Has anyone used Tormach Tooling on an X2 or X3 class mill?

[digits]

Hi, I'm thinking about buying an X2 mill head for my next machine - I don't have any R8 tooling and the Tormach TTS quick change thing caught my eye for ease of use and constant Z. Has anyone used it on an X2 or X3 class mill, and if so, what do you think of it?

Cheers.

[David Bord]

I use it on my Tormach... Its an amazing system. Works perfectly... too changes are in seconds with perfect Z repeatability.

[digits]

Thanks - it does look good. Do you use the mill holders or just a bunch of ER20 collet holders? My current tooling is based around ER25 collets as I have a lot of different metric endmill sizes. I doubt the 1/2" or 3/8" mill holders would be much use to me.

[merl]

To David Bord,
I've been looking at the Tomach mill to do a continuous production job for me.
not alot of aluminum to be removed but it would be running wide open all day every day to get the parts done. How do you think the spindle would hold up?

merl

[ALL-AROUND]

Originally Posted by digits Hi, I'm thinking about buying an X2 mill head for my next machine - I don't have any R8 tooling and the Tormach TTS quick change thing caught my eye for ease of use and constant Z. Has anyone used it on an X2 or X3 class mill, and if so, what do you think of it? Cheers.

I don't have any experiance w/ tormach quick change......but you should
check out the Mach-1 quick change R8 system we've been using it for
8 years now.....2 second tool change!

[phantomcow2]

The Mach-1 stuff looks nice. It is pretty expensive though, the kit costs more than my entire X3! The tormach at 600 is a bit more reasonable for a hobbyist IMO.

[David Bord]

Digits, I havent been using the ER collets, but Im sure there good. Just kinda pricey compared to the standard tool holders. If the price doesnt scare you, Im sure you would be happy with the setup.

Merl, While the machine documentation states its not designed for production work, there are people using it for that. I'd give Greg a call at Tormach and see what he has to say about it.

David

[digits]

Originally Posted by David Bord Digits, I havent been using the ER collets, but Im sure there good. Just kinda pricey compared to the standard tool holders. If the price doesnt scare you, Im sure you would be happy with the setup. Merl, While the machine documentation states its not designed for production work, there are people using it for that. I'd give Greg a call at Tormach and see what he has to say about it. David

Cheers David - I think I'll give them a go once my new mill head is up and running.

[philbur]

The collet holders are good for smaller cutters as the concentricity by their nature is better than the standard holders. If all you need is standard holders then they are easy to make youself, although the Tormach price is not that high anyway. It depends on your particular cost vs time ratio. As a hobbiest, with losts of projects on the list and not enough time for the hobby, my breakpoint is around the 20 to 30 USD/hour mark. I hate making a tool to make a tool to make a tool to make the component.

Regards
Phil

Originally Posted by digits Cheers David - I think I'll give them a go once my new mill head is up and running.

[digits]

Originally Posted by philbur The collet holders are good for smaller cutters as the concentricity by their nature is better than the standard holders. If all you need is standard holders then they are easy to make youself, although the Tormach price is not that high anyway. It depends on your particular cost vs time ratio. As a hobbiest, with losts of projects on the list and not enough time for the hobby, my breakpoint is around the 20 to 30 USD/hour mark. I hate making a tool to make a tool to make a tool to make the component. Regards Phil

Personally I think the Tormach collet holders aren't insanely priced - I'm considering a Kress spindle, and the collets for that are £20/$40 each!!

I am almost tempted to buy a lathe to make my own, but I really don't have much need for round parts, and I really liked the video on here of someone using a taig-mill with the part in the spindle and lathe tools on the table as a vertical lathe!

[philbur]

I googled "Kress spindle" and came up with "Collet 1/4" (6.35mm) for 900 Watt KRESS spindle - 86.00 USD" - that would really hurt. That's just the collet, and you still wouldn't have a quick change system.

ER collets come in at around 10 to 15 USD. The standard tool holders from Tormach are only 21 USD.

The good thing about making the holders using your mill spindle is that everything comes up automatically concentric to the precision of your spindle.

Regards
Phil

Originally Posted by digits Personally I think the Tormach collet holders aren't insanely priced - I'm considering a Kress spindle, and the collets for that are £20/$40 each!! I am almost tempted to buy a lathe to make my own, but I really don't have much need for round parts, and I really liked the video on here of someone using a taig-mill with the part in the spindle and lathe tools on the table as a vertical lathe!