This is a copy of a post to another forum questions.
Hi - I got my 1240 Smithy mill in early Feb. and have been using it regularly since. I am a machine designer/prototyper and use it to make parts for the manufacturing machines I make. I have done UNMW (40 hrs.), 6061 aluminum ( 50 hrs.), and low carbon steel (20 hrs). The 1240 performs well once I figured out what it could handle. For the aluminum I was using a 1.25 in. diameter 3 flute cutter with al. inserts for a lot of material removal. 3000 rpm, 15 ipm, 0.080 doc. The inverter driven 3 phase motor works well but under heavy load the spline clearances on the spindle shaft seem to contribute to some chatter. The belt drive is a blessing. I use Mach 3 and have found that when I increase the feedrate during machining the rapid feedrate is increase by the same percentage. I have crashed a few times because it lost steps being unable to move at 2X the standard 75 ipm rapid. The big stepper motors seem to be able to do anything I have asked it to do without a problem so far. I did break a 3/8" cutter one time by driving it (spindle off) into my material, the X axis stepper didn't even seem to notice. I have done some holding jigs that were 24" X 24" by revolving them about a fixed center reference pin. They turned out nicely so I am quite pleased with limits of the machine. Whenever I have needed to call Smithy there has been a person there to talk to and they have answered my question well. As far as setting the unit up the biggest challenge for me was unloading that much weight out of my Sprinter van and then lifting it up so I could slide the Smithy stand under it in my low ceilinged shop. Both tasks were accomplished with a chain hoist and a little creative rigging. There is little or no mechanical challenge involved in the uncrating and setup.
I use IronCad, Dolphin CAD/CAM (it has an IronCad addon that quickly send surfaces to the Cam software), CutViewer ( for cnc verification) and Mach 3 for machine control so I can't comment on you software questions.
So far I feel like I spent my money wisely and feel very good about having the Smithy.
Good Luck
Gary
A few additions.
I ordered my Smithy 1240 through Novakon (http.
www.novakon.net) because I knew I wanted to use Mach 3 and I liked their computer/controller power supply package. Working with John Sandstrom (Mr. Novakon) has been a real pleasure. He is readily available for the challenges of the software setup and when we had a Gecko drive go out (driving those big steppers was a challenge for the 202s) he upgradded me to a new 203v equipped unit. I highly recommend you contact him if you are considering a Smithy.
02-09-2008, 05:18 PM
Similar Threads 
Linear Mode
