Reply with QuoteI'm curious to know what maintenance you do on your Tormach. Holidays' are coming and I plan to shut down my Tormach and do a good cleanup, ajust gibs, clean wipers, ... any other thing we should check?
Thoughts on Life Expectancy of the Tormach Mill
I bought a Tormach in June of 2008 to use specifically for a new prototype project. We end up using the machine 3/5 days a week for various parts and prototypes. I was wondering what kind of longevity that this machine has, given regular maintenance. So far, the only issue that we have had is that the spindle has randomly shut down a time or two. Otherwise, it has performed flawlessly. We bought the entire package including computer, tool change kit, and enclosure/chip tray/stand. For those of you with high hours on your machine, is there any achilles heel that I can expect to creep up in the future?
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I'm curious to know what maintenance you do on your Tormach. Holidays' are coming and I plan to shut down my Tormach and do a good cleanup, ajust gibs, clean wipers, ... any other thing we should check?
10 years is good and ours will probably last beyond that as it's in a clean environment and not used every day. We haven't had to adjust the gibbs yet, but the z will creep down with no power applied. We just engage the brake before we shut it down for the day.
I think the key to longevity is lubrication, lubrication, lubrication. I check regularly that all points are receiving a good flow of oil and that the way covers are protecting the ways from chips. If you have food coolant then you should also check that it is not washing the lubricant away. I think the other point for ballscrew longevity is to not use the same area of the table all the time. Worn ways are a showstopper, worn ballscrews are expensive to replace, everything else is "replace when dead".
Just some personal thoughts
Phil
PS: If you have unplanned spindle stops the VFD upgrade would possibly be a good idea.
Originally Posted by telecaster911
Put the machine in manual turn the spindle on all the way up. next inone quick turn drop it to 50%..if the spindle turns off you need to adjust your decelleration on the VFD read your manual
If the machine creeps down with out power it is time for you to adjust your gib on Z axis read your manual....
Last edited by HMB3000; 12-13-2008 at 10:34 AM.
Will do on the gibbs and the spindle check. Thanks
Well, I adjusted the gibbs per the manual this morning, checked the ways, and verified that the one shot was pumping through all points. Then I checked the VFD per your instruction. It shut right off just as you had noted. I adjusted the decel to the point where it won't shut down. Many thanks
AnytimeMany thanks
Happy Holidays
Mike
