Tormach
11-28-2006, 11:06 PM
I regret that I cannot get into these forums more often, but it looks like the machine users are doing pretty well to explain the machine. I would like to address a few of the ideas that I often hear, either in discussions with people on the phone or on various forums like this one.
Idea #1 “The PCNC 1100 is designed to a price point”
Not true. During the design reviews, and with various companies and engineers involved, there was always a consistent guideline. We were working to establish the lowest possible cost while meeting specific criteria for precision and reliability. The price was flexible, the technical objectives were not. Over the three-year development period, numerous designs, companies, and prototypes were rejected. Rejection was nearly always based on quality, precision, or reliability. The price kept going up, but we never budged on the fundamental requirements. The price is as low as we could manage, but the machine was designed to a performance level, not a price level.
The idea continues today. On a small machine, the industry standard 6” vise is just too big, but a 4” vise is too small. We wanted to provide a vise that was “just right” for a small mill. We tried to find import vises that would fit better, but the quality and precision was inconsistent. If it isn’t absolutely square, flat, and true, a $100 machine vise is not a cheap vise, it’s an expensive paperweight. The vise we settled on is a custom-made 5” vise, made in the USA, and almost $500. We wanted to offer a lower cost vise, but as with the mill itself, precision and performance came first.
Idea #2 “The price will go up now that Industrial Hobbies has closed shop”
I cannot guarantee the price will not go up, but I can assure people that our pricing is cost based, not market based. Market based means you look at what others do and price as high as you can yet staying below alternatives. Cost based means you look internal at your costs of production, essential profit, and other factors, and then price accordingly. Our objectives are outline in our “about us” page (http://www.tormach.com/about.htm). It’s pretty simple really; by keeping costs as low as possible and following cost based pricing we maximize our objectives toward the concept of Personal CNC.
Idea #3 “Building a CNC mill from a manual mill and parts kit is more work, but the end product can be similar to a PCNC 1100.”
Which is closely related to…..
Idea #4 “The PCNC is a conversion of a manual mill.”
This is way wrong. The PCNC 1100 design was started from scratch with original castings. We had initially considered building a CNC based on a manual machine frame but found the results unacceptable. There are just too many things to explain here, but I suggest people who wonder about this look into design details like Turcite, milled and ported lubrication lines, hand scraped ways, ballscrew quality, cartridge spindle, VPI motor windings, resin casting versus sand casting, and compare QC inspection sheets. We are quite familiar with most of the manual machines that have been used by hobbyists, from buying sample mills to walking the floor in the Chinese factories. Let me put it this way: we make a lot of machines in China. We’re doing it at the lowest possible cost and I know our cost of manufacturing. Our manufacturing cost of the basic frame of the PCNC 1100 exceeds the retail price of the manual mills that people are converting.
Converting a manual machine into a CNC machine can be a great hobby and personally rewarding. Never the less, just like building a boat, or kit car, the rewards come from the process, not the product. You simply cannot find a good rationalization by looking at cost, resale value, or the performance of the end product. This was not true before we created the PCNC 1100, but it is now.
Greg Jackson
Tormach LLC
Idea #1 “The PCNC 1100 is designed to a price point”
Not true. During the design reviews, and with various companies and engineers involved, there was always a consistent guideline. We were working to establish the lowest possible cost while meeting specific criteria for precision and reliability. The price was flexible, the technical objectives were not. Over the three-year development period, numerous designs, companies, and prototypes were rejected. Rejection was nearly always based on quality, precision, or reliability. The price kept going up, but we never budged on the fundamental requirements. The price is as low as we could manage, but the machine was designed to a performance level, not a price level.
The idea continues today. On a small machine, the industry standard 6” vise is just too big, but a 4” vise is too small. We wanted to provide a vise that was “just right” for a small mill. We tried to find import vises that would fit better, but the quality and precision was inconsistent. If it isn’t absolutely square, flat, and true, a $100 machine vise is not a cheap vise, it’s an expensive paperweight. The vise we settled on is a custom-made 5” vise, made in the USA, and almost $500. We wanted to offer a lower cost vise, but as with the mill itself, precision and performance came first.
Idea #2 “The price will go up now that Industrial Hobbies has closed shop”
I cannot guarantee the price will not go up, but I can assure people that our pricing is cost based, not market based. Market based means you look at what others do and price as high as you can yet staying below alternatives. Cost based means you look internal at your costs of production, essential profit, and other factors, and then price accordingly. Our objectives are outline in our “about us” page (http://www.tormach.com/about.htm). It’s pretty simple really; by keeping costs as low as possible and following cost based pricing we maximize our objectives toward the concept of Personal CNC.
Idea #3 “Building a CNC mill from a manual mill and parts kit is more work, but the end product can be similar to a PCNC 1100.”
Which is closely related to…..
Idea #4 “The PCNC is a conversion of a manual mill.”
This is way wrong. The PCNC 1100 design was started from scratch with original castings. We had initially considered building a CNC based on a manual machine frame but found the results unacceptable. There are just too many things to explain here, but I suggest people who wonder about this look into design details like Turcite, milled and ported lubrication lines, hand scraped ways, ballscrew quality, cartridge spindle, VPI motor windings, resin casting versus sand casting, and compare QC inspection sheets. We are quite familiar with most of the manual machines that have been used by hobbyists, from buying sample mills to walking the floor in the Chinese factories. Let me put it this way: we make a lot of machines in China. We’re doing it at the lowest possible cost and I know our cost of manufacturing. Our manufacturing cost of the basic frame of the PCNC 1100 exceeds the retail price of the manual mills that people are converting.
Converting a manual machine into a CNC machine can be a great hobby and personally rewarding. Never the less, just like building a boat, or kit car, the rewards come from the process, not the product. You simply cannot find a good rationalization by looking at cost, resale value, or the performance of the end product. This was not true before we created the PCNC 1100, but it is now.
Greg Jackson
Tormach LLC