trm

[fourperf]

does anyone know if fadal discontinued their toolroom mill?

Mark

[ltmquik]

If they didn't, they should. The TRM is as problematic as the 104D.

[fourperf]

Originally Posted by ltmquik If they didn't, they should. The TRM is as problematic as the 104D.

why?

[ltmquik]

A good business relation purchased a TRM and it never ran right from the box. The axis faulted all the time. The z-axis would POWER down until it hit the limits or a fixture. This would occur at any given time, spindle running or not. They never could get the machine fixed right. The local rep apparently did not want to do too much because their margins were too tight on the TRM's. Last I heard the company was trying to dump the machine.

I think for the money a HAAS mini mill or office mill is the route. You can get enclosures and tool changers for those. At least the HAAS is Made in the USA. Someone told me that this MAG corp. is importing most of the Fadal machine parts from Asia and putting Fadal stickers on them. Just look at the "NEW" FX machine. I think the only things acutally Fadal are the casting and the sheet metal, which is '90s vintage.

[fourperf]

Originally Posted by ltmquik A good business relation purchased a TRM and it never ran right from the box. The axis faulted all the time. The z-axis would POWER down until it hit the limits or a fixture. This would occur at any given time, spindle running or not. They never could get the machine fixed right. The local rep apparently did not want to do too much because their margins were too tight on the TRM's. Last I heard the company was trying to dump the machine. I think for the money a HAAS mini mill or office mill is the route. You can get enclosures and tool changers for those. At least the HAAS is Made in the USA. Someone told me that this MAG corp. is importing most of the Fadal machine parts from Asia and putting Fadal stickers on them. Just look at the "NEW" FX machine. I think the only things acutally Fadal are the casting and the sheet metal, which is '90s vintage.

do you know of others or just that one?

Mark

[ltmquik]

Not personally. I have heard thru our dealer that they were really only meant for Fadal to have an answer to the HAAS MiniMill. From what I understand, they were shotgunned into production. Probably a good start-up garage shop machine at the time. I wouldn't consider it production worthy. I don't think that they even offered/offer ridgid tap with the TRM.

[fourperf]

Originally Posted by ltmquik Not personally. I have heard thru our dealer that they were really only meant for Fadal to have an answer to the HAAS MiniMill. From what I understand, they were shotgunned into production. Probably a good start-up garage shop machine at the time. I wouldn't consider it production worthy. I don't think that they even offered/offer ridgid tap with the TRM.

I have one and was considering another. Rigid tapping is not an option (pitty)

I had a reman which was a P O S which they replaced with a new one that works great. I had one minor problem in 1 year (spindle speed was fluctuating -+ 80 rpm) intermittant which was fixed by having the power distibution board replaced (under warranty) Other than that I have had no problems. It is in fact in a garage shop so it does not get constant use. It has the cnc 88 control so in that respect it is the same as all the other legacy control machines. I like the control and know it. I need another machine and would like to stick with fadal because I know the control and I can share tooling (pull studs). I am a little bummed that they discontinued that machine so quickly but I am hoping that since so many of the components are shared with its other counterparts that I will not have problems.

Now my problem is what to buy next. Fadal suggested if I want another legacy control to go with a reman machine (all the new machines in my price range which is $30 000 come with the fanuc control) I am scared of the remans though due to my previous experience

[ltmquik]

The remans are a hit and miss for what one will get. Each reman our rep had on his floor was nice, new sheet metal, new controls, new motors. Each reman I purchased had old every thing. There was even rust on the latches for the cabinets and missing the E-Stop button when the machine arrived. Both machines ran fine though they seemed to need repair alot but foturnately during the warrenty period.

The problem with the legacy control is that it is old technology which equates to slowwww.

You might look at Sharp mills. They may have a machine in your budget. Do you know if HAAS offers ridgid tap on there mini mills? I know the office mill does however that may be out of your price range.

[fourperf]

Originally Posted by ltmquik The remans are a hit and miss for what one will get. Each reman our rep had on his floor was nice, new sheet metal, new controls, new motors. Each reman I purchased had old every thing. There was even rust on the latches for the cabinets and missing the E-Stop button when the machine arrived. Both machines ran fine though they seemed to need repair alot but foturnately during the warrenty period. The problem with the legacy control is that it is old technology which equates to slowwww. You might look at Sharp mills. They may have a machine in your budget. Do you know if HAAS offers ridgid tap on there mini mills? I know the office mill does however that may be out of your price range.

Thanks Jeff

I am going to look into the haas option. The drag is different tooling but maybe thats not such a big deal.

[ltmquik]

We have four (4) Fadals and were forced, by Fadals poor quality and lack of decent support in our area, to try another machine manufacturer. Tooling was a huge issue for us as we had all of our tooling set up for the Fadals. I considered Mazak becasue they used the exact tooling however I was cautioned as to Mazaks' current quality and support as well. I eventually broke down and purchased a HAAS. I also purchased a 'starter' set of tooling and robbed some of the Fadal tooling. I am gradually working on increasing the HAAS tooling. The HAAS performs so well, up to 20% faster than our newest Fadal, that I can afford to purchase tooling faster. I also have not had my new HAAS drop off line once since it was powered up on my floor.

[fizzissist]

We bought a reman '99 vintage 4020 5 years ago, and except for a memory issue that was under warranty, we haven't had a single problem that wasn't operator (meaning me....) error.

The machine looked brand spankin' new when we got it, and the only evidence of prior use was a small divit in the table.

I do wish there was a reasonably priced upgrade to the controller though, because it IS old technology in just too many ways.....and it's clumsy.

[hsmexpert]

discontinued. but try uptimecnc.com they may have one in stock