[Ryan_]

I am new to this forum, but have been agonising for a couple of years about whether to go with manual or CNC milling. I had almost committed to buying a Tormach 770, however, I can't justify spending $10,000 AUD to get even the most basic package to Australia.

Does anyone have a rough estimate how much it would cost to convert a BF20 vs BF30V? assuming there are mechanical kits for both ( I want to avoid modifying the machine or machining the mounts, I'm not sure I have the skills to design from scratch). As far as the electronics are concerned, there appears to be plenty of options from various vendors. I notice that the BF20 and 30 appear to be the most popular small machines to CNC, so I am likely to choose those because there is plenty of support available online.

another option is to keep it manual and add a DRO and power feed, Which is going to cost about $1,500. I'm guessing thats about 1/3 of the cost of CNC components?

I'd like to be able to machine most metals, including stainless steel. I don't really machine terribly complex parts and mostly do one offs, I do use CAD a fair bit. I do a lot of design 'on the fly' however, so I don't think a CNC is going to be *that* much more productive. I just want to get a mill that gives me options convert in the future, at a lower cost than the Tormach

Thanks

Ryan

[phomann]

Hi Ryan,

In Australia, a number of us are converting the TM20VL or as is is no the TM25VL from Titan Machinery. Give Stuart there a call and have a chat.
TM25V - MILLING

This is my build log. I'm not using a conversion kit, doing it all myself as there was no kit available when I started.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...58266-cnc.html

Another Aussie Aaron Powter has also converted the machine and is looking at building conversion kits for the TM25VL. Send him a PM and see what he can offer.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...6-cnc-cad.html
https://www.youtube.com/user/DCTTeacher1


I'm also putting together an Electronics Part kit that will assist with putting the electronics together.

CruddCNC who also converted the machine has done quite a few videos that give a good indication of what the machine is capable of.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...77391-cnc.html
https://www.youtube.com/user/cruddCNC

The above should give you a good starting point to begin your quest.

Cheers,

Peter

[pippin88]

I've got a TM20LV with poor fit and finish, and combined with reports from others I can't really recommend Titan.
There doesn't seem to be a seller in Australia that is comparable to Grizzly in terms of support and value.

[bladehunter]

Machine cost & CNC conversion are quite minor compared to collecting the require tooling.

I bought my BF20 maybe 3-4 ish years ago and at that time it had the MT2 spindle, first mod I made was to convert to R8 via parts purchased from Grizzly.

As a turn key solution the Tormach is not a bad buy at 10K.

I did spend a while collecting parts before I bit the bullet and actually bolted mine together, if you do go the BF20 route I'm quite happy to share my experience and suggest what I would have done differently.

Next mod is a belt drive, as one of my neighbours is sensitive to the slightest noise that comes from my shed, even tho it makes less noise than the air con units in the complex. Such is life.

[bladehunter]

I've got a TM20LV with poor fit and finish, and combined with reports from others I can't really recommend Titan.
There doesn't seem to be a seller in Australia that is comparable to Grizzly in terms of support and value.

Shame to here about your experience with Titan, I found my Lathe to be pretty good. I got my BF20 from Mcjing's in Sydney, and the fit and finish was quite good, had no issue with it. From pictures I've seen of the G0704 the BF20 seems to have thicker castings and scraped ways, tho the G0704 does have the R8 spindle, but that's a simple fix, swap the spindle when you ditch the roller bearings for tapers.

[Ryan_]

there is a place in Melbourne Ausino engineering. does anyone have any experience with them? They import the optimum BF20L, BF30V and BF46.

my understanding was that Optimum have their own factory in China where the machines are finished, although they are also made by Wiess, presumably. Is the fit and finish any better than other BF machines from various retailers?

[bladehunter]

Mine is branded TopTech BF20, from what I can gather is a Chinese company, in a perfect world one would consider the German branded products to be of a slightly better finish. Without being able to sight be both side by side my answer is just opinion......and everyone has one of those.

Machine Tools Index

The above link is from a talented model make from Sydney, unfortunately there has been no update since Dec 2013, I hope the gentleman is ok. He has documented his experiences with a TopTech BF20 and some projects he has made using the mill. Actually reading his blog swayed me towards that machine, it was a plus that the store in question was in one the areas I spent a lot of time working in.

In the long run, if any issues do crop up, a local dealer maybe the better option, or at least one that doesn't require a 12 hour drive.

[gtrdude]

there is a place in Melbourne Ausino engineering. does anyone have any experience with them? They import the optimum BF20L, BF30V and BF46.

my understanding was that Optimum have their own factory in China where the machines are finished, although they are also made by Wiess, presumably. Is the fit and finish any better than other BF machines from various retailers?

Bought my Toptech lathe from Ausino. The guy (can't remember his name of the top of my head) is pretty good to deal with and the prices on the equipment (not the tooling) seem pretty good. However when the bearings in the motor started making noise and the windings started shorting out it took a lot of convincing him to replace it. I wasted a lot of time trying all of his suggestions to get the thing working properly. I guess I can't blame him for making sure the motor was actually defective but it was a pain nonetheless. After at least one trip back to coburg, a handful of phone calls and a new motor shipped in from china it was back up and running again.

After all of this I would still buy another machine from Ausino due to the fact that they have good pricing and do honour their warranty responsibilities.

[Ryan_]

Anyone know what a good size vice is for a BF30? I was thinking of a 125 mm angle lock vice, but that could be too big

[Mick14]

Hey Mate,

I have the TM25V and would agree with Pippin about fit and finish issues. It works at a basic level, but needs the usual fettling. Ways on bottom of table are just machined, and will need a bit of work. I intend to scrape it when I finally acquire the needed tools.

Hafco just started selling Optimum. They have the BF20 and also Optimum lathes. I have only dealt with their Canberra distributor, who has been great. McJing tooling in sydney has Optimum (weiss) style machines, that look as though they are the top tech brand (judging by the colour). These would also be worth a look.

Bottom line, make sure you have a look at the actual machine before you get it. This will make sure you can judge the quality of it as they seem to vary a bit.

Mick.

[Mick14]

Shame to here about your experience with Titan, I found my Lathe to be pretty good. I got my BF20 from Mcjing's in Sydney, and the fit and finish was quite good, had no issue with it. From pictures I've seen of the G0704 the BF20 seems to have thicker castings and scraped ways, tho the G0704 does have the R8 spindle, but that's a simple fix, swap the spindle when you ditch the roller bearings for tapers.

Just saw this too. Good to here about McJings, as I will likely get a lathe from there this year. Also the bearing in my TM25V head are playing up, good to know that they have the same spindle as the G0704 so I can order the bearings for when I get time to pull it apart and fix it up.

[bladehunter]

I just had a look at Hafco\ Hare & Forbes, $1650.00 is a good price for a BF20L at this stage of the game. Doesn't look too bad, judging by the accessories may even be a genuine Optimum. Going by their specs they have the MT3 spindle (which Tormach make a collet for) as opposed to the MT2 I had in mine. The reason I went for the R8swap was because some time in the future I plan on investing in some Tormach tooling.

Now do I upgrade my 7x16 Mini lathe to a Opti or keep on working towards a Myford ? Or do I NEED both an Opti & Myford ?:idea:

[Mick14]

The long table bf20 at mcjing is $1390. Everything I have seen says mcjing is good, but it may cost about 250 extra by the time you swap the spindle. The optimum does get pretty good reviews and the spindle is already set so i would probably go that way. Still recommend you view the machine first to be safe. I am seriously tempted to take a drive to Sydney and have a look at the optimum 250 lathe.

Tormach tooling is good to go. Cheap Tormach compatible Er collet holders can be had at items - Get great deals on items on eBay Stores! if you haven't seen them yet. The ones I got were excellent quality.