Originally Posted by
soofle616
Cliff notes: If you know what you're doing and you have a chunk of money to spend all at once, buy the Haas. If you're new to the game, Tormach ftw
Biggest reason in my mind to buy a Tormach over a Haas is the massively reduced barrier to entry with respect to knowledge. I applaud all you guys that have years of experience running, programming, and otherwise being around CNC machines. For a guy like me who essentially jumped into machining, programming, and CNC operating all at once with essentially zero knowledge base, having to figure all that stuff out while trying to wrap my head around the basic functions of a Haas or similar control panel AND knowing that every oops moment I had could potentially lead to a crash that I couldn't afford the repairs for was beyond overwhelming. Low horsepower, slower speeds, weaker axis motors, an intuitive UI that anyone with basic computer abilities can figure out, cheap parts, and (sorta) open source software meant I could focus on learning how to program and run the machine. Worked too. I've had mine less than two years now and I develop most of the new programs and fixtures that are being used by my employer to make our parts. I've figured out everything from basic toolpaths to thread milling and 3d surfacing, built my own 4th axis and used it to produce a nearly perfect 34 tooth spline on the first attempt, built my own smartcool clone that interfaces directly to the machine, added a DIY coolant mist collector, and am (slowly) working on an ATC and I/O module which will both integrate seamlessly to the existing controller. All of that while crashing the machine, breaking tools, flinging material around the enclosure, burning and cutting myself more times than I can count, ruining countless chunks of raw material, but never doing any damage to the machine itself. Other than some scratches in the paint and a cracked window that is.