Hello all,

I am looking to see if anyone has any experience with this Top Tech DM-45 milling machine sold by Penn Tool:
Top Tech Geared Head Mill/Drill Dovetail Column - Swivel Head 90

I am interested in the size and table travel (20" x 9") for the price. Also, there is an option for power down feed which I am assuming will be a positive for motor and ball-nut mounting when designing. I found the Z-axis to be the most troublesome aspect of my previous Sieg X2 conversion design. I'm mainly interested in it's merit as a mill for CNC conversion. I'm trying to do the best I can on my limited budget. Where possible, I would like to keep the initial machine cost low so I can prioritize my budget on higher quality motion control components (ball screws, motors and drives). The main drawbacks I see are the slow spindle speed, lack of motor speed control, and lack of information about the construction quality of the components I will be keeping (column structure/rigidity, accuracy/squareness of ways, spindle bearings, and spindle motor). I may eventually look to add a VFD drive for control but this doesn't fix the limited max speed. In addition, information about the machine seems quite lacking and I obviously won't have a knowledge base to draw from if I run into any snags.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on this machine?

Thank you in advance for your time.