Considering selling my PCNC1100

[turbostang]

I have a brand new PCNC 1100, ATC, 4th axis, TTS tools, delux stand etc..

I'm considering getting a bigger machine, 5HP spindle etc. I'm having a hard time deciding on what to do. Part of the cash will go towards the 'new' machine, part of it will go towards opening a shop full time (I do a LOT of custom race car fab work, business is good right now - time to get out on my own)..

Someone talk me down off the ledge, or talk some sense into me!!

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[Steve Seebold]

What kind of race cars do you work on? Full size or R/C?

I make a lot for different types of 1/5 scale R/C cars and gasoline powered boats, and I am actually busier than I want to be. With one machine, I work 40 to 70 hours a week.

I started this about 14 months ago as a hobby, and it's turned in to a full time business.

I'm actually beginning to think about a second machine. I don't want to get back into the rat race of having machine payments, rent, insurance and big utility bills again. If I get a second machine, it will sit beside my current machine. In my garage.

[riabma]

I have a brand new PCNC 1100, ATC, 4th axis, TTS tools, delux stand etc..

I'm considering getting a bigger machine, 5HP spindle etc. I'm having a hard time deciding on what to do. Part of the cash will go towards the 'new' machine, part of it will go towards opening a shop full time (I do a LOT of custom race car fab work, business is good right now - time to get out on my own)..

Someone talk me down off the ledge, or talk some sense into me!!

I was in the same boat. I tried to sell my 1100 and move to a real CNC, but I decided to keep the Tormach:

1.- I will not need to wait too long to make the same money I will get for the Tormach.
2.- I will have 2 spindles if I decided to move with a new machine. The Tormach will be great for a side machine (facing, fixtures, etc...).
3.- I discovered I was too far to get the 100% of capabilities of the Tormach.
4.- Looking also to buy another 1100.

I hope it helps!

[turbostang]

Steve, they're full size drag cars. I do a lot of fab work like building turbo kits mainly. Some chassis work, specialized brackets, tuning etc. I have some drawings that I'm working on for a billet intake elbow too, but that's taking forever since i"m a noob to 3D programming.

riamba, I have to sell the tormach to recover some of the cash I'd need to get the 'new' machine. I don't do them yet, but there's some parts that are longer than the 18" X limits of the tormach.

I will miss the ATC and PDB though..

[rowbare]

I will miss the ATC and PDB though..

That statement kind of surprised me. I would have assumed that if you are moving away from the Tormach you would be getting into something more capable like a used VMC which would have a toolchanger. I am hard pressed to think of what there is in between that would meet your requirements and works out of the box or ships reliably. IH has a bigger table but doesn't have a 5HP spindle and I don't think any of the knee mill conversions do either.

With a bit of fixturing, you should be able to overcome the length limitation.

bob

[turbostang]

That statement kind of surprised me. I would have assumed that if you are moving away from the Tormach you would be getting into something more capable like a used VMC which would have a toolchanger. I am hard pressed to think of what there is in between that would meet your requirements and works out of the box or ships reliably. IH has a bigger table but doesn't have a 5HP spindle and I don't think any of the knee mill conversions do either.

With a bit of fixturing, you should be able to overcome the length limitation.

bob

The machines I'm looking at are Bridgeport type machines that don't have ATC's... although some do have PDB's. The last one I had was a 3HP and Easily took 2x the DOC's the tormach appears to be able to take.

I'm going to do some more investigating and see if the monetary loss vs. the time gained is really worth it.

I mean, as you said, you can make some fixturing to overcome the part's length, just not sure how feasable it is.

[SquibLoad]

If you are machining long skinny things, you could also add a linear slide with a stepper motor plugged into the 4th axis port.

Here's how:
Re-define your 4th axis as linear in your config setup and program 'A' in place of 'X' once you run out of travel on the 'X' axis, and you'll be able to do pieces as long as the combined travel of both the 'X' (18in) and whatever slide you add. Some of those slides available on 'that-place'bay are very robust and sturdy. Of course, you'd have to take off the table shields to allow clearance, though.

I've used this method on my 1100 and it works great. I bought a spare stepper motor and cable kit from Tormach, and hooked it up to a linear slide, reset the config to match the TPI of the slide, and set 'A' for linear, and away it goes. Quite easy, actually.

This method might hold you off from having to get a bigger machine for a bit.

[David Bord]

What is the Z axis travel of the Bridgeports you are looking st?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

What is the Z axis travel of the Bridgeports you are looking st?

Z travel on a Bridgeport is typically 12-16".

Having one, I would not recommend a knee mill as a great candidate for a CNC conversion. A good bed mill would make a MUCH better choice.

Regards,
Ray L.

[Steve Seebold]

IF you decide to upgrade to a larger mill, I definitely would not go with a Bridgeport type retrofit mill. They have Z axis travel of 3.5 t0 5 inches. What are you going to do if the first job you get has a 6 inch deep hole?

I have 2 parts for my boats and cars that require a 1/8 inch diameter, 5.5 and 6 inches deep in .200 thick material, and the holes can't break out the side of the part. With my PCNC 1100. I am able to drill that hole straight within about .002, TIR.

[turbostang]

IF you decide to upgrade to a larger mill, I definitely would not go with a Bridgeport type retrofit mill. They have Z axis travel of 3.5 t0 5 inches. What are you going to do if the first job you get has a 6 inch deep hole?

I have 2 parts for my boats and cars that require a 1/8 inch diameter, 5.5 and 6 inches deep in .200 thick material, and the holes can't break out the side of the part. With my PCNC 1100. I am able to drill that hole straight within about .002, TIR.

Most of the stuff I do are bracket-like parts and are usually 2-3" thick, so that's normally not a problem.

On my old bridgeport, when I (rarely) had that problem, I moved the knee and had the offsets setup appropriately. While that was a mild PITA, it worked.

[turbostang]

FWIW, I also have one of the big MTW IH clones, and ALL of the electronics to retrofit it too. While I have the PCNC, I had planned on making all of the brackets etc.. to get it finished up.

My main concern with it was reliability.

[BAMCNC.COM]

Can't you CNC the knee instead of the spindle? Or both?

[herrmc]

I just went and picked it up on Sunday! Don't have it all put back together yet.... slightly damaged one of the oiler hoses..... will have to replace it before re-assembly. And the Z home switch.