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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    30

    Tormach in the UK

    Hi all, This is my first major post so bare with me.

    A little bit about me : I started in machining when I left school at 17 at my dads company, served my time over 6 years on manuals then left to get a greater view of the cnc, aerospace and oil and gas sector of engineering. I Got a great (So I Thought) job for a company that is 95% cnc based who needed a manual person for there Colchester lathe and bridge port mill for the little off jobs that come in the door also with the promise that they would train me on cnc's this is a win/win in my books. Now 11 months on i am still just sitting on the manuals and getting bored, I am only 23 and I love to learn! I told the director and the owner that I feel under appreciated before Xmas break up and they said wait until February and you can start the training on the cnc's, come to the middle of February and I asked again. they told me wait a few more months. NOPE. (there is currently no manual work, I'm doing jobs on the manuals that should be done on a cnc)

    So I bought a PCNC1100, getting shipped to me in the UK and running it from my garage if no one else will teach me I will do it myself, i already have a few contracts lined up for a few companies and it will be a steep learning curve, but who cares? Always look up to the future. Never down.

    Once my machine gets here I will be going a bit more in-depth about the workload and set up I will be looking for, but until then I have a question! :wave:

    Is there anything pitfalls you fell in to when installing your Tormach?

    Cheers, Jim

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Posts
    1424

    Re: Tormach in the UK

    Congrats, you are going to love it!

    Go read the recent thread on table alignment, and the recommendations about NOT torquing the mill base to the stand.

    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/tormac...ml#post1645434

    Get Peter Smid's book on cnc programming. Download HSMAdvisor or GWizard to calculate feeds & speeds:
    CNC Machinist Cookbook: Software and Information
    Advanced CNC Speed And Feed Calculator - HSMAdvisor

    Did you get any CAD/CAM software?
    Tim
    Tormach 1100-3, Grizzly G0709 lathe, Clausing 8520 mill, SolidWorks, HSMWorks.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    2

    Re: Tormach in the UK

    Hi Jim,

    Whereabouts are you in the country? I work for a small engineering firm near Henley on Thames. We got a PCNC1100 last summer primarily for training but also for some of the lighter production work. What spec have you gone for?

    We ticked all the boxes with the ATC, duality lathe, rotary table etc etc. Most of the issues we've encountered have been related to the software which looks like it might be resolved with the release of PathPilot.

    The documentation is good but we didn't trust our engine hoist to lift the mill onto the stand so hired a gantry from HSS which made life a lot easier. If you are nearby you are welcome to come and have a look.

    Robin

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    30

    Re: Tormach in the UK

    Quote Originally Posted by RSMRobin View Post
    Hi Jim,

    Whereabouts are you in the country? I work for a small engineering firm near Henley on Thames. We got a PCNC1100 last summer primarily for training but also for some of the lighter production work. What spec have you gone for?

    We ticked all the boxes with the ATC, duality lathe, rotary table etc etc. Most of the issues we've encountered have been related to the software which looks like it might be resolved with the release of PathPilot.

    The documentation is good but we didn't trust our engine hoist to lift the mill onto the stand so hired a gantry from HSS which made life a lot easier. If you are nearby you are welcome to come and have a look.

    Robin
    Hi robin, I went for the basics, just the mill, Controller and metric tooling holder set, I've seen mixed reviews for the ATC so I put off buying it for now, as for the lathe I cant really see a need for using it over time on the mill (also they were out of stock when I ordered :P )

    I am located just north of newcastle. what about you?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    30

    Re: Tormach in the UK

    Quote Originally Posted by tmarks11 View Post
    Congrats, you are going to love it!

    Go read the recent thread on table alignment, and the recommendations about NOT torquing the mill base to the stand.

    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/tormac...ml#post1645434

    Get Peter Smid's book on cnc programming. Download HSMAdvisor or GWizard to calculate feeds & speeds:
    CNC Machinist Cookbook: Software and Information
    Advanced CNC Speed And Feed Calculator - HSMAdvisor

    Did you get any CAD/CAM software?
    I've got Fusion 360 to get me started, I cant really commit to paying out £1500+ on top of the machine

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    2

    Re: Tormach in the UK

    Hi Jim, I'm way down south near Henley.

    The tool changer works well for us. It's been running flat out for the last few months with only a couple of failures.

    We had a few issues with the Z axis stalling which was down to the default settings of the oiler not being sufficient.

    Watch out for the voltage on the coolant pump. They changed pumps from one where the voltage is switchable to a 110v only one, contrary to what the manual says.

    To be honest we haven't used the lathe yet.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    30

    Re: Tormach in the UK

    Quote Originally Posted by RSMRobin View Post
    Hi Jim, I'm way down south near Henley.

    The tool changer works well for us. It's been running flat out for the last few months with only a couple of failures.

    We had a few issues with the Z axis stalling which was down to the default settings of the oiler not being sufficient.

    Watch out for the voltage on the coolant pump. They changed pumps from one where the voltage is switchable to a 110v only one, contrary to what the manual says.

    To be honest we haven't used the lathe yet.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I'm doing an enclosure kit and coolant system on the cheap once the machine gets here. no point paying that much for something I can fabricate up for £200

    Hmm that might be abit far for me to travel haha

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