Who can tell me about the TRM's?


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  1. #1
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    Default Who can tell me about the TRM's?

    They won't let me knock out the back wall of the shop and tap 60 amps for a bigger machine
    Have a guy here locally that has a 2006 TRM and a bunch of tooling
    and prewire w/MPG for 4th for $15K
    looks like 422K memory, would like more, any cheap alternatives?
    Bout 200 hrs on the clock timer
    Looks like it just came from the factory, still has cosmoline in the Tee slots
    Dont really need a toolchanger as most jobs only have a couple tools anyway
    and I only make 2 protypes at a time
    But I wonder about the Mp32? controller
    Have used the CNC88HS for years
    Any ideas on spindle speed increasers (multiplyers) as I usually need much higher RPM's for the few times I drill micro holes and she only goes to 4K
    Anyone out there with one of these and comments before I cut the check?
    At least I won't have lease payments
    But what about repair bills?

    Thanks in advance

    Widgits



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    I had a trm. I thought at the time (since I only make one or two parts at a time) that I didnt need a toolchanger or the hassle of coolant. That was a mistake. I have since sold it (after a year) with 76 cut hrs and bought another brand machine (fully enclosed and a toolchanger). At the time I bought my trm I wanted only a fadal because the cnc 88 was the only control I had ever used (I am self taught) and didnt want to relearn on another control. Now that I have learned a different control I realize how slow the fadal control is. I am not bashing, these are just my observations. If you have more questions please feel free to pm me.

    Mark



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    Default Thanks for the input

    Fourperf
    Thats all good
    And I totally understand why you upgraded to a newer machine with all the goodies.
    My situation is a bit different
    The medical design company that hired me as the sole machinist already had
    equipment in place.
    They were a bit foolish and chose the machinist before me with little
    experience.
    And of course he had a friend that was selling a cnc milling machine
    As it turns out they were robbed out of $12K for a 1984 Bridgeport
    Dynapath 10 with a bit of tooling.
    The kid still never made any parts on it after 2 months and it was decided
    that he should leave.
    The shop space that I have is very small, actually my 2 car garage is
    almost twice the floor space.
    We sublease this section of a building, thats all I get.
    If I were to get a larger machine it would eat half of the floorspace.
    Even a Haas mini mill would be too large.
    I physically checked the sizes of an older VMC 15 and EMC series Fadal
    and the Haas mini and found that the Haas had just as large of
    footprint as the Fadals, it may be narrower but it has a greater depth.
    By the time you consider getting the electronic cabinets open and being
    able to walk around the machine it is a wash between the makers.
    Also It would mean stripping any of these machines down by removing
    the enclosure, control, Z axis servo and spindle drive motor to get it
    in the room I still don't have the space once I reassemble it
    In the end this kinda dictates a mini tool room mill.
    And I would like to upgrade the old Bridgeport Dynapath by pushing
    it out the back door with a forklift.
    It's good old American Iron but the control is just about useless and
    antiquated. but good for something like a Centroid retrofit.

    As such I do have some questions about the Fadal TRM.
    and the newer Mp32 controller.
    I talked to one guy who owns one of these machines , and he has had to
    replace the hard drive, apparently this must be for storage and
    file management. Yes?

    But this cost him $1500 to fix, seems kinda outrageous for a hard drive.
    Is it a standard drive?, can I get a ghost copy of it just in case.
    Is it proprietary? What about the Floppy drive thats in the controller
    panel? Does the hard drive have some kind of operating system on it?
    Any good ideas on how to cover my butt in case something like
    this happens?
    What about backing up my parameters and other machine settings
    just in case?
    Any ways to cheaply upgrade the memory? or did Fadal screw us out of this
    option also with other proprietary hardware on this control?
    See what I mean?

    Me thinks that either one of these machine makers has their own set of problems, I have run Haas mills before and was the unfortunate operator
    of a machine that decided to break the center bolt out of the tool
    carousel and drop it into the chip pan, and have also had a Haas SL2
    lathe just start smoking out it's $3500 power supply.
    Don't get me wrong here, I love the Haas control, very user friendly
    but one gets gun shy after a couple major incidents.

    Any ideas from you guys that you may have learned about these MP 32controls would be helpful and greatly appreciated
    before I cut the check

    Thanks in advance
    Widgits



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    I had a floppy drive go out and the main board right off the bat. The machine rpm wandered all over the place. I think that the memory is proprietary. I personally would be very careful about the trm as they only made it for a couple of years and from what I have heard and seen fadal is not in good shape. They had a bunch of layoffs and I believe sold their main building and are setting up in their reman building. If you look at the fadal forum there are nothing but problems. I know they had problems with the z motor brake and upgraded that. The first reman trm I got the z had a mind of its own if you know what I mean. They ended up replacing the machine because they could not find the problem. The problem with the trm in my opinion is parts might become a problem as they are in such limited numbers. I was definitely a fadal guy until I had my trm and then switched over to haas. Try calling fadal now and its hard to even get a live person.

    Like I said in my post, I dont mean to bash them but thats my experience.

    Mak



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    Quote Originally Posted by fourperf View Post
    I had a floppy drive go out and the main board right off the bat. The machine rpm wandered all over the place. I think that the memory is proprietary. I personally would be very careful about the trm as they only made it for a couple of years and from what I have heard and seen fadal is not in good shape. They had a bunch of layoffs and I believe sold their main building and are setting up in their reman building. If you look at the fadal forum there are nothing but problems. I know they had problems with the z motor brake and upgraded that. The first reman trm I got the z had a mind of its own if you know what I mean. They ended up replacing the machine because they could not find the problem. The problem with the trm in my opinion is parts might become a problem as they are in such limited numbers. I was definitely a fadal guy until I had my trm and then switched over to haas. Try calling fadal now and its hard to even get a live person.

    Like I said in my post, I dont mean to bash them but thats my experience.

    Mak
    Mark,
    What is this about layoffs and selling the main building and moving into the reman building. Are you sure. I have been in both buildings and find it hard to imagine that Fadal could fit in the reman building. Unless of course they are getting all of the parts made elsewhere (NOT CHINA I HOPE) and just assembling in the reman building.

    Jeff Lange
    Lightning Tool & Manufacturing, Inc.


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    Talking

    Itmquik--
    The rumor mill rides again! Yes there were a few small lay offs due to closing down the Remanufacturing operation. Fadal has NOT sold the "main" building and continues to do business as usual. (I expect some comments on that last statement.... Go for for it!)

    Neal



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    Sorry if I gave erroneous information. That was not my intension it was information I was given from a very reliable source. I have to admit that I found it hard to believe as I have been to both buildings also.

    Anyway I apologize if that information was incorrect.

    Mark



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    Thank you for the clarification Neal. Yeah you may have opened up for some "discussion" on that last statement. LOL

    Jeff Lange
    Lightning Tool & Manufacturing, Inc.


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    Neal,
    What IS the story on the Remans then. Still offering? Still maintaining? etc.

    Jeff Lange
    Lightning Tool & Manufacturing, Inc.


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    From what I heard from the Local fadal rep was that they were ending the remanufactured machine end of things
    And it isn't shut down just yet as I got a quote on a 2006 30x16 machine
    to be done in the next month or two
    As long as parts are still available and the service remains good should we really *****?
    Where I live The Haas rep is Selway machine tools
    From what I understand the HFO service guys are known to not have the right parts for the repair, install something not needed tell you they need to return and bill you on all the parts and both service calls
    Apparently this has pissed off many Haas boys in the Selway area
    Being a Fadal guy for 25+ years I have never experienced anything like this before
    To me it sounds almost like they sent the Haas repair guys out with an understocked service vehicle with the intentions of the most overpriced
    installed parts with an added travel expense is good marketing to earn customer loyalty
    Or pissed off customers

    But I must say that I miss the old day's of Francis and the boys
    Customer service and loyalty to the buyer is where it's at

    And when I call a company thats worth hundreds of millions of dollars
    I expect someone to answer the phone

    The word of one customer for exceptional service spreads fast among the masses
    And one "Oh ****" spreads even faster and degrades 100 "Atta Boys"

    Am I wrong?

    By the way I just cut the check today for the Fadal TRM

    Now can anyone answer some of the previous questions I posted in this thread about ghost copying the hard drive, etc?

    Thanks in advance

    Widgits



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Who can tell me about the TRM's?

Who can tell me about the TRM's?