[BAMCNC.COM]

Who has unlocked their Tormach?
Was it worth the loss of warranty?
What did you gain that makes it worth it?

[apeman88]

I had to do it because my Probe (not Tormach) took a negative signal instead of positive. That's all I changed. But you can tune the motors and more... it's a full version of Mach3 with all settings available. Personally, I would not touch it unless you know what you are doing or, like in my case, are adding something that must change a setting. I left all others stock since I believe Tormach took the time to tune the motors and etc to the best possible with the combination of hardware they provided.

As for warranty, it's only a year and I added my probe on my 3rd year of ownership so warranty was gone anyway. And although they ask you to sign a doc that says they no longer warranty the machine... they will still help you out.

Ken

[BAMCNC.COM]

Tormach probe is the same way.. its funny Tormach sells you a probe and a tool setter but you can't use them together without unlocking your Mach3, because you have to swap inputs. Now why would they do that? To force you to lose your warranty maybe?

This thread is rhetorical, btw.

I'm working on a Video showing the process of unlocking your Tormach, how to cover your tracks, etc. Would this be something anyone would want to learn how to do? Just wondering if its worth my time. I don't think you should lose your warranty for being able to use a Tormach approved probe, its just bad business practices.

Sucks I can't "like" my own post.

Edit: Scott found a work around for the probe.

Even still denying you warranty on EVERYTHING because you want to make the table move 111ipm is silly, just deny certain parts of the warranty that would be effected, not my ATC, or PDB, etc.

[Scott_M]

You don't have to void your warranty to change probe sense.
When Tormach released the passive probe they also offered a utility to change the probe sense and a few other things. It is called PCNC Config and it should be installed in the PCNC folder in your start menu , if you have an older version of Mach and it is not there, it is available for download from Tormach. PCNC Config Direct Download See screen shot. You can change Jog steps, spindle calibration, printer port address, probe sense and 4th axis homing.
It makes the changes to the xml file so you do not have to jeopardize your warranty.

Scott

[BAMCNC.COM]

Thanks Scott, I didn't know about that, seems like a huge pain to do when going back and forth from ETS to Probe though. I'll check it out tonight. It wasn't in any of my paperwork from the Probe, only thing that came with that was a cleaning procedure.

[TurboStep]

First of all, I don’t own a Tormach probe but I had assumed (correct me if I’m wrong) that the “Probe Logic Sense” setting in the PCNCConfig application was intended to allow you to set up Mach3 appropriately. I also thought that I had read this somewhere in the probe installation instructions. Edit: Oops, Scott beat me!

Brad, I’m surprised that you would need a video to explain how to do it because it can be described in two sentences. Including how to cover your tracks - if you feel this is necessary.
I’ve never found any comments about invalidating the warranty anywhere during the installation or in any documentation. Where is this mentioned? Perhaps in connection with the Tormach controller (I use my own)? I’ve never read anywhere that you need to use the Tormach Mach3 version or Mach3 at all. There’s very little that can be changed in the software that may "break” the machine. At least as much damage can be done by installing one of their upgrades incorrectly. Obviously if you reprogram the port pins and don’t know how to restore the original configuration then I guess you’re on your own.

The main benefit I gained from using a full version was to be able to use soft limits. I have no idea why they were disabled because I haven’t had any problems using them, and it makes it much easier to jog around at the limits of the machine without the risk of tripping a limit switch.
I added a button to switch the soft limits on/off using the application supplied in one of the sub folders. I think the limits were already set about right in the configuration, but in inches. This brings me to the second benefit: a full metric configuration. It’s been mentioned on this forum that this isn’t possible. This is incorrect. It is possible.
I also used it to compensate for an error in the Y axis ballscrew.

I’ve played around with backlash compensation but I don’t want it turned on all the time. It does work but I don’t like the clunking noise it makes when the backlash is taken out. I would prefer to use it only on select finishing operations but I don’t believe that it can be turned on/off automatically (an ideas?). In the end I decided not to use it.

Step

[BAMCNC.COM]

I just wanted to publicly show people how to do it, so they can quit beating around the bush about having to sign papers from Tormach stating their warranty is now void. It's all over this forum, and its putting that mind set into people's heads that its uber top secret, and I wanted to change that. Also show them if Tormach ever second guesses you for a warranty claim that you haven't done anything wrong. Now I have an extended warranty and would never want to give that up, so I never asked Tormach to get the "unlocked" Mach3.

[sansbury]

I never purchased the controller from Tormach or even used Mach. The only thing relating to warranty I've seen was a document about requirements for a controller that they sent me when I got a quote for a bare machine. If they are disavowing the warranty it must be in the mouse print.

What I do understand is that they may not want to be liable for supporting non-standard software configurations. If I hack Mach up and the machine doesn't work right, well, that's my problem. But if the spindle motor dies three months after I bought it, that's probably a manufacturing defect.

[BAMCNC.COM]

Am I the only one who reads a lot on here, I'd guess every few weeks I read a post stating that you have to sign papers to void your warranty if you want the unlocked version of Mach, which is funny since its already on your PC to begin with...

[TurboStep]

Judging by the number of posts, I’ve probably had to read at least 1000 more than you have

[BAMCNC.COM]

Lol, I assume I have a lot of posts, I use Tapatalk on my phone, maybe check 2-3 times a day, always something to learn.

[Zetopan]

Who has unlocked their Tormach?

I have.

Was it worth the loss of warranty?

There was no loss since my waranty had expired long before the unlocking. This is true for everyone
that I know who has unlocked their Tormach Mach 3.

What did you gain that makes it worth it?

Sure, it allowed me to add a 5th axis, permananent homing on the 4th and 5th axes and any other
future changes that I might want to make. There is no loss for unlocking after the warranty period.

[ag53711]

Hi Gang:

We don't post here often, but I'd like to take a minute to clear up some misinformation in this thread about the General Configuration Waiver and Release Agreement that any Tormach PCNC mill owner can request from us if they’d like.

It’s been mentioned in this thread, and occasionally elsewhere, that signing this waiver amounts to voiding your factory warranty. That's simply not the case. The main purpose of the agreement is to reinforce to the requesting party that a non-standard control software configuration may fall outside the scope of technical support.

As a company, we take great pride in providing our customers with knowledgeable and timely technical support to keep downtime at a minimum if it occurs. In almost all cases, we provide this at no-charge, even if your machine is years out of warranty or purchased secondhand. However, troubleshooting a problem can be difficult or impossible if our support technicians and engineers cannot be confident of the controller configuration. This is the reason why we’ve hidden access to several software features of Mach3 (for example, axis motor tuning parameters) that are unnecessary when using the mill in its intended design configuration.

This sits well with the vast majority of our customers, but we also recognize that some PCNC Owners have an interest in modifying the machine from the factory configuration. That's just fine with us, but its important for you as a customer to understand how doing this may have implications with respect to our standard support policies.

If we suspect that a non-supported configuration is the cause or part of the cause of an issue with your PCNC, we will kindly ask you to revert to a standard configuration if you’d like to continue with the support ticket. If you don’t want to do that, that’s fine, but we may not be able to continue technical support. Likewise, we may not be able to process any warranty claims.

We evaluate each warranty claim on a case-by-case basis. Regardless of whether you sign the waiver or not, we reserve the right to refuse technical support if your machine is using a software configuration that is different from one of our standard configurations. In over 10 years in business and several thousand customers, we’ve rarely resorted to this, and we have never made that decision lightly.

All in all, this is pretty standard stuff with respect to manufacturer’s terms and conditions and similar to what you will see with any number of consumer products when used outside of their intended use statements. There are no tamper seals, ink ballons, or secret software log files that we look at as a way to deny otherwise legitimate warranty claims.

We appreciate the choice you’ve made in choosing a Tormach PCNC. We want you to get the most out of your investment. Many of our customers use a Tormach PCNC mill daily as part of a business. To them, product support both during and after the warranty period are essential. It’s for customers like these that we maintain a standard controller configuration with revision control that’s thoroughly tested prior to each release. But if you are somebody that likes to tinker, somebody that subscribes to the Maker’s motto “If you can’t open it, you don’t own it”, don’t worry. We still like you too.


As an aside, we've featured a number of jail broken PCNC mills on our blog over the years. Two that come to mind off the top of my head are:

Nagahara Flutes Tone Hole Machine Interface
NASA Wire Winder

They're some of my favorite projects.

[Scott_M]

Well stated Andy !!

Scott

[David Bord]

Well stated Andy !!

Scott

+1

David

[Don Clement]

Well stated Andy !!

Scott

++1

Don

[Gerry Sweetland]

+1

David

+2... woops, Don got in whilst I was typing... +3
Gerry

[BAMCNC.COM]

Glad to see a post from you, there are a lot of rumors going around, and if you don't step in like you just did then it can get out of hand.

[JRouche]

Hi Gang:

Very good post. Pretty much sums it up. I along with the others here appreciate your post. Right from the Horses mouth so to speak. JR

[TurboStep]

Tormach probe is the same way.. its funny Tormach sells you a probe and a tool setter but you can't use them together without unlocking your Mach3, because you have to swap inputs. Now why would they do that?...

Clearly they haven't.

Am I the only one who reads a lot on here, ...

If you're low on reading material I would suggest reading the manual.
Step