Which Accessories For Tormach? (And Other ?'s)

[Jynxd1]

Hi all! I am new here, and have been doing alot of research on the tormach mill, and have all but bought one. Right now I am trying to decide which accessories that are a must have. I plan on doing mainly 2.5-d a little 3-d work, and some engraving, using mainly aluminumum, mild steel, and maybe thin stainless.
Here are a few of my questions:
Is the computer that tormach offers a benefit, or would I be ahead to set one up myself? Which 5" vise should i use with the machine, what options are out there? Which CAM/CAD system(s) (on a budget) would you recomend and why? How much difficulty and time did you have in set-up of the machine? What is the biggest part you have cut?

I suppose I should also add that I have not ran any cnc equipment in a few years, and have had a small amount of cad/cam experience, so user friendly software is a plus!
Thanx for your time,

John

[Don Clement]

Which 5" vise should i use with the machine, what options are out there? John

John,

Congratulations on the your decision to buy a Tormach. I bought mine about a year ago and the Tormach is great. I didn’t buy a five inch vise but instead bought a Kurt D688 6” vise. The D688 vise fits the Tormach well and only overhangs the Y-axis about an inch. I cut a U slot in the front coolant shield that accommodates the vise hex nut through. I found the 8.8 inch opening of the D688 vise very useful for holding the 9” side triangular part. In addition with a set of Kurt vise keys installed the vise is easily and quickly aligned within “tenths” on the Tormach table with ground center slot. http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/tor.../view/4a78?b=2
http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/tor...78?b=3&m=s&o=0

Donald Clement
Running Springs, California

[MarkWink]

John,

Just purchased a Tormach a few months back.
- Mill
- Deluxe Stand (built in flood coolant - nice side walls to control mess)
- 5" Vise (handle is hard to use with the table enclosure)
- CNC TTS (not enough TTS ER20 tool holders - too many set screw style)
- Sprutcam (cheap alternative to CAM packages in it's class - Software is buggy!)
- Two Machine Arms (A must to keep things close - had to redrill casting to fit on machine)
- Tool Tray (Numbered tray helps if you use the Tool Table in Mach3)
- Lifting Bar (Unless you have a better way, get it! - T nuts included will get you started with hold downs)

The computer was created from spare parts lying around (Celeron 2Ghz - 500Meg) works great.

The machine comes with Trial Sheetcam that might get started with the 2.5.

Mach3 on the machine includes wizards for pockets/spiral/drill patterns/feed and speed.

Getting good CAD/CAM integration cheap is a dream of many of us.

I use Autodesk Inventor for the CAD (it's all I know, but I think it's great).

Sprutcam has been a struggle (Inventor import, tool library, weird crashes), spent alot of time thinking I was doing some wrong when it was the software, it's a few release away from being a good product.

Spent a good couple days setting things up - needed extra hands to land it on the base and hang the sheet metal.

Mark

[twocik]

Don't worry john I too am wondering which way to go. I guess spending anything over $10,000 is an investment and want to make sure I make the right choice.

Members here have PM'd me, telling me to go with other machines and not the tormach. The only thing really keeping me interested in the tormach are the great folks here in this section of the forum. I've started a few threads asking to show parts, helped a little bit more with understanding the capabilities of this machine. I've also thought about the computer package, accessories, etc.. (basic 2 package)


At the moment I own a home built X1 cnc and definitely need to get something that can cut stronger materials (like stainless). Don't get me wrong, it's been a great learning experience and love the fact that I can break something on this machine and fix it for few bucks (unlike the tormach).

I have a few questions for you guys as well. I've been using eMachine & Cambam (free software) for the last two years and have found a smooth work flow using them.

My question is, can I use this software with the tormach/Mach 3 ?





Thanks

[Jynxd1]

Please keep the responses coming, any and all input is welcome.
thanx!
John

[Don Clement]

Members here have PM'd me, telling me to go with other machines and not the tormach. Thanks

Did any those members actually own or use a Tormach? A year ago when I was deciding to buy the Tormach, I got the same advise form those that hadn’t even seen a Tormach. After almost a year of using my Tormach for typically eight or more hours a day, I can say that the Tormach is a great machine. The capability and reliability of the Tormach has totally disproved the advise of those who said not to buy it. Caveat lector.

Don Clement
Running Springs, California

[Freddy Bastard]

I've my Tormach for many months (about 10 months). Very good machine. Here's what I got:
-Mill
-Deluxe stand (I added coolant distributor, and a air to blow chips)
-Tormach 5inch vise (I like it, and mostly use aluminium machined jaw)
-Proxon high speed spindle (did'nt used it yet).
-TTS full tooling (just ordered a lot more holder lately... can't wait to get them...)
-4th axis (8 inch) with tail stock and 3 jaw chuck and plate. (I use it a lot, very good for the price.) Sometime, I use the 3 jaw chuck directly on the milling table.
-I use a old computer with nothing else than mach3 on it, (very good too).

I use Mastercam X2 to program (because I know this software by heart)
and use SolidWorks 2007 to design.

[Freddy Bastard]

Ho , and I did my own tool tray (more than 40 tools). I did it with 1" thick nylon plate.

[Don Clement]

Don't get me wrong, it's been a great learning experience and love the fact that I can break something on this machine and fix it for few bucks (unlike the tormach).

Where did you get the idea that the Tormach cannot be repaired quickly and economically? As a Tormach owner for almost a year, I have found the Tormach has an open architecture, is easy to work on, and is very well documented. If there are any questions that aren’t answered by the Tormach manual or constantly updated online service bulletins, phone calls to Tormach are promptly answered by Tormach’s excellent technical staff. The service I have gotten from Tormach has been nothing but exceptional.

Don Clement
Running Springs, California

[David Bord]

I two would like to hear of the other machine recommended and here from owners who have owned them for at least a year... and see some video of them cutting some serious metal.

After watching the videos linked in the MFG database on the tormach site, you know its a serious machine for the money.... For example, lets see these other machines cut off 1 inch alum in a single pass with a .5 inch roughing end mill...

David

[philbur]

What reasons do they give.

Phil

Members here have PM'd me, telling me to go with other machines and not the tormach.

[highspeedmazak]

Tormach is one great product from one great company. Just do the comparisons yourself. I use solidworks, mastercam and bobcad they are all great but for someone just starting out on a budget bobcad has the best price and is very easy to use. Very easy to use. As for the negative talk well I havent found any from actual owners of the machine.