[sk8aelf]

First off... trolls need not answer.


This question has been posted but all of the answers are from years ago.

So of course... noob wanting a cnc mill ( well not a total noob just noob on cnc mills ) I am familiar with Gcode and have cad software.

I am expanding part of my business and wanting to be able to mill out items in my shop instead of having machinist friends do for me. (Firearm manufacture) So milling firearm slides, milling out receivers etc. And yes before anyone asks yes i am a firearm manufacture with the proper licensing.

But anyways..... good ole deepgroove on ebay...... I have looked at little machine shop as well as practical machinist but it seems the following is a good deal::::

Taig 2019CR-ER Cnc Mill
10 microstepping rev 8 Gecko g540 stepper driver running at 48volts
This auction includes 6 er16 collets ( 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 ) a Vise, and 2 End mills (1/8 & 3/16 inch) .


Any recent reviews or feedback on this setup?

Thank you in advance for any information on this item.

[tony978]

my two cents ,
look at a bigger machine unless you're making plastic parts .

tony

[Dennis Bohlke]

I have used the G540 with Taig Mills a few times. I really like the way the controller makes the mill run.

The only issue I had was the step pulse polarity needed to be Low True pulse or I got position drift.

It has been a few years ago though and there has been no returns for electronics failures.

The main limitation is the 1/4 hp spindle motor. You can only cut so much metal with it.

The pictures show a USB interface board too.

CNC Geckodrive G540 Running Taig Micro Mill ArmPod and SuperCamXp

[tony978]

I think it is hit or miss with getting a good running machine with steppers . I run a taig mill with servos and flashcut controller (semi close loop ) top feed is 25 ipm and a lot less for cutting steels .
To cut gun parts you need a better finish then what a taig will do and faster feeds to make a profit . Ps I run someone else's full size cnc for a hobby and run my taig for a day job lol




Tony

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[awerby]

I sell Taig mills, but I tend to agree with Tony on this one - it's a good mill for small parts, but if you're talking about the heavy machining needed for milling out receivers, etc. it's going to be marginal. Yes, it can do it, but it will probably take longer than you'd want, since you'd have to take lots of light cuts with a relatively small tool. It will give you a good finish if you do that and leave a margin to come back and do a finish pass, but that takes time too.

25 ipm rapids seem pretty slow for a Taig with servos. Even the stepper system that Taig uses on their DSLS system can do 50 ipm rapids without errors. But yes, if you're cutting steel, you need to go much slower than that.

[tony978]

Sorry that top speed was a cut speed not rapid . That is around 50-60 ipm


Tony

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[MechanoMan]

I have had a Taig for many years. It's a "great" machine in its context!

That is, for small work, obviously. There's like a Sherline mini-mill, a Grizzly/Harbor Freight mini-mill, Sieg, some various mill-lathe combos... basically the context is "mini mills". Actually aside from Taig and Sherline, the Grizzly/Harbor Freight/Sieg stuff is all the same Chinese mills.

Among mini mills, it kills the competition IMHO. Like I'd played with a Grizzly G8689 and it's smaller than the Taig's work area... it had nonadjustable leadnuts with 14mils of backlash, which basically means CNC would never work well.... and did not have a really straightforward way to mount CNC steppers. Its spindle was only 2500 RPM which is good if you're running say a fly cutter but for tiny bits you'd need more speed. And then its plastic head gears broke which is straight out what everyone already said happens on that model.

Anyhow, Taig's great and I like the matrix hold down tables for some work: Taig Products

It's a very stiff mill, the slides and bearings and everything is REALLY well-engineered.

I'd rather have the spindle based on a native ER-system than like an R8 with a drawbar, or an R8 with an ER adapter stuck into it.

The Taig's spindle is underpowered, I'll give you that. More of a problem is the belt really tends to slip, rather than the motor itself stalling. See whenever you've got one "small" pulley for a high ratio in step-up or step-down, the small pulley tends to slip. When running at its max speed- close to 10K rpm- you're not asking for high torque. But when I go the other way and try to slow it down for a fly cutter, with the small pulley on the motor side, it's all about high torque and it won't do it. Anything past the "middle" of the ratios became useless. Yes it could go slower but actually has LESS torque capabilities before crapping out, because the pulley slips.

Of course we can play the "It's not a real mill... it's not a Bridgeport, not a Tormach" all day. YES. Duh! Of course it's not! Those are much more expensive and much more resources to set up.

You're not gonna machine a cylinder head on a Taig. There are some small parts... and PCB milling.... IF I had a Bridgeport and a Taig, I would go for the Taig for some of these jobs.

[sk8aelf]

Thank you for the comments and information. I am not really looking at doing production runs. Mainly prototypes so speed is not the main factor. But being able to do slide cuts on pistols and doing mill work on aluminum receivers would be the main goal of the machine.

[MechanoMan]

Actually it's quite good for linear speed. With a Geckodrive, the right steppers, and a 48v power supply you can get 80 IPM out of it, faster than most people would think of cutting most materials.

Milling an aluminum receiver, the work sounds pretty light and well within the realm of a Taig. Sounds like 1/4" bit at most. If we're talking about milling out of an aluminum billet, then we won't be able to hog it out quickly like a knee mill would.

[tony978]

I beg to differ dura mill alum rougher and "high speed milling paths" work nicely on a taig . But I am not happy with the finish from side milling .
An mechanoman I would love to see a video of you cutting something at 80 ipm please


Tony

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[DaQue]

Taigs are cheap compared to a Tormach etc so I used to wonder if running a few of them verses one bigger mill would work out. I gave up on that idea, if all I can do is dream of getting a mill I might as well dream of a big one.

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[MechanoMan]

Yeah an aluminum rougher CAN do a nice job clearing aluminum on a Taig.

Cutting at 80 IPM's gonna be making finish passes across wood, if anything. I've done 40 IPM. People brag about 80 IPM but it's not that practical.

[Eldon_Joh]

I have a taig with 435 oz steppers.. I have the G540 driver set to 2 amps and i have regularly crashed the machine, which stalls the steppers without breaking anything.

With regard to stiffness, there are a few modifications you can make. the clip that holds the dovetail clamp.. drill that bolt hole out with a 17/64's drill, run a 1/4-20 bolt all the way through to the opposite side of the spindle, tighten the spindle down that way.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...2&d=1367949372
also add this bolt: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...6&d=1367987266

this modification needs to be done properly, but it will get you an extra inch of travel
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...8&d=1375145199

this modification is on the order of insane.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/attach...4&d=1379311108
http://www.johansense.com/bulk/taig/P1050457.JPG
such a modification will get you a true space to work of 6x12 by 5 vertical before losing the 1.25 inches to the z axis way and lead screw.
note that the steel ways have been fliped around and moved forward off the ends of the aluminum. no, its not supported properly but the rigidity of this machine is primarly limited by the Z axis twisting the vertical column.

if you modify the X axis the same way i did the Y axis, by extending the stepper an extra inch off the end of the machine, you will be able to run the table off the end on both sides of the machine, giving you an extra 2 inches of travel.

a more sensible way to take advantage of the allegidly cheap Taig parts..
Build a Z axis from the Y axis carriage, extrusion and casting. build a new frame from 4 or 5 inch square hot rolled steel and it will only be three times as heavier and 8? times stiffer.

theoretically you could machine the frame after welding it, on your stock taig, because you only need to machine a 9 inch long mounting surface to bolt the Y axis extrusion to the frame.

[MechanoMan]

The 435 oz steppers are not top matches AFAIK. The 355 oz-in ones take the full 3.5A output of the G540. You should get more high-speed torque out of the 355 oz-in.