[LSI Innovations]

I have 2 1100s III and my thought is they are AWESOME for small / medium jobs.... but after getting my HAAS VF-3 and I find myself trying to run them like the HAAS and is doesn't work. I think if Tormach came out with something close to the HAAS Mini-Mill they would have a WINNER. So heres my 2 cents.... put the biggest motor that you can still run on 1 phase, up the wight to around 2500 lbs., move the electrical box to the back, have a different collet holder, add a little more XYZ, and sell it with a full enclosure, tool changer, for a price around 20K for the medium production shops and you'd have a winner....

[toyshop]

More machine will probably bring the price up near the Haas level, so how are they going to compete? They are filling a market niche now. It would also involve changing the market perception of the machine from an upper hobby level to pro.

Dave

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Those changes alone would not get it close to a Hass, or any other commercial machine. To do that, it would need FAR more rigidity, linear rails, not dovetails, and, more importantly, dual-closed-loop servos, to provide FAR greater accuracy, and temperature compensation. In other words, not a few minor "tweaks" around the edges, but a completely NEW machine. At that point, it would be no cheaper than the Haas.

Regards,
Ray L.

[LSI Innovations]

The 1100 is a grate mill I wouldn't sell mine.....I use mine in med production work and it would be nice to buy a little more machine. So you have a PCNC or go to the BIGGER medium production one, even if the price is 35K that cheeper then a VF1 at 46K plus the add ons.

[Steve Seebold]

When I had my shop before I was forced into retirement, I had a Haas TM-1 Toolroom Mill that was a great machine. It had a 4,000 RPM spindle, it would rapid at 200 IPM, it had a 10 station ATC and a 5C 4th axis, and it had a CAT 40 taper spindle and I had about 75 tool holders.

Ya know, ya always hear that hind sight is 20-20, well here’s a case where that’s true. My FADAL was paid for and I sold it for $25,000 and I owed a little over $14,000.00 on the Haas. I could have paid off the Haas and taken it home because it would on single phase power.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Tormach, but the Haas was a way better machine.

[tmarks11]

... put the biggest motor that you can still run on 1 phase, up the wight to around 2500 lbs. ... and you'd have a winner....

Not if it is still using TTS. You going to up the spindle HP than you need to shift to a more secure machine taper in the spindle.

[joshetect]

I think Tormach is happy where they are in the machine world. Hobbyist and startups, if they need to start competing with haas a lot would need to change and not just with the machine.

But hey you never know

[jwatte]

Yeah, TTS is just barely able to keep a 3/8" or 1/2" mill in for the 1.5 HP spindle, and that's when you clean and prep and anti-seize just right.
I imagine a bigger spindle would want CT40, as that seems fairly standard for the US.

[Zetopan]

The 1100 is a grate mill I wouldn't sell mine...

And it even has the advantage of being able to mill far more things than grates, and that's what makes it so great!

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Yeah, TTS is just barely able to keep a 3/8" or 1/2" mill in for the 1.5 HP spindle, and that's when you clean and prep and anti-seize just right.
I imagine a bigger spindle would want CT40, as that seems fairly standard for the US.

That is not entirely true.... TTS is MORE than capable of handling more than 1.5HP with adequate drawbar tension. Trouble is, most people don't apply enough tension, and many/most PDBs don't even come close. I've been selling a PDB for TTS systems for years that actually torques the drawbard to 35 ft-lbs. I have never once experienced pullout, nor have any of my customers reported any problems with pull-out, except when they failed to properly maintain the PDB. I think ultimately, TTS is probably good for somewhere in the 2-3HP range. Certainly no more than that. The Tormach machine frame is not rigid enough for any more than that, so TTS is a good match to the machines overall capability.

Regards,
Ray L