Reply with QuoteI got my 1100 series 3 in march 2012. Great machine.
Has anyone run it with EMC2 (now LinuxCNC) instead of Mach? I abjectly hate the interface to Mach3 and really like my EMC based machine. I notice that Tormach offers EMC2 as an option but I have not seen anyone mention using it.
I'm serously contemplating this but I'm going to have to take a second job to get it I think. I'll never be able to get into the ATC but that's alright. If i ever came up with a way to make it pay I would consider getting one somehow.
I had some reservations after a couple of threads but really it seems like the positive experiances vastly outnumber the negative. Going to have to setup an account and start saving I guess. I enjoy my PM-25 conversion but it's always needing a tweek here or there and it's taking years to get it going. I would have been better off to save the money and buy the 1100. It will be some time before it has limit switches and a decent enclosure for the electronics still. It would be nice to get a machine that is accurate and complete out of the box.
CNC: Making incorrect parts and breaking stuff, faster and with greater precision.
I got my 1100 series 3 in march 2012. Great machine.
I experienced this part first hand. I bought a bridgeport that was retrofitted with a Centroid controller (which I really liked). It ran fine for several months, and made good money with it - but in the dead of winter my shop got real cold at night. I can only assume that lead to the demise of the mobo. Long story short, this particular mobo had just falled out of support. The only way to replace it was to 'upgrade' - which at this point was an OS upgrade, memory upgrade and of course the mobo. Somewhere near 4,000$. I sold the whole thing for parts.Originally Posted by David Bord
Not even a remote regret about the machine that I purchased new over 6 years ago... with the exception of being able to afford one a couple decades ago
Since you are buying now, you are getting a mill with several upgrades compared to the series one I started with.. Ive ordered almost all the upgrades over the years including the ATC. I dont need the ATC, but was able to scrape the cash together so purchased it. Its just awesome to have if you can afford it.
The service has surpassed my highest expectations. The whole Tormach team is just outstanding. Several degreed engineers work on the products and answer support questions. Ive never had a problem reaching someone in all these years when needing help
I looked at converting a manual mill but after doing lots of reading, I dont think I could have gotten an as reliable and capable machine after several months of work.
I personally wouldnt touch an older/used VMC if not in a serious production environment. The cost of repair could be significant if a control board etc needed to be replaced.
Tormachs control is all based on extremely popular Mach 3. Even if Tormach wasnt around you could still easily repair the machine with available components.
Buying the mill was probably the single best purchase of my life... I know ridiculous statement right? The reason comes from 20+ years of ideas that have come and gone for parts that I would have loved to make only if... Now I can get my 'Inventor' on... and its been a freaking blast.
David
Did you order yet!
PM-45 CNC conversion built/run/sold.
Lol, not yet. I'm waiting on funds to clear my bank. I did request a quote though.
What a timely thread. I've been looking for a garage machine for a long time but I've been leaning toward the Haas Super Mini because I work in a shop with big machines; i.e. 15-20HP spindles.
You guys that have worked with the bigger machines, do you beat your head against the wall because it won't cut like the big machines? It's really the only reason I haven't looked at a Tormach. I haven't pulled the trigger - am I missing a great product?
I said in an earlier post that I am a former CNC shop owner. I was a one man show with a FADAL 3016 and a Haas TM1.
I have had my Tormach for 11 months now, and I have not regretted my decision to buy it for a single second.
So far, I can do ANYTHING on my PCNC1100 that I could do on my FADAL or my Haas, it just takes a little longer. And I feel really good about it because it didn't cost $75,000.00.
I don't do big parts. In fact, most of the stuff I do requires a 3/8 or smaller cutter. Most of the time, I don't use a cutter larger than 5/16.
I have done surface profiling, contouring, threading milling, tapping (I use a TapMatic tapping head), drilling, reaming, inside and outside boring.
I have one part that requires a lot of material to be removed on the inside and the outside so instead of taking .100 cuts and worrying the material out, I make a drilling routine and plunge ruff it and then finish mill it with the same cutter.
I'm going to be running that part again in about 2 weeks. When I do, I'll make a video and post it.
I did a time study last time I ran this particular part. If I machine it out taking .100 steps, it takes a little over 12 minutes oer part and there are 4 parts on the fixture. If I use the plunge ruffung and finish machining method, it takes 16 1/2 minutes to do all 4 pieces.
You can buy GOOD PARTS or you can buy CHEAP PARTS, but you can't buy GOOD CHEAP PARTS.
I would love to see it. Yes, your comment stuck out as I have a Fadal 3016, 2 4020s, a 5020, and 2 Haas VF3s. I absolutely understand a little longer. That doesn't concern me at all. I don't push the mills here too hard anyway. You mention all the things I want to be able to do with it, literally everything! The 3D surfacing is what concerns me the most. The Fadals are decent at making a fine finish, the Haas is even better. I don't care if it takes all day, can I make a ready to polish 3D surface with a Tormach?
You CAN make polish ready surfaces. I program with GibbsCam and I do a lot of surfacing with a 3/16 ball end mill, and that requires a 2 step process to get them ready to polish. A 3/16 end mill leaves a .0001 scallop between passes unless you can make less than a .005 step over. If I have the room and a large enough corner radius, I will use a larger end mill. I use a 3/16 in some parts because I want a .156 corner radius.
You can buy GOOD PARTS or you can buy CHEAP PARTS, but you can't buy GOOD CHEAP PARTS.
SBC Cycle, where are you located? Perhaps when I get the plunge ruffing job running you could come and check it out. I am in San Clemente, CA.
You can buy GOOD PARTS or you can buy CHEAP PARTS, but you can't buy GOOD CHEAP PARTS.
Sounds very similar to how I approach 3D finishing.
If the Haas guy would have got my quote to me 4 weeks ago, I wouldn't even be looking. I pretty much hit every option available on the Tormach and I can still buy 2 of them for the price of the Mini that I got from the Haas site (dealer insists they can do better than the "Build a Quote" but again, I haven't seen it yet).
Damn, this is really going to set me back a bit but I have to see one of these things in action. Anyone in Ohio have one of these that wouldn't mind a total stranger coming in and taking a peek at theirs? How did you finance it or are we talking a cash purchase?
Tormach has a map of users that are willing to discuss or demo their personal mills here:
Mill Demos & Referrals | Tormach LLC | We provide personal small CNC machines, CNC tooling, and many more CNC items
Looks like like there are several in Ohio.
Mike
Ohio here. I would travel to see one though. If the factory would let me bring a part to machine, I would drive up there. It's about an 8 hour trip.
None in my neighborhood but again I'd hop in the car to talk to someone who has ran the machine a while and who is not afraid to tell me the limitations. Every machine has them and I don't have high expectations after some of the mini mills I've seen. I guess I just haven't seen a mini mill generate the responses I've seen in this thread. I'm pretty anxious to see one at this point.
Thanks for the link and the feedback.
Too, bad I live in Minnesota, bit of a drive. You are more than welcome to try your part on my 1100 series 3 if you wish. Steve I believe said it best, the Tormach will do the same as the big boys, just a little slower. I did do a few things to my mill though 32" monitor and digital RPM, it also works as a load meter.
Steve, please do. I'd really appreciate it.
There are higher-end CAM packages (for me anything beyond MeshCAM and SheetCam is "higher-end") that tout their "J-hook" plunge roughing routines, that pull out away from the surface a little for the retracts. If I were to use plunge-roughing, it would be straight down, straight up (i.e. G81 drill cycle).
Are you doing something more sophisticated, or are you literally using a drill cycle?
Thanks,
Randy
Last edited by zephyr9900; 06-22-2012 at 09:24 PM.
My guess is they wouldn't have an issue with that. Tormach is pretty good about this sort of thing. They have actual machinists and engineers and working machines. It isn't just some importing companies office. I would call and ask.
I'm almost certain they would let you run the part. I was there about 4 years ago, met Greg, Bob, Ann, ...
I didn't have them run a part, but they gave me a tour, and answered any questions I had. They will give you honest, educated opinions without any sales pressures. Great company to deal with.
Last edited by Wog; 06-23-2012 at 09:52 AM. Reason: can't spell
Nice. I have a 4th axis part (not continuous 4th, just indexing) that is as complicated as anything I'll need to do. Some of the videos I've seen on the tubes pretty much say yes, this machine will do it. I really want to see an ATC machine. I couldn't put a price on being able to walk away to do other work.
I stayed up very late watching videos. I'm beginning to understand the limitations but if I had just bought one of these a few years ago I cry thinking about what I could have made in those years holding out for a big machine.
I have a good friend who is going through all that right now. He is holding out for a bigger machine. REALLY DUMB if you ask me. I tell him you need to walk before you can run. Get the Tormach, start making some money, THEN look for a big machine. In the mean time, only take parts that will fit the Tormach.
I had a 3016 FADAL in my shop. It had 30 inches of X travel and 16 inches of Y travel. I would guess 90% of the jobs I did on that machine fit well within the confines of a 6 inch vise. In the 8 years I had that machine, I don't remember EVER putting the jaws on the outside of the vise. I just didn't take that kind of work.
You can buy GOOD PARTS or you can buy CHEAP PARTS, but you can't buy GOOD CHEAP PARTS.
Where do you live? There are many Tormach owners who are willing to demo their machines, me included. You can find a local owner by going to this page.
Mill Demos & Referrals | Tormach LLC | We provide personal small CNC machines, CNC tooling, and many more CNC items
Frederic
