NEW MILL TURN ARRIVED

[Engineering_101]

just an update, i did get the tailstock to accept the tapers. i used an angle grinder with a sanding wheel to take off the material that i suspected was binding up. it works now, heres some pictures of the modification

[magudaman]

just an update, i did get the tailstock to accept the tapers. i used an angle grinder with a sanding wheel to take off the material that i suspected was binding up. it works now, heres some pictures of the modification

So you have had the machine for a couple month now, would you still have purchased in hindsight? I am looking at the tormach 770 but the shopmaster look interesting and I would be getting a mill.

[Engineering_101]

So you have had the machine for a couple month now, would you still have purchased in hindsight? I am looking at the tormach 770 but the shopmaster look interesting and I would be getting a mill.

PM me

[dstevens]

Engineering_101: got your PM but cannot reply. Thanks for the info. Good luck.

[vegas3416]

So, as far as you can say with the shopmaster mill turn would you recommend it over the tormach 1100 or are you satisfied with the machine thus far

[vegas3416]

Do you have a shopmaster mill turn? Or is this based on past experience? Not saying you have no idea just use to a lot of people dogging a company because of one bad experience. Just want to know why?

[precisionhone]

PM me with your email.

[sharpshooter90]

Here is a video link of a simple job making delrin bushings on the mill turn. Looks like an easy setup and simple set of gang tooling- looks like they could turn out a few hundred per day easy.

[smallblock]

Besides the poor setup you mention, he has an older style machine which he claims has too much clearance in the quill- you can find the thread here somewhere. There is a simple fix which was illustrated by another customer which would only take 30 minutes at most to do. Here is a picture.

[n1tr0]

And yes the machine's dro is off. I know this for a fact because when I'm cutting a part, zero it on that cut position, move away then move back to "zero", I'm diving in to the part taking off a fair bit of material. Reminds me of cheap digital calipers that never actually return to zero.

Just reading through this again. Did you get it sorted? If not, are you moving away and back using the hand-crank or with Mach3?

If you're doing this manually and the real DRO is reading zero, the pickup is either mis-aligned or defective and you should definitely contact ShopTask/ShopMaster.
If this is all within Mach3 and the virtual DRO, then it might be as simple as missed steps due to trying to move too quickly.

@Sharpshooter90, Thanks for the new video. It seems the Late-July container shipment has been pushed back to ~Mid-September, so I'm still waiting on my machine. I've been looking over the pictures and can already see a number of things I'll likely be changing shortly after it arrives, like the stepper driver power supply. If you want to avoid missed steps, I've found a proper motor power supply like the STP-PWR-4810 from Automation Direct makes a huge difference. I haven't had much luck with all-in-one stepper drivers before either, but I haven't used the G540 yet. Everyone seems to love the Tormach, but it's easily double the price once you add in the basics required to use it plus the additional expense and shop space required for a lathe... I really have my fingers crossed that the new 2015 Shopmaster can do a decent enough job (or that it can be simply modified to get there).

[sharpshooter90]

[

@Sharpshooter90, Thanks for the new video. It seems the Late-July container shipment has been pushed back to ~Mid-September, so I'm still waiting on my machine. I've been looking over the pictures and can already see a number of things I'll likely be changing shortly after it arrives, like the stepper driver power supply. If you want to avoid missed steps, I've found a proper motor power supply like the STP-PWR-4810 from Automation Direct makes a huge difference. I haven't had much luck with all-in-one stepper drivers before either, but I haven't used the G540 yet. Everyone seems to love the Tormach, but it's easily double the price once you add in the basics required to use it plus the additional expense and shop space required for a lathe... I really have my fingers crossed that the new 2015 Shopmaster can do a decent enough job (or that it can be simply modified to get there).[/QUOTE]

According to JT, the next shipment is delayed not by Chinese production, but because the G540 drivers that are shipped to them from USA got stuck in Chinese customs. The first couple batches of Mill Turns had some teething issues, so they slowed down production to be sure all the new units were fully sorted. JT says they actually de-tune the G540 to avoid issues of missed steps. They are capable of running 900 OZ/IN motors, but Shopmaster puts in a current resistor and uses 500 OZ/IN motors. I have read that use of the ethernet smooth stepper improves the performance by about 20% and allows you to step up to a newer computer. I think the use of Gecko drives and Mach 3 software is one of the big plus factors for them, as both of these products have been well proven and offer great support. From my experience, I can say that the Shopmaster is a solid value right out of the box, and a can be tweaked to perform at a higher level with a little ingenuity.

[dstevens]

I've received the same information - container should leave China around the end of this month. Given the transit time (3 weeks) and port clearance at each end then I'd guess that shipping from NV will be the end of September at the earliest.

[precisionhone]

Why should I fix a brand new machine. You wouldn't fix a brand new car after you got it home. No it would be fix by the dealer under the 3 year warranty. JT should be a man and live up to his 3 year warranty. BTW it take about an hour to pull the bridge off and then same amount of time to put it back on plus machining time to drill and tap those holes on the quill. I have 1 question. After you drill and tap these holes what are you going to do when you wear a groove into the quill and it starts walking again?

[smallblock]

[QUOTE=precisionhone;1745080 I have 1 question. After you drill and tap these holes what are you going to do when you wear a groove into the quill and it starts walking again?[/QUOTE]

You seem so fixated on complaining that you missed the obvious answer as posted long ago by the other owner.





"The stripe you see on the quill is the witness of the bronze slipper pushing on the surface of the steel."

[Kenny Duval]

Look man I get it. You are ticked off but let's face the facts if you were truly looking for a machine that was perfect out of the box and would perform that way for many years you probably bought the wrong machine. I would not go out looking for Ferrari level looks, performance and value at the Hyundai dealership.

Sorry I had to use your car analogy.

[GITERDUN]

JT should be a man and live up to his 3 year warranty.

Did you ever send the parts back to them so they could repair or replace them?

[dstevens]

precisionhone, please stop high jacking the thread. Some of us wish to discuss the new mill-turn without this turning into a bitter rant.

[smallblock]

Just an update- got these pictures from JT- next batch of machines will be fitted with one shot oilers.

[n1tr0]

Any idea if this is the mid-late September container batch ?

[sharpshooter90]

Looks like a nice setup- ball screws and X, Y carriage all from the same manifold. I E-mailed Shopmaster and they said its on the next container due in a few weeks. Some other upgrades in the same batch as well.