Hey Everyone!

I've had my Tormach 1100 with all the bells and whistles for 18 months now. It has almost exactly 10,000 operating hours on it. It has paid for itself more times than I can count. However I'm seeing alot more demand, and need another mill. Originally I thought to go with a Haas Super Mini Mill - but that means I would need to sell the Tormach, and be broke.

Here are some thoughts...


  • 2 Mills, no matter how slow, will out perform a Haas any day of the week in Titanium (Low SFM) which is all I machine
  • Novakon may have some bugs, but in all honesty - the Tormach may have more with their ATC version of Mach 3, and don't provide support to move to LinuxCNC
  • Novakon won't have an ATC, but that is fine, if I need an ATC I'll use the Tormach - Ray great work on the ATC and PDB
  • Novakon is FASTER in every way than a Tormach, while being 4x cheaper than a Haas Super Mini Mill that speed will help production. Bluehandsvideo was hitting 700ipm on his Torus Pro vs my "110 ipm" - Maybe I'll buy 2 Novakon's Think they will give me a deal?
  • Novakon will have Servos - while I don't think are "fully" Closed loop, atleast it will give warning when it's losing position. (This is big for me)
  • Tormach has lost me as a customer - After Greg from Tormach stole my manufacturer for the product I was selling on my YouTube videos (LED Ring Light that works with Tormach ATC) there has been no relationship between Tormach and I - they have cut off all communication from me and I doubt would even provide warranty support for my Tormach anymore - That's what I get for standing up for myself. No matter what you read, Tormach is not the company you think they are.
  • Tormach needs it's gibs tightened about every 2 months now, and reading their book they only have data up to 5,000 operating hours, well... I'm double that - so to be expected?
  • Tormach has an Automatic Tool Setter, I don't think Novakon does - if I'm wrong please let me know (This is a big issue for me, will need to find a way around it, perhaps using the Tormach tool setter)
  • Tormach has an overall better fit and finish I think, but this isn't a shelf queen, it will be put to work.


Now some Questions:


  • I use soft jaws only, so will have 2 vices (could be 3 depends on model) so table space only needs to be whatever the vices are. Right now from the outside of my jaws is 15", but I can get it down to 14" if I mount the vices differently. These are Tormach 5" vises with 7" Monster Jaws.
  • RPM isn't that big of an issue, you can only go so fast in Titanium, so am looking at the Pulsar, but Servo edition is back ordered, and I really need this mill now. Can anyone compare the 2 Novakon's in real life and explain which may be better for my soft jaw titanium diet? I'm about a year behind here on the zone, so pardon my ignorance of some things. Just been busy.
  • How long will shipping take to get to my house? The only 2 stories I've followed have been a month or more, I need it next week (not literally)
  • How is the customer service of Novakon? - as you know Tormach for someone who isn't me is AWESOME - as it was when they talked to me.
  • How easy is it to customize a Novakon through software? Do I need a smooth stepper with Servos, and do they provide support? Tormach won't do this, and is another major reason for finding something else - Of course we all know Haas is about the worst there is as far as "proprietary, we will charge you $2,000 to type in an 8digit code for you sort of thing.


Now to be clear, I'm not bashing anyone, or anything like that - I'm just being real.

I have a YouTube channel, am up to about 900 subscribers now and will be taking video of everything that happens from this post, even if I don't get a Novakon.

So - Final Question:

What would YOU do, I'd like to hear from an unbiased person, along with people who have a Novakon and Tormach (if they look here) and what do you agree/not agree with?

Thanks for your time everyone, I'll try and find some time today to look around the Novakon Sub-Forum.

Brad