Need some advice

[44-henry]

Hello, I've been reading quite a bit here on the PCNC but I have a few questions. I teach at the University of North Dakota and I've got about $11000 to purchase a new cnc mill. So far the Tormach looks like the winner within that price range. My question is what options do you feel would be the most suitable within this price envelope. We have a pretty good supply of relatively new computers, so I would not think it necessary to buy the computer that Tormach sells. Also, we currently have AutoCAD 2008 and Inventer in addition to the newest version of MasterCAM. Is there any benefit to the other software packages that normally come with these machines?

The 4th axis option sounds appealing but how usable is it? I would definitely count on getting the CNC toolkit. We have an old, but good, Kurt 6" vise, but I'm not sure if it might be too big for this mill since they recommend the 5" vise. Are there any other "must have" items that you would definitely recommend. We have a fully equipped manual machine shop with lots of Bridgeport style mills so I'm not lacking on general tooling. I do have to pay shipping out of my budget, but I don't mind spending everything else to get what I need. Any information would be appreciated.

Alex Johnson

[stedgar]

Alex,
Your choice of machine for Students is a great one. I think the Tormach is an excellent machine for this. Your Inventor and Mastercam would be great also. You will need to talk to Mastercam or Tormach to see if either have the post-processor file that will convert the mastercam imports to g-code the Mach-3 sofware (the Tormach uses Mach-3 to run the code) can run. The Mach-3 (Artsoft) folks may have something too. I bought the large tool set with my machine and have added to it since. I bought the 4th axis with my machine and I have used it quite a bit. It will also provide an additional training tool for learning G-Code for your students. The Deluxe stand with the coolant system is also a great addition. The Vise I used is from my bridgeport. A 5" kurt clone. It works great in the center slot of the table. I got it on E-bay (new). You will not go wrong with the tomach. Some of your students may also go on to start their own businesses beginning with the tormach.

Good Luck with your budget. I hope you can get everything you want. It is worth it!

Steve Edgar

[rwexec]

What do you plan on making ?
That is where you want to start first.
What tolerances do you want to hold ?
What size of parts, type of materials ?

I do agree it is a great little machine.