3,
became a gentle machine, a pleasure to handle.

We have Siemens, Haas, Fanuc, Heidenhain, Agie, Robofil & Panasonic Controls.
None of these controls offers, even aproximately, the features of LinuxCNC.
We managed to transform our Siemens hard driven VMC into an operator gentle machine,
with possibilities never dreamt of.

By now, we are playing with a touch probe, wrote the Probe-on-Steroids.ngc.
By now, we are playing with the image to gcode.

Thank you LinuxCNC.org and Mesa Electronics.

Ghislain Van de Walle.