Hello,
I'm thinking about purchasing the 622 and I was hoping I could get some feedback from someone using one of these machines. From what I can gather, they aren't even available yet.
Shane.

I'm in the same boat as 2_jammer - anyone know more about these machines?

I just purchased a CNC 1032 but it will not be here for another week or so. I bought the PC ready version and will use Mach3. I got on here to find all the tricks to setup and run the Mach3.

jrmjimmills - please post your impressions as soon as you can!

Don

jrmjimmills, thank you for posting notice of your purchase.

I second DonFrambach; I believe there are many here who are wondering at the quality and performance of the Smithy cnc products. I am looking forward to whatever light you can shine on the 1032 (1034?)

Mark

I did a lot of research before making this purchase but the thing that helped me decide on the Smithy is the sales people. They have bent over backwards to earn my business. This purchase is for a state engineering lab and we used a purchase order. Some of the other venders could not accomodate that method of payment. The machine also has a great warranty if anything goes wrong they will stand behind their product. I will give a full report when the machine arrives.

Oh yes it is a CNC1034 not 1032.

So how is the new mill coming?


Jess

It is up and running. we have run across some minor issues but overall the machine is great. Since I purchased the PC ready version, there was some development time in getting mach3 setup properly. The only other issues are with the accessories not fitting perfectly. I have been working with Smithy to resolve the fit issue on the coolant tray and splash shield. Also waiting on one more piece to get the 4th axis add on working. I honestly feel that we will probably get 2 more of these very soon. All three will be less expensive than one Haas toolroom mill. As for the smaller machines I see no reason not to buy a Smithy. I have a MaxNC that has been very good to us for almost 10 years now, but if I had to buy another small mill I would try the Smithy first just because of the quality of this machine.

That is good to here, I would be interested in any more input you may have as time goes with your mill. I am looking at the size up from yours & trying to deside between it and others that are on the market.


A few things I would really like input on is the noise level, and accuracy of the machine. How about some pictures of it, or dare I ask, some vids of it milling. I am afraid this is a big purchase for me & I am a little worried about making the move to tell the truth. With me being just one person & not a company, I have got to make the right choice the first time.


Thanks Jess

I guess the only bad mark I can give this machine is the slightly noisy fan on top of the spindle motor. It runs even when the spindle is not on and is a little annoying if you are just setting up the machine. I may add a temperature relay to disable it if the spindle motor is cool enough. Once the mill is running it is not so noticeable and the machine in general is not noisy. I have not used it much yet but everything else is great.

Jim

Jim, now that a month has passed, how has the Smithy been performing?

Thanks,

Chuck

The mill is working great. I had a minor issue with the coolant tray. I guess I was the first to get one with the full coolant tray. The table had an interference with the front part of the tray but was easily resolved by offsetting the 6 tray mounting holes 1.5" to the rear. I think this tray is the std. setup for the std. manual mill. When they added the cnc linear bearing setup and ballscrew, the head extends an extra 1.5" from the column. I also adjusted the backlash on the ballscrews (x&y) as the locknuts were not tightened.
Everything is good now. I still haven't learned all the tricks for the mach 3 but the machine seems to be happy. I have not done any big projects yet but I have some students that will be making some injection molds this week.
We will update with some pics.

Jim

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the update. Please keep us advised on how the mill does on the injection molds. Looking fwd to the pictures.

Regards,

Chuck

bump...

Seems incredible that there is only one Smithy cnc user on this board. Are there any other Smithy forums out there that are more active (other then the Yahoo 3n1 forum which doesnt really seem to stretch to the cnc machines)? I am interested in the Sieg KX3/Smithy 622.

jrmjimmills, what is your viewpoint of the Smithy warrenty? The cnc specific portion of it seems to have holes in it you could drive a Mack truck through.

I am confused by the "Since I purchased the PC ready version, there was some development time in getting mach3 setup properly" statement. does this mean it is not "ready to use"? Do you have to purchase other third party items to make it operate?

Very interesting info. on the new smithy mill. I wanted to get started cnc milling and bought a slightly used smithy mi-1720cnc 3 in 1 only to find out smithy's cnc option didn't work out and was not available. Now i need to get production going by making a pc ready mill purchase. Any additional logic on choosing smithy over other medium sized mills would be welcome!
Thank you,
Del

Hey Jim - can you post some pictures of things you've done with the Smithy so far and what metals you're milling? I am also looking SERIOUSLY at these machines, or a tormach, but if these will handle larger pieces, cut deeper, cut steel and stainless, then I am inclined to go for it. As much detail of what work you're doing would be great to see and hear about.

Thanks!
TAZ

bump...

Seems incredible that there is only one Smithy cnc user on this board. Are there any other Smithy forums out there that are more active (other then the Yahoo 3n1 forum which doesnt really seem to stretch to the cnc machines)? I am interested in the Sieg KX3/Smithy 622.

jrmjimmills, what is your viewpoint of the Smithy warrenty? The cnc specific portion of it seems to have holes in it you could drive a Mack truck through.


we have a Smithy 1034. The Service and the people to deal with are great. Bad news is: If you buy one of the larger machines you will need it. We were very busy fixing the issues with our new machine during the first 4 month of operation. Going with one of the two smaller machines is probably better than the 1034 and the 12??.

The larger machines are somewhat new: I was told they have about 30 pcs of 1034 in the market by now. That explains the number of users in this thread.....

Hi all.
I was wondering about the accuracy of these machines.

Can you ream two holes for a press-fit dowel in one piece of material and two slip-fit holes in another piece about 6 in apart and mate them together without much difficulty? ie, pounding with a 10# sledge?

I have been using a Smithy CNC 1240 for 2 years , so far so good ! I would buy another one !

Hi all.
I was wondering about the accuracy of these machines.

Can you ream two holes for a press-fit dowel in one piece of material and two slip-fit holes in another piece about 6 in apart and mate them together without much difficulty? ie, pounding with a 10# sledge?

I can do that on my taig. I just have to take into consideration, travelling the same direction to spot the holes on each piece respectively.

This machine has ball screws and that is probably not a concern. Spot drill, drill undersized (taking into consideration material), ream at correct speed and feed and as long as you did the engineering correctly on the fit should work like butter.

the smithy cnc's seem to be HOW-MAU's going the pictures and spec's from there website so they are chinese made if anyone knows any different please say as they are cheaper on ebay by about $1000-$1200 usd just search for HOW-MAU

the smithy cnc's seem to be HOW-MAU's going the pictures and spec's from there website so they are chinese made if anyone knows any different please say as they are cheaper on ebay by about $1000-$1200 usd just search for HOW-MAU

smithy is not how mau and how mau is not smithy. BOTH companies seem guilty of using stock photography from Sieg - as evidenced by the photos showing early prototype features.

its kinda funny, because i was playing with what appears to be the EXACT sieg-made KX1 used in those photos this morning. i had gone to see it to potentialy buy it. the price was good, and the machine is actually rather well built and rigid given the size. we measured the maximum overlimit travel and got 5.1" in the Y x 10" in the X. not bad. we stuck a heavy 4" 4th axis table on and jogged at about 30 ipm with no problem.

only had one issue... the KX3 next to it. :p

this is a how mau built "kx3" derivitive with a custom 4 axis gecko 203 based controller sold by novakon in toronto for $4999usd including full mach 3 and bobcad licenses. for months ive been reading about syil machines and their various issues, and these machines definitely did not fit that description. super solid, no play. precision ground ball screws with no backlash. they seem to be in a totally different leage than the retrofit super x3's.

if all goes well, i should be picking this model up friday or monday.

the how mau machines are "built by how mau". whatever that means im not sure. they are the same spec and design as sieg's machines, and may or may not use some or all of the same parts but are supposedly made in a totally different factory. it doesnt really matter to me. ive seen and poked at the machine in person, and i think its very very nice for the money.


ill post all sorts of information when it shows up and i get it cutting.

So you are buying the KX3? Congratulations! I look forward to reading your reviews.

CR.

So you are buying the KX3? Congratulations! I look forward to reading your reviews.

CR.

thats the current plan. working out details today, with luck, it will be delivered either friday, saturday or monday. i may actually go pick it up myself, since they are local. it seems whoever designed the crating knew this would have to fit through apartment doors.. 28" wide :)

That crate will weigh about 500 pounds. You will want to round up some help. I hope your apartment building has an elevator.

A flat dolly comes in handy to roll it around.

Are you going to reinforce the apartment floor? Maybe a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood?

CR.

That crate will weigh about 500 pounds. You will want to round up some help. I hope your apartment building has an elevator.

A flat dolly comes in handy to roll it around.

Are you going to reinforce the apartment floor? Maybe a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood?

CR.

crate is said to weigh 400lbs, machine is 375. i have a dolly and a helper to get it loaded safely in the elevator.

so no issues getting it inside. it will sit on an mdf sheet on top of a foam dampening layer to both protect the floor and dampen noise. i wont be using the stand which is included because it seems to act as a resonator making the machine noiser. ill be boulding out a temporary mdf cabinet to keep the swarf and noise in. it wont be doing much heavy duty work while its in here and will be cutting dry.

Good show! I see you have planned everything well. Please let us know how it all goes.

CR.

I too ordered a KX3 look alike from Novakon, got my quote in october before they raised the price so I paid 4795 for the mill I also paid for the computer to be installed inside the driver box. I'm glad to hear that they actually have them there at Novakon, I assume you live in canada then. Just waiting on my shipping info right now. I was looking at the Syil as well and I could have picked one up in person and saved some shipping but their product seems like it has too many issues for the price and if I had wanted a buggy machine I would have just done a conversion myself. I want a machine that will run and not be more of a project than the projects i want to do. I have a sieg X3 manual mill and have been happy with it and know its limits so hopefully I'll be just as happy with this one.

I too ordered a KX3 look alike from Novakon, got my quote in october before they raised the price so I paid 4795 for the mill I also paid for the computer to be installed inside the driver box. I'm glad to hear that they actually have them there at Novakon, I assume you live in canada then. Just waiting on my shipping info right now. I was looking at the Syil as well and I could have picked one up in person and saved some shipping but their product seems like it has too many issues for the price and if I had wanted a buggy machine I would have just done a conversion myself. I want a machine that will run and not be more of a project than the projects i want to do. I have a sieg X3 manual mill and have been happy with it and know its limits so hopefully I'll be just as happy with this one.

yeah, im in toronto canada. both me and a friend have been looking at getting small mills for years. weve gone through all the ideas of scratch building, converting, buying.. even getting a "real" machine and a shop space to put it in.

its a shame these little machines werent readily available years ago.

my visual inspection of the machines - running up the spindle, jogging, checking for noticable play, tells me they might work out just fine. they didnt have much in the way of sample parts because they had just set the demo machines up recently for a training class they are starting soon.

to me though, they struck me as very promising, and much better than i was expecting based on reading about syil machines (just isnt much first hand kx3 data out there). so we'll see how nice it ends up once i get it home. im going to run a series of tests to check alignment, acuracy and repeatability. im going to also determine flex in in the machine to basically get the "limits" of how far it can be pushed and still maintain finish quality and precision. im a bit of a noob in all this. i know alot about machinging, cnc, and such, but have never run a mill myself - always paid other people to do that. will be a fun learning experience for sure.

so you ordered in october and havent recieved yours? is that because they were waiting for the shipment to come in. it came yesterday morning :)

i need to find a good cheap source of R8 tooling now. ive got 2 "cheap" tool suppliers in walking distance... sadly they are missing the "good" aspect :p

i need to find a good cheap source of R8 tooling now. ive got 2 "cheap" tool suppliers in walking distance... sadly they are missing the "good" aspect :p

If you are serious about production, you should invest in the Tormach Quick Change tooling:

http://littlemachineshop.com/Instructions/TTSDataSheetRev-B.pdf

http://www.tormach.com/Flash/TTS_small.html

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_search.php?critFast=tormach

You don't have to start with a full set.

CR.

If you are serious about production, you should invest in the Tormach Quick Change tooling:

http://littlemachineshop.com/Instructions/TTSDataSheetRev-B.pdf

http://www.tormach.com/Flash/TTS_small.html

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_search.php?critFast=tormach

You don't have to start with a full set.

CR.

ive been considering that for the future. for the moment im just looking to get a few tools for early testing.

i just need a fly cutter, an ER20 collet chuck, and a bunch of end mills in various configurations for the first few weeks.

I got my quote in October but didn't actually make the order until this month. I ended up mailing it in so it took a little extra time. I have the Tormach tooling already but I haven't used my machines much in the last few years, but I'm starting to get back into machining though. I'm more afraid of the CAD side of things than the machine, because I haven't had much exposure to it.

What did you think of the metal stand, does it look fairly sturdy? The machine comes with the stand but I may end up building a stand like the Tormach site shows on how they built a DIY stand from 2x4s, plywood, body filler and epoxy paint for their prototype machine. It has built in wings for chips and coolant collection plus the way they finished it you can't even tell it's made of wood.

What did you think of the metal stand, does it look fairly sturdy? The machine comes with the stand but I may end up building a stand like the Tormach site shows on how they built a DIY stand from 2x4s, plywood, body filler and epoxy paint for their prototype machine. It has built in wings for chips and coolant collection plus the way they finished it you can't even tell it's made of wood.

the stand was ok, they had the kx1 on it and it seems to amplify the noise of the spindle. its not a very heavy duty stand, but not crap either. the chip tray for the machine is somewhat small though compared to the massive one on the tormach. it also has a table guard which seemed ok but too low to be really usefull. probabaly something i will remove.

I'll probably end up building a stand then in the future, did you look at the stand they built on the tormach site? If you go under the stands tab there's a description for the DIY stand. I don't plan on using flood, but I will be making my own version of the fogbuster mist coolant system that i can use software or manual control with to either blow just air at the part or both air and coolant by putting a solenoid on the air line and coolant line. The table tray looks like it may get in the way if you have the vise mounted normally and I'm looking for a vise to fit it and give the most usefulness. I have a 3" screwless vise on my X3 now but I think a 4" screwless or a 3 to 4" kurt style vise would be better. I'm also thinking about getting the tooling plate that is made by A2Z cnc for the micro mill because it's 5.7" x15" and it has a mount for the sherline rotary table built into it. I really like my sherline cnc rotary table (probably the best small rotary table on the market) and hope to adapt it to the novakon driver box.

Ihavenofish did you get your mill yet?

Ihavenofish did you get your mill yet?

no, i did not. no fault of theirs though :)
was waiting on a lease, but the lease company annoyed me. i might just say f** it and pay cash. i have to work out some things this week.

the other issue is that the guy gave me the wrong crate size originally, and it is in fact 39" x 40" x 40" so it will not fit through my door. will need to be removed from teh crate.

ill figure this all out :)

Wow! Bummer on the crate size. Great idea on the tool plate!

CR.

Are you on a ground floor at least or do you think you will have to break it down to get it into your apartment?
I have to call A2Z cnc this week and get the details on the tooling plate because littlemachineshop lists the threaded holes as 3/8-16 and A2Z lists them as 1/4-20, I also need to find out the hole spacing since it's a bigger plate than the other ones they sell and they didn't list much info on this model on their site. I have a tooling plate on my sherline and haven't taken it off to go back to using T-slots since.

Are you on a ground floor at least or do you think you will have to break it down to get it into your apartment?
I have to call A2Z cnc this week and get the details on the tooling plate because littlemachineshop lists the threaded holes as 3/8-16 and A2Z lists them as 1/4-20, I also need to find out the hole spacing since it's a bigger plate than the other ones they sell and they didn't list much info on this model on their site. I have a tooling plate on my sherline and haven't taken it off to go back to using T-slots since.

as long as the machine isnt more than 29" in one dimension i will have no issues getting it inside.. except for some odd stares from the concierge :p

im hoping removing it from the crate on putting it on a dolly will be all i need to do. disassembling it is a last resort.

When I moved my manual X3 onto its bench I had to break it down into head, column, table since I was working alone and had no access to a hoist. I bought a new Quad-i CNC vise off ebay today, I think it's one of the SPI units and not the new version that cost's a $1000 dollars. It's a 4" vise with a fixed front jaw, only 8 1/2" total length and 20lbs weight so it should be a good match for the mill. I may still buy a cheap 3" vise to practice my programming skills on so I don't feel too bad when I run a cutter into it. My mill is on the road so now it's just a waiting game, I'm going to order jog pendant this week and some more tooling as well since Enco sent me a free shipping code.

Just heard back from A2Z about the micro mill tooling plate and it is 1/4-20 threaded holes but they are trying to release a tooling plate made for the X3 series mills within the next few weeks if they can fit them into their production schedule.

My Novakon NM-134 (KX3) mill arrived today. Crates were well built and intact except for 1 skid on the mill crate was knocked off. The stand came fully assembled in its own crate and was well secured with 4 bolt. I was happy to see it was already assembled and it's actually not too bad for a sheet metal stand, fully welded and 2 angle iron rings on the inside to reinforce it. I can see how this thing could amplify sound though and I may build my own in the future. The contoller and flat screen were in a small crate well padded with foam. Now onto the mill, even though this is based on an X3 it makes my other X3 look small due to the longer column and the drain pan. The splash gaurd on the table actually comes out in the front quite a bit so that if you using a vise up to maybe 10" long you could still have it in place, the outer perimeter of the table where the gaurd mounts is milled down slightly lower than the t slotted area so when the gaurd is in place it won't interfere with anything mounted on the table. The limit switches are very nice compared to what is pictured on the protype KX3 which had cheesy switches. There is a sealed box on the x and y axis with 3 shafts sticking out with rollers that actuate the switches looks like 2 limits and a home. All the cables to the switches and motors are in sealed rubber conduit with weather tight connectors on each end. The spindle is R8 and has a captured draw bar so that you only have to back the drawbar out and it frees the collet to drop the tool instead of tapping the drawbar with a hammer, spindle lock is via tommy bar on lower part of spindle.
I shot a few pics today and will take more as I get the mill mounted. I'm going to need an egine hoist to get it up on the bench, there are 4 holes in the sides of the base that are tapped for 1/2 screws so I may bolt plates to them and attach chains to the plates from the hoist. I'll need to see where the center of gravity is though.

Glad to hear you got it in without problem. Was the crate really too big to fit thru the door? did you have to diassemble it?

Thanks for the great details! I did not know about the captured drawbar or the splash guard mounting and vise size or the tommy bar.

When can we see the pics? I'd love to see a pic of how the Z and Y motors are mounted.

CR.

I'll snap some more pics as I get it on the stand, I uncrated on lunch break yesterday to check for damage and then had to go back to work. The crate is 40" by 40" but I have a garage so no issues for me. The opening inside the splash gaurd area on the table is 10" but we'll see if it's practical to leave it on. I'm looking at renting an engine hoist with an engine load balancer attachment that has 4 chains hanging off it, There are 4 12mm threaded holes in the sides of the base that look like they were made as lift points so I'll try bolting the balancing attchment end plates to these points.

I'm looking at renting an engine hoist with an engine load balancer attachment that has 4 chains hanging off it, There are 4 12mm threaded holes in the sides of the base that look like they were made as lift points so I'll try bolting the balancing attchment end plates to these points.

Might be less expensive to just BUY one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=996

I'd be careful lifting from the bottom. Might be too unstable. You can lift the mill with a sling under the head.

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=sling

CR.

I can rent a hoist for $30 a day I almost bought the 2 ton foldable hoist from harbor freight when it was on sale but Iam now out of garage space with the mill here. I'm heading to HF and auto parts store to look at options. I don't want to lift using the head because that would be 300lbs on the lead screw. looks like I'll strap it under the bed or use the holes which look spaced apart eough and with the weight of the table being low and the head being dropped I think it will be ok.

Stay safe. Good Luck!

CR.

woohoo. post some pics when you can. id like to see this thing cutting something cool :)

i havent gotton mine yet. i just arranged space for it monday, so hopefully i can get things moving soon now.

Ok I'll get some more pics soon. I cleared out a space in my garage and will be going to harbor freight to pick up some lift chains or straps and renting an engine hoist today. The captured drawbar will need some kind of modification because there is a threaded sleeve that threads onto the outside of the top of the spindle and captures the drawbar but the sleeve has nothing to lock it to the spindle so you have to tighted it against the top of the drawbar at every tool change. I may add a setscrew to the sleeve or cut a 1/8" ring off the bottom of the sleeve and add a few flats to the ring to make a jam nut so I can set the gap between the drawbar and sleeve and lock it down to still acheive auto collet ejection without having to fiddle with the sleeve on each tool change. Be sure to pick up 5/16" and 3/8" square sockets because the drawbar and the ends of the leadscrews under the end caps have square ends on them so you can manually turn the leadscrew with a socket wrench if needed and you can use a ratchet instead of an open end wrench to tighten the drawbar (drawbar and Y axis are 5/16 square, Z and X axis are 3/8" square)

Ok the mill is on the stand now, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a couple 2" x 6' 1/2' load straps. The metal stand had 4 lifting eye bolts threaded in its base so I used those in the 12mm threaded holes in each corner of the mill base and fed the straps under the mill and threaded the ends of the straps up through the eye bolts so the straps couldn't slip fore or aft. The hook on the engine hoist wasn't large enough for all 4 ends of the straps so I used two large oval rings with the threaded closure on each of the paired ends that way I only had the 2 rings to put on the hook. I also put a ratcheting tie down around the head and attached the hooks to the boom of the hoist just as an emergency backup since I don't totally trust HF tools. The mill was still a little back heavy and was about 3" lower than the front of the mill but I still had plenty of lift on the hoist and was able to get the mill up high enough and the legs of the hoist cleared the stand with no issues. I meant to snap some pics but forgot to in all the excitement of soon having it on the stand.

Good Job!

CR.

I finally got the KX3 (NM-134) mill going tonight, I had it on the stand Thursday and hooked up Thursday night but had issues immediatly. I was getting really discouraged because the Z axis wouldn't move and all the settings were correct and the BOB was real flaky, the spindle worked, X and Y worked and the coolant outlet worked but no Z axis. Novakon was very responsive and I was recieving emails late into the night last night and their tech guy was gong to come up with a game plan monday. I started looking at wiring connections but for the life of me couldn't find my multimeter until today. Started checking continuity on the mill wiring and it all checked out except for a few loose connections and the spindle controller ground was hanging off the terminal block. Next I checked the continuity from the end of the cable that connects to the mill and the terminals on the gecko. found 2 field connections shorted together and when measuring the same field connections on the gecko it was shorted until I pulled the cable from the top of the controller then it went back to 150K ohms. I took the D connector on the cable apart and found stray strands from 2 adjoining wires touching. After fixing the connector the Z axis worked and I've been milling imaginary bolt patterns and arcs to put the machine through its paces. Make sure you check all connections when you get your mill. I have all the limits set to 3/8" before hard stop on all axis's and the homing feature works perfectly after I went through and setup the home/limit parameters. I have 12" X travel 5.7" Y and I think 11" Z, The coolant electrical outlet is on the back of the mill and controlled by the controller box through a relay.

Wow! Excellent troubleshooting! I'm glad to see you have it running.

Can you please tell us what Geckos they are using? Also what brand and type motors?

Thanks,

CR.

You NOVOKON owners should ask the moderator to put NOVOKON on the list of companies and get all these messages moved to the proper forum.

Wow! Excellent troubleshooting! I'm glad to see you have it running.

Can you please tell us what Geckos they are using? Also what brand and type motors?

Thanks,

CR.

they are using gecko 203 drivers. their controller box is quite impressive all around actually.

they are also offering the mill without controller now. its $3600us for this one, and $2900us for the little one. their controller box alone is $1500us. given the package deal on the mn-135(kx3) mill at $4999 included mach3 and bobcad, its a pretty decent deal unless you happen to already have a control setup.

sad part is it seems they sold all of the shipment from last week and wont have more til january, so i never got mine locked down. guess i have to wait a bit now.

You're probably right about getting a more appropriate forum for this, but this thread was really dead until lately. I'm not even sure how many smithy units are out in the field since there wasn't a whole lot of input from owners on this thread. The same goes for Novakon, there just aren't enough units out in the field yet for it's own forum and have any kind of sustained banter. The units sold between the 2 companies are probably the same or very similar the only difference is the controllers and I think owners of both would benefit from each others experiences since the pool of KX3's and it's clones is relativly small at this point in time. The cable that gave me problems actually had an ID tag on it that said 622 and I'm sure I won't be the last to have this issue, if this info helps a smithy owner or Novakon owner I feel I've done my part as a member of this forum.

You're probably right about getting a more appropriate forum for this, but this thread was really dead until lately. I'm not even sure how many smithy units are out in the field since there wasn't a whole lot of input from owners on this thread. The same goes for Novakon, there just aren't enough units out in the field yet for it's own forum and have any kind of sustained banter. The units sold between the 2 companies are probably the same or very similar the only difference is the controllers and I think owners of both would benefit from each others experiences since the pool of KX3's and it's clones is relativly small at this point in time. The cable that gave me problems actually had an ID tag on it that said 622 and I'm sure I won't be the last to have this issue, if this info helps a smithy owner or Novakon owner I feel I've done my part as a member of this forum.

im just waiting for your pics and comments on running it.

:)

i think there should be a "kx series and its variants" sub forum perhaps, but at "this moment" theres doesnt seems to be more than a handfull of north american users, let alone web forum frequenters. id expect that to grow though if the machine does well for novakon. they seem to want to push it.

Ok I uploaded some pics These would be of interest to anyone wanting to get a KX3, smithy 622 cnc or the Novakon nm-134. There sure aren't a lot of photos of this mill on the net. let me know if there are any more pics i can shoot. I won't be able to get any shots of the inside of the column or Y and Z motors due the motor cables being short and preventing me from pulling it back far enough.

http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/115052

Ok I uploaded some pics These would be of interest to anyone wanting to get a KX3, smithy 622 cnc or the Novakon nm-134. There sure aren't a lot of photos of this mill on the net. let me know if there are any more pics i can shoot. I won't be able to get any shots of the inside of the column or Y and Z motors due the motor cables being short and preventing me from pulling it back far enough.

http://www.cnczone.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/115052

cool, thanks.

I am confused by the "Since I purchased the PC ready version, there was some development time in getting mach3 setup properly" statement. does this mean it is not "ready to use"? Do you have to purchase other third party items to make it operate?

I PURCHASED A USED 1240 ANY ADVICE TO SETUP MACH 3

I purchased a used Smithy 1240 , The early style . I need help setting up a new version of emc2 or Maybe Mach 3 . Any advice ?

I have a 1240EZ with the EMC/ubuntu control. I ordered it with all the fixing's in October 08. So far a really good deal and smithy has been a great company to deal with. The few small issues I've had are:

1. Ordered with coolant system. Sheet metal leaks a very small bit, I had to spend a bit of time on that.
2. Coolant return hose wasn't a real good size for the bends it has to make. Re did w/ hardware store stuff.
3. Coolant pump is a little weak and seems to lose flow on long cycle times, even with a completely full tank. Don't know if it's overheating or what.
4. I'm probably going to double the coolant volume by purchasing a second tank from Smithy. Between evaporation and coolant soaked chips, the volume in the tank runs low no matter how often I fill it.
5. The standard prox sensors on the xy axes failed due to coolant contamination. Smithy replaced with waterproof sensors at no cost, but it took a full day to replace them.

The machine is quite accurate for the work that I do, and it's got some control features that you usually have to pay big bucks for on name brand (mazak etc.) machines - like macros.

Hi,
I'm running a 1240 with Mach 3. For pics of the machine you can zip over to the mach forum:
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,10313.0.html

Dave