[SCzEngrgGroup]

Where are you located?

Santa Cruz, CA

What kind of hours and backlash do your machines have?

Backlash is, as expected, ~0.0005". I have no problems holding dimensions within a thou across hundreds of parts.

One of my concerns, with the Torus Pro, is it is highly customized. It was always my primary machine. I immediatey ditched Mach3, and replaced it with my own CNC controller app, running over a KFlop. I ripped out and replaced the entire oiling system with a pressure-fed system that tailors oil deliverry to each individual way, and each ballnut. Of course, it has my PDB, and my 12-tool ATC, which, given it never went into production, I cannot provide any support for. So, to me, I either have to sell it as a "kit" that needs to be converted back to some standard cconfiguration by a more than usually knowledgable buyer, or spend the time to convert it myself, and sell it as a more-or-less stock machine, Of course, I do have a HUGE supplu of tooling, including probably 50 TTS tool holders of various shapes and sizes (several difference sizes of set-screw holders, dozens of ER20 and ER32 holders, 6 home-built tension/compression tapping heads, Tapmatic and Procunier tapping heads, numerous face mills up to a 5" Glacern with six inserts, several slitting saws, probably 5 or 6 vises in different sizes, including a 6" Glacern, three 4 or 5" lathe chucks, and more.

The Pulsar is actually a pre-production machine, with a few minor differences from the final production version, and I don't even recall what those differenecs are, other than slightly shorter travels. It is currently running with a SmoothStepper and UCCNC.

And spare spindles for both machines.

I have not used either machine in probably 3 years. Don't think I've even powered them on!

[Titaniumboy]

Backlash is, as expected, ~0.0005". I have no problems holding dimensions within a thou across hundreds of parts.

The Pulsar is actually a pre-production machine, with a few minor differences from the final production version, and I don't even recall what those differenecs are, other than slightly shorter travels. It is currently running with a SmoothStepper and UCCNC.

Your backlash is amazing. I have 2 thou backlash in Y and 6 thou in Z on my Torus (mechanically is a NM-145). Not really sure what my options are to rectify this.

Does your Pulsar have the upgraded base that can handle tons of coolant flow?

I have not used either machine in probably 3 years. Don't think I've even powered them on!

Did you graduate to a better CNC mill?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Sooooo... Finally need to get very serious about selling my Torus Pro, as we just put our house on the market, and expect a quick sale. The machine, as it is, is so highly customized, in both hardware and software, to MY needs, that I feel I must convert it to a more standard configuration that its new owner could understand and support. The big question is: what hardware and software should I use?

On the hardware side, it currently uses a KFlop, a custom BOB, and a custom serial pendant. I suspect a different controller board and BOB would be better for the average buyer. What is out there now? I have used SmoothStepper, but never found it to be 100% robust. Has that changed? Is there another controller that I should be looking at? And what about BOBs? I havven't even looked at that market in almost 10 years.

On the software side, I am currently running a CNC controller app I wrote myself. Obviously, that has to go in favor of something off-the shelf, and supported. I will rule out Mach3 and Mach4, and considering UCCNC, as I am at least familiar with it. But is there something newer/better I should be considering?

One option that looks interesting is the AXBB-E. Anyone using this, or know anything about it? As a controller and BOB in one, it looks attractive, and easy to setup.

[Jmhx2]

Sooooo... Finally need to get very serious about selling my Torus Pro, as we just put our house on the market, and expect a quick sale. The machine, as it is, is so highly customized, in both hardware and software, to MY needs, that I feel I must convert it to a more standard configuration that its new owner could understand and support. The big question is: what hardware and software should I use?

On the hardware side, it currently uses a KFlop, a custom BOB, and a custom serial pendant. I suspect a different controller board and BOB would be better for the average buyer. What is out there now? I have used SmoothStepper, but never found it to be 100% robust. Has that changed? Is there another controller that I should be looking at? And what about BOBs? I havven't even looked at that market in almost 10 years.

On the software side, I am currently running a CNC controller app I wrote myself. Obviously, that has to go in favor of something off-the shelf, and supported. I will rule out Mach3 and Mach4, and considering UCCNC, as I am at least familiar with it. But is there something newer/better I should be considering?

One option that looks interesting is the AXBB-E. Anyone using this, or know anything about it? As a controller and BOB in one, it looks attractive, and easy to setup.

I bought my Torus pro from John stripped, as I wanted to install my controls from the start. I went with UC300ETH-UB1 and UCCNC. It is a very well built breakout board with all I/O I needed built in. Since you are moving are you cleaning out anything left over from your Power draw bar or tool changer projects? This group of people may be the most interested, as we are stilling running them.