For those who upgraded to series 3 motors and drives.

[howecnc]

Now that you guys have had a chance to use the upgrade I was wondering what improvements you are seeing?

3d Surface finish, side wall surface finish and accuracy.

Thanks

Chris

[howecnc]

184 views later, I guess I will change the question.

Is the Series 3 upgrade worth the money to do?

Thanks

Chris

[shred]

I'm liking the upgrade on mine. I haven't done any before-after comparison work as most of my stuff is one-time runs, but rapids are faster and it runs quieter. I had a Series 1 without the Z brake and the old Tordrives, so for only about 2X what the Z brake upgrade alone cost, it was a no-brainer to go that route once I finally got fed up with blocking up the spindle every time I powered down.

[howecnc]

Thanks for the reply.

[philbur]

I did a series 1 to 3 upgrade. I don't do 3D and I didn't do a back to back comparison in finish or accuracy. Tormach says I wont see any difference in finish or accuracy, I believe em. I never had trouble with the Z axis falling syndrome. The greater rapids are a luxury. I now have 3 spare steppers and drivers for a possible future project. Was it worth the cost, possibly not. Would I do it again, probably yes.

Phil

[byellin]

I did a series 1 to 3 upgrade. I didn't notice an improvement in surface finish, but the faster rapids are really nice when doing tool changes and drilling hole patterns. The smooth and quiet operation alone is worth the $. I'm very satisfied with the purchase.

[Mooser]

I did a series 1 to 3 upgrade. I don't do 3D and I didn't do a back to back comparison in finish or accuracy. Tormach says I wont see any difference in finish or accuracy, I believe em. I never had trouble with the Z axis falling syndrome. The greater rapids are a luxury. I now have 3 spare steppers and drivers for a possible future project. Was it worth the cost, possibly not. Would I do it again, probably yes.

Phil

Pretty much the same here. I do some 3D work, about the same as before IMHO.
Mooser

[howecnc]

I guess I am confused as to how the machine couldn't be more accurate.
They say with the new motors and drives when in step mode you can step .0001" and get .0001". The old motors and drives were barely good for .0005"
Shouldn't this translate to greater accuracy?

Thanks,

Chris

[philbur]

There's a lot of other sloppy/rubbery stuff in the loop between the work-piece surface and the cutting edge of the cutting tool. The vagaries of the relationship between stator and rotor in the stepper motor is only one.

Phil

I guess I am confused as to how the machine couldn't be more accurate.
They say with the new motors and drives when in step mode you can step .0001" and get .0001". The old motors and drives were barely good for .0005"
Shouldn't this translate to greater accuracy?

Thanks,

Chris

[rowbare]

I installed my upgrade a couple of weeks ago. Mine was a Series 1 to 3 upgrade as well. I am quite pleased with it and I find it was worth the money. The rapids are definitely quieter and I really appreciate getting rid of the resonance at slow feeds. I do find that the Z howls at rapid speed though it isn't an issue at lower speeds.

bob

[zephyr9900]

Thanks to Barry/btu44's thread http://www.cnczone.com/forums/tormac...s_3_digit.html I am enjoying 90 ipm rapids and smooth operation with an unmodified, but tuned, Series 1 (serial 128 so pretty early). I am using Mach 3.043.022 with the 3-digit Tormach XML, so there might also be the benefit of a more optimized driver than the Mach 2.42 that came with the machine in 2006.

Randy

[adamvs]

184 views later, I guess I will change the question.

Is the Series 3 upgrade worth the money to do?

I work in my garage, so I ( and my neighbors ) appreciate the noise reduction which is quite a bit. I was able to sell the old motors and controllers on craigslist for $150, which may have been underpriced, because a guy picked them up the next day. So the net cost of the upgrade was about $500. Well worth it IMO.