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Does it stay at work or at home Dave?Bill
Dave,Don't tease me. Bet the shipping costs to the UK would be a killer.
QuoteThere is at least one UK member of this forum with a Tormach and a few more over on ME forum, maybe it's not so bad or they have deep pockets?
There is at least one UK member of this forum with a Tormach and a few more over on ME forum, maybe it's not so bad or they have deep pockets?
If this works out well, I' just might have to get me one of these!.....10 x 6 x 10 work envelope. Not bad!....The price is far more affordable than you would think....like $10K....ready to run with tooling.Dave
I spent two lengthy stints designing CNC machine tools at two different companies, but I've only used CNC twice, and never really got into programing or CAM.WE're getting a 1 year license for Autodesk Fusion 360 CAM for free and I've been getting my head wrapped around that currentlyDave
Quote from: steamer on August 10, 2017, 11:17:21 AMIf this works out well, I' just might have to get me one of these!.....10 x 6 x 10 work envelope. Not bad!....The price is far more affordable than you would think....like $10K....ready to run with tooling.DaveDave:Looks like you have a PCNC 440? Is this instead of the Sherline/Taig CNC equipment you were considering? For commercial use I think this is a much better choice, though I haven't seen one in person. Keep us updated with progress.Thanks.Hugh
I have the 1100 and have been running it for just over 2 years. One of the nice things about the 440 is the 10K spindle speed (1100 only goes to 5K.) But I was able to cut some .040" slots .040" deep in 303 stainless with a 1/32" ball end mill at 5,000 rpm. Piece of cake and it took all of 4 minutes.I will be interested on your learning curve with Fusion 360. I got the Sprutcam sold by Tormach, which is Russian translated (sort of) into English. Made for a pretty good challenge on top of learning CAM.John
The people I mentioned above have made up simple brackets so a high speed spindle like a Kress can be mounted at the side of the main spindle and used with small cutters, machine can run the program much faster with the cutter at its optimum speed. One was on a 1100 machine, not sure what the other is without looking back, both have 4th axis
Of course there's a strong feeling within the UK modelling world that CNC is 'cheating' but do I give a 4X? Having the Tormach has changed the way I design and machine parts, allowing me to save time, get a better part, and make parts I couldn't do any other way. Andrew
I'm curious to see how this works out for you Dave; sometime between now and when I retire I would like to add a new CNC to the home shop. I get along with my converted knee mill but it does have it's limitations.Can you tell us what type of work you will be doing with the Tomach, or is it top secret?Dave
The steepest learning curve for me was fixtures and initial stock size, ie, how am I going to hold this part, what am I going to use for work references and how am I going to set them, what stock will be sacrificial, and so on.
Looks more like a conference room or office from the picture.
Nice looking machines Dave!Did you get the full enclosure for the mill?Dave
Until I set up the flood cooling on my machine I used a Micro Drop oiler and it worked pretty well. I was machining mostly aluminum and plastic, though a good amount of SS as well.I still use the Micro Drop on the manual mills and the lathes but use flood on everything on the 1100.John
Derbyshire 750