[BIG IGG]

Thanks BIG IGG . I kind of wish more people were comfortable sharing their stories on here. You see people who obviously started from nothing and built a business with just an idea and overwhelming determination and self sacrifice, but I think the fear of trolls and judgement scares that off.

Brian
WOT Designs

I often wanted to contact some of you guys on the side and just pick your brain on how you got started. Like bamcnc making that bottle opener and i love to see what other people are doing with there machines.

[keen]

Very interesting thread.

Themes are developing, people stay with the lower cost Tormach for hobby or low overhead business use, at the start of a career, or towards the end. Hmm... that fits me too damn...I must be getting old.

It seems owners don't move up from Tormach to other hobby machines, but rather up from other hobby machines to Tormach. The next step from Tormach is a big one, and you need to have suitable premises, and be sure of years of good income to justify it....or win Lotto.

Have we drifted off the original question CadRhino - or is the stuff you were looking for?

Keen

[proengines]

Very interesting thread.

Themes are developing, people stay with the lower cost Tormach for hobby or low overhead business use, at the start of a career, or towards the end. Hmm... that fits me too damn...I must be getting old.

Keen

That sounds like me as well. I got the Tormach to learn about CNC machining (I had a business for a long time doing manual machining) but the Tormach just keeps making things so well that I haven't moved on. The strange part is that I have a Cincinatti Sabre 750 sitting in the workshop that I bought 3 years ago that hasn't made a part yet because for the type of work I'm doing, the Tormach is much more convenient. If I was doing larger production it would be a little different but for now this little machine is knocking out some really high quality work:

[CadRhino]

Yes it has more than met my expectations for a thread. I personally am ok with threads that take a life of their own. I know of folks who have steped up into the bigger vmcs but unlike Brian, for example, they either no longer have their Tormach or are not participating in the tormach chat anymore.

In general, I feel that a tool is more of a 'hobby' designated tool based in the skills of the user rather than the tool itself - as we have seen from some of the amazing parts posted.

-Nathan

Very interesting thread.

Themes are developing, people stay with the lower cost Tormach for hobby or low overhead business use, at the start of a career, or towards the end. Hmm... that fits me too damn...I must be getting old.

It seems owners don't move up from Tormach to other hobby machines, but rather up from other hobby machines to Tormach. The next step from Tormach is a big one, and you need to have suitable premises, and be sure of years of good income to justify it....or win Lotto.

Have we drifted off the original question CadRhino - or is the stuff you were looking for?

Keen

[300sniper]

That sounds like me as well. I got the Tormach to learn about CNC machining (I had a business for a long time doing manual machining) but the Tormach just keeps making things so well that I haven't moved on. The strange part is that I have a Cincinatti Sabre 750 sitting in the workshop that I bought 3 years ago that hasn't made a part yet because for the type of work I'm doing, the Tormach is much more convenient. If I was doing larger production it would be a little different but for now this little machine is knocking out some really high quality work:

What action are those for, Tikka?

[BAMCNC.COM]

I agree great thread!

Very cool guns sniper, I keep seeing your YouTube vids post, just no time to watch currently. Trying to get 500 ink pens made and shipped before Christmas.

Big IGG - I make lots of my own products. If you type in bamcnc.com you go to my YouTube page and can almost watch my Tormach in action daily. I use YouTube as a "daily video blog" instead of the normal "written blog" I look back on my own videos sometimes, and it's handy to go back and look at how I had my Gang Lathe table setup for certian parts. Great great way to "journal" I think. Plus I have met many friends and there is a large YouTube machinist community.

[proengines]

What action are those for, Tikka?

Yep these ones are Tikka short action, they're a lot of gun for the money. I'm doing a batch of 20 Howa stocks at the moment then some long action Tikka ones. I also do Remington, Savage and Sako ones and about to have a go at a weatherby Mk5. I started making an AICS clone for my Howa and it went on from there. The only problem is I don't have as much time to go shooting now.

[keen]

I agree great thread!

Very cool guns sniper, I keep seeing your YouTube vids post, just no time to watch currently. Trying to get 500 ink pens made and shipped before Christmas.

Big IGG - I make lots of my own products. If you type in bamcnc.com you go to my YouTube page and can almost watch my Tormach in action daily. I use YouTube as a "daily video blog" instead of the normal "written blog" I look back on my own videos sometimes, and it's handy to go back and look at how I had my Gang Lathe table setup for certian parts. Great great way to "journal" I think. Plus I have met many friends and there is a large YouTube machinist community.

Hi - I've been thinking about all your videos today - as you say a sort of a life journal and contact point. This wouldn't have been possible a few years ago so you folk are breaking new ground here.

Yes I can see many potential upsides. It can augment ones memory... is a big one as you get older. But also, where will it go in the end, I mean if you keep going in 5 years and 2,000 videos or whatever, it could get a bit weird or something? I mean maybe ones 'sense of self' becomes locked into it all in some way. But then again maybe that is how we will eventually progress, when humans and technology finally merge?

I am considering doing a similar thing, but I hesitate..... I go backpacking too and like to get back to basics and survive in the mountains ...have you thought about this stuff?

Keen

[Hirudin]

Way off topic: it might be a little bit like episode 3 (title: "The Entire History of You") in series 1 of the BBC show "Black Mirror". For anyone interested, Black Mirror is a Twilight Zone/Outer Limits kind of show. It's currently on Netflix and it is not a serialized show (in other words, watching episode 3 before episode 1 would be fine as they have completely different plots).

[BAMCNC.COM]

I am... use to be an outdoorsman, hunting, fishing, etc. (No backpacking, Iowa is flat, lol) 2 years ago my first project took off, and I haven't had time to do anything. Bought a fishing license this year, went fishing once. As for the YouTube, well there are many people doing the same thing on YouTube. Hirudin above for example, and you (keen) just posted a video today!. Some of them make MILLIONS of dollars... (socialblade.com) off YouTube, I will never make that much money off YouTube, but you never know unless you try. I wish I had time to make fancy videos like NYCCNC, but just don't have time too. I have more fun on YouTube than anything. I can ask a question and usually in an hour I have the answer from one of my viewers. Most of my videos, there is more information in the comments than the video.

[Steve Seebold]

How did this thread move from "Transition from Tormach to bigger machine" to making gun parts?

[SomeWhatLost]

How did this thread move from "Transition from Tormach to bigger machine" to making gun parts?

does it matter?
its all fun...
thats what makes the Tormach subforum less of a stodgy boring library environment, and more of a happy community....

[treyjugson]

How did this thread move from "Transition from Tormach to bigger machine" to making gun parts?

yeah and all this nonsense about netflix and youtube videos and people making money by forcing ads on them. threads are given titles for a reason. some people are just out to promote their business anyway they can.

[keen]

yeah and all this nonsense about netflix and youtube videos and people making money by forcing ads on them. threads are given titles for a reason. some people are just out to promote their business anyway they can.

Very happy community!...but fair point.

However the original question has probably been answered and run its course. Who has transitioned to a VMC and still follows this forum? We got a reply, but I doubt there are others?

Keen

[Hirudin]

The OP said he's got what he wanted out of the thread and doesn't mind it meandering.

I went from a Torus Pro to a VMC (a Brother) but still read this forum. I think it's probably because my case is different than most as I'm still very much a novice. The mills I've owned are, literally, the only mills I've ever operated.

What has the transition been like..? Well, I'm only a couple months in at this point, but so far it hasn't been very dramatic; using the new machine is very much like the old one.

• Feed-hold vs. E-stop buttons. I rarely used the feed-hold button in Mach3 because the few times I have it didn't react quickly. If it was in the middle of a long move it might continue for several, full seconds. If I wanted the Mach3 machine to stop instantly I'd hit the E-stop button. That would, of course, throw off the positional accuracy which would mean I'd need to re-zero the part. Argh! With the VMC I just hit the feed-hold button. It reacts instantly (for all practical purposes) and retains positional accuracy. I have yet to hit the E-stop button any time other than during start-up and shut-down.
• Being outside the Windows operating system, many things are done differently. For instance, there's one user interface for viewing/editing the NC files stored on the internal memory, a different UI for copying and moving the files, and a third UI for copying and moving the files between the internal memory and my USB drive. What could be done in seconds using Windows Explorer now involves navigating through menus. It's the same case for probing. With Mach3 I would just click a button on my customized screenset. To probe with the Brother I have to load and run an NC file - much less convenient. (There is apparently a "conversational" probing function in the Brother control, I haven't used it yet.)
• Errors and problems are actual errors and problems. If the machine isn't suppose to do something it simply won't do it. That goes for both dumb things I tell it to do that it shouldn't and things I think it should do but refuses. For example, I'm pretty sure if you set a feed-rate too high in Mach3 it'll just move at the top speed of your motors. On this machine it'll throw an error and stop the operation. Conversely, the Brother hasn't randomly moved the axis at rapid speed in some odd direction for no apparent reason like was occasionally the case with the Mach3/Novakon machine (often while probing).
• Full enclosure with a locked-out door. At first I thought the door might be a pain in the ass, but I actually really like that it's there now. If the door is closed the machine is basically safe (as far as I can imagine) and if the door is open the machine will barely move. It's nice, I just keep the door closed unless I'm actively doing something.
• Having an automatic tool changer is very nice! It's faster than I could ever hope to be and also never makes a mistake.
• The Brother has biblical levels of flood coolant and the enclosure handles it perfectly. All the chips get moved to a little box in the back of the machine too - very convenient!
• Of course, the Brother is bigger, faster, more accurate, and more rigid. Also, everything costs more.

Anyway, I hope this list is helpful/informative.

[jid2]

You need to get the ethernet communication going. Send code to the machine with a few clicks, no more usb stick.

[keen]

The OP said he's got what he wanted out of the thread and doesn't mind it meandering.

I went from a Torus Pro to a VMC (a Brother) but still read this forum. I think it's probably because my case is different than most as I'm still very much a novice. The mills I've owned are, literally, the only mills I've ever operated.

What has the transition been like..? Well, I'm only a couple months in at this point, but so far it hasn't been very dramatic; using the new machine is very much like the old one.

• Feed-hold vs. E-stop buttons. I rarely used the feed-hold button in Mach3 because the few times I have it didn't react quickly. If it was in the middle of a long move it might continue for several, full seconds. If I wanted the Mach3 machine to stop instantly I'd hit the E-stop button. That would, of course, throw off the positional accuracy which would mean I'd need to re-zero the part. Argh! With the VMC I just hit the feed-hold button. It reacts instantly (for all practical purposes) and retains positional accuracy. I have yet to hit the E-stop button any time other than during start-up and shut-down.
• Being outside the Windows operating system, many things are done differently. For instance, there's one user interface for viewing/editing the NC files stored on the internal memory, a different UI for copying and moving the files, and a third UI for copying and moving the files between the internal memory and my USB drive. What could be done in seconds using Windows Explorer now involves navigating through menus. It's the same case for probing. With Mach3 I would just click a button on my customized screenset. To probe with the Brother I have to load and run an NC file - much less convenient. (There is apparently a "conversational" probing function in the Brother control, I haven't used it yet.)
• Errors and problems are actual errors and problems. If the machine isn't suppose to do something it simply won't do it. That goes for both dumb things I tell it to do that it shouldn't and things I think it should do but refuses. For example, I'm pretty sure if you set a feed-rate too high in Mach3 it'll just move at the top speed of your motors. On this machine it'll throw an error and stop the operation. Conversely, the Brother hasn't randomly moved the axis at rapid speed in some odd direction for no apparent reason like was occasionally the case with the Mach3/Novakon machine (often while probing).
• Full enclosure with a locked-out door. At first I thought the door might be a pain in the ass, but I actually really like that it's there now. If the door is closed the machine is basically safe (as far as I can imagine) and if the door is open the machine will barely move. It's nice, I just keep the door closed unless I'm actively doing something.
• Having an automatic tool changer is very nice! It's faster than I could ever hope to be and also never makes a mistake.
• The Brother has biblical levels of flood coolant and the enclosure handles it perfectly. All the chips get moved to a little box in the back of the machine too - very convenient!
• Of course, the Brother is bigger, faster, more accurate, and more rigid. Also, everything costs more.

Anyway, I hope this list is helpful/informative.

Very interesting stuff !.... How big is your Brother? ...any photos?

Keen

[Hirudin]

You need to get the ethernet communication going. Send code to the machine with a few clicks, no more usb stick.

You're right about that! It's something I plan to do, just haven't got around to it yet.

Very interesting stuff !.... How big is your Brother? ...any photos?

It's roughly 2 meters in all three dimensions with 700 x 400 x 300mm (<28 x <16 x <12in) of travel. Roughly 2.5 tons. I don't have many photos, but here's a YouTube video of it doing some cutting...
Bottle Cap Redux - 3D milling on a Brother Speedio S700X1 CNC machine - coded with HSMWorks (4K) - YouTube

[mountaindew]

You're right about that! It's something I plan to do, just haven't got around to it yet.

It's roughly 2 meters in all three dimensions with 700 x 400 x 300mm (<16 x <28 x <12in) of travel. Roughly 2.5 tons. I don't have many photos, but here's a YouTube video of it doing some cutting...
Bottle Cap Redux - 3D milling on a Brother Speedio S700X1 CNC machine - coded with HSMWorks (4K) - YouTube

Thanks for sharing!
Cool fixture design, fun stuff. The coolant pump on that brother has more power then my tormach
md

[CadRhino]

Wow, very cool.
Did you get rid of your novakon?
Would you say your Novakon could pretty much do every thing your Brother can but is slower?
Thanks for continuing to participate in the forum & sharing.

You're right about that! It's something I plan to do, just haven't got around to it yet.

It's roughly 2 meters in all three dimensions with 700 x 400 x 300mm (<16 x <28 x <12in) of travel. Roughly 2.5 tons. I don't have many photos, but here's a YouTube video of it doing some cutting...
Bottle Cap Redux - 3D milling on a Brother Speedio S700X1 CNC machine - coded with HSMWorks (4K) - YouTube