Originally Posted by twocik  How well does it do on cutting mild steel or even stainless steel? |
Sorry, someone else will have to answer that one. I've only cut aluminum, brass and acrylic so far. There are a couple of videos with accompanying PDF explanations on Tormach's site that show cutting mild steel.
Originally Posted by twocik I know they make this program universal for mac and PC, but wonder if the DXF file would work without being corrupted. |
At the most simple level, any CAM program that outputs gcode should work, maybe with a little hand-tweaking. Wouldn't matter if it were Mac or PC. I've run hand-written gcode on my Tormach. But if you're talking about CAD on the Mac, that should be OK too. DXF is DXF pretty much. I stick to R13-flavor DXF since it's really compatible. For 2.5D work Sheetcam is excellent. It takes DXF input and you can do pretty sophisticated pocketing, outlining, drilling etc. with it. A trial version comes with the PCNC software.
Originally Posted by twocik Mach3 included, how well is the performing? I've read a few things here and there. Any problems with yours? |
There have been a couple of glitches with the tool table (I discovered one, and have some broken cutters to attest to that...) but for me it release 1.5 has been working very solidly. I have uninstalled PCNC2 so I'm pretty confident with 3. Disclaimer: I don't have a rotary axis so I can't say anything about that.
Originally Posted by twocik Sorry for all of the questions, I'm trying to get a feel of what I'm about to get into.  |
I don't blame you--it's a large investment. I sold two smaller mills to help pay for mine. If you're in Northern California you're welcome to come over to see mine--I enjoy showing it off. But I think you're back East? Tormach has a list of owners that are willing to show their machines. Maybe there is one in your area...
Best regards,
Randy