[allinmach]

I am looking at the Tormach originally, and now this Torus. The ATC on the Tormach would be a plus however.

The reason I like this machine so far, is I can get the lathe, which I will need. The price looks OK, and thank you for your thread, nice to see it in the real world running along.

I plan to mill SS and grade 5 Ti though. Small-ish parts, and no hurry to finish each one, and not sure if this is the right size machine.
The smaller I can use the better though, as I am short on space. So it is on my list of considerations, though I notice on their website no accuracy specs.

One thing that concerns me a little is a website dedicated to rubbishing this brand. I have read his story, and see his point, but continue to look for more experiences, both good and bad to come to a decision. Yours is obviously good.
The fact I am in Australia would mean I would not get support anyway, so realize I would need local help for any major issue.

I am sure you will prefer higher spindle speed of Torus Pro which is higher than Tormach's , and more easily to access just by the using the VFD . You don't need bother to change the pulleys when yours program requires different range of speeds .
Max.500IPM movement of the 3 axes is also a plus for this mill .
I think the ATC or PDB is definitely a good assy to be added .You can save more time when change the tools .I guess Novakon will release theirs in one month or sooner , which can be added whenever you want .

[rhost]

Why would you set the spindle speed through the VFD by changing the frequency, does the BOB have spindle speed control so you can control it in Mach3?

[rlockwood]

Why would you set the spindle speed through the VFD by changing the frequency, does the BOB have spindle speed control so you can control it in Mach3?

Both the tormach and novakon have spindle speed controlled at the controller. The difference being, the novakon only uses a single pulley, so you never need to manually swap. You can always command the spindle speed you need, without having to manually intervene.

I think the only place a tormach has an advantage is the spindle speed on the smaller mill-- and that they have a readily available ATC.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I spent part of yesterday, and most of today finalizing the last details on the PDB design, and building a final prototype, which is now very nearly complete.

Several of the changes make installation easier, and make it easier to replace the drawbar "socket" - Both the drawbar and socket are "wear items" that will require (very easy, one-screw) replacement, probably every few years, due to the inevitable wear that occurs during engagement. The new drawbar have a hex head, in place of the square heads on the current Novakon manual drawbars. This enables use of a 6-point socket, which both engages much more smoothly and easily, and is far less prone to wear.

The remaining changes make the whole assembly easier to fabricate and assemble, and implement the final "sensors" - one for sensing spindle speed, the other for the "lift" position. Both sensors are completely enclosed - basically sealed in place - so they should be extremely reliable and robust.

Here's a picture of the new prototype, almost complete:



Regards,
Ray L.

[AUSTINMACHINING]

Very nice and compact. I can't wait!. My wrench hand is getting tired :-)

[AUSTINMACHINING]

Very nice and compact. I can't wait!. My wrench hand is getting tired :-)

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I know how you feel. I HATED going from the PDB and ATC on my old machine to no PDB and no ATC on the Torus Pro. Once I got the PDB on it several months ago, I HATE those (thankfully rare) occasions when I have to disable it, or remove it, (for firmware updates, hardware updates, etc.) even if only for one or two short operations. I'll be REALLY happy when I get the ATC going. Shouldn't be too much longer....

Regards,
Ray L.

[rlockwood]

Very nice and compact. I can't wait!. My wrench hand is getting tired :-)

Oh the jokes I could make..

[Hirudin]

I like that it has all kinds of sensors. The spindle lock is something I've wanted since before I even ordered my first machine. I've managed to get by without one, but I would definitely have preferred to have one. The fact that it'll work with normal R8 tooling seems like it could be helpful too.

I reread the other post but didn't see if you've addressed what happens when/if the R8 collet sticks. I've been having an issue with that lately. I've heard, possibly from one of your old posts, that the impact wrench style PDB alleviates the issue. Does your mechanism also take care of sticking? I hate having to get out a mallet when I'm changing tools.

Can the spindle lock be engaged independently?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I like that it has all kinds of sensors. The spindle lock is something I've wanted since before I even ordered my first machine. I've managed to get by without one, but I would definitely have preferred to have one. The fact that it'll work with normal R8 tooling seems like it could be helpful too.

I reread the other post but didn't see if you've addressed what happens when/if the R8 collet sticks. I've been having an issue with that lately. I've heard, possibly from one of your old posts, that the impact wrench style PDB alleviates the issue. Does your mechanism also take care of sticking? I hate having to get out a mallet when I'm changing tools.

Can the spindle lock be engaged independently?

Collet sticking is, primarily, a maintenance issue. If the collet and spindle are properly cleaned and lubricated, it will never happen. You need to remove the collet, clean the collet and spindle thoroughly, and apply a very thin coat of anti-seize to the collet taper, and thread, every few weeks. This is required whether you have a PDB or not, if you're using TTS, and is good practice for R8 as well. If you do that, you'll never have problems with sticking. I've been using this style of drawbar for almost two years now, and they've never failed to release, *except* when I've failed to clean and lubricate properly for several weeks. My PDB does provide more than sufficient down-force to pop the collet free. In addition, the "top hat" on the top of the spindle is retained, so the collet is also pushed down due entirely to the drawbar being unscrewed.

The spindle brake could certainly be applied without activating the drawbar motor, but why would you ever need/want to?

Regards,
Ray L.

[Hirudin]

I was having really good luck for a while, but suddenly my collet started sticking. I added some antiseize and it worked for a couple changes but started sticking again. I'll take your advice and clean that bad-boy up and grease it again. I'll see if I can find a thorough guide on the 'net somewhere.

There have been a few times I've wanted to prevent the spindle from turning; like when I have an indicator in there and the measurement would be screwed up if the spindle rotates.

[Dylwad]

I was having really good luck for a while, but suddenly my collet started sticking. I added some antiseize and it worked for a couple changes but started sticking again. I'll take your advice and clean that bad-boy up and grease it again. I'll see if I can find a thorough guide on the 'net somewhere.

There have been a few times I've wanted to prevent the spindle from turning; like when I have an indicator in there and the measurement would be screwed up if the spindle rotates.

Tormach has a pretty thorough write up on collet care and feeding that might be worth a look.

http://www.tormach.com/document_dire...tml?doc_id=163

Sent from tapatalk

[bill south]

Ray;
Do you have any plans of publishing your plans for your ATC and Power Draw bar? I for one would be very glad to purchase a set!
Love the PDB design.
Bill

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Ray;
Do you have any plans of publishing your plans for your ATC and Power Draw bar? I for one would be very glad to purchase a set!
Love the PDB design.
Bill

Bill,

Plans? No, sorry.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/produc...nouncment.html

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/produc...n_pdb_atc.html

Regards,
Ray L.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I recently got a copy of GeoMagic Pro (formerly Alibre Pro). As a first exercise, I took the DXFs for the PDB design, and built a complete 3D model of it. IT only took about 4 hours, start to finish, the first almost two hours just learning how to create the parts and assemble them into the model. Mind you, I have yet to crack the manuals on this software! I'm quite impressed with how quick and easy it all was. The PDF below contains the 3D model. If you open the PDF, double-click on the rendering, then right-click and go to full-screen mode, you can zoom, rotate, pan, to view the whole model.

I've tried a number of 3D CAD packages, and this one makes creating the models far easier than any of the others. I also have BOBCAD, which I find rather obtuse in comparison.


Regards,
Ray L.

[rlockwood]

I recently got a copy of GeoMagic Pro (formerly Alibre Pro). As a first exercise, I took the DXFs for the PDB design, and built a complete 3D model of it. IT only took about 4 hours, start to finish, the first almost two hours just learning how to create the parts and assemble them into the model. Mind you, I have yet to crack the manuals on this software! I'm quite impressed with how quick and easy it all was. The PDF below contains the 3D model. If you open the PDF, double-click on the rendering, then right-click and go to full-screen mode, you can zoom, rotate, pan, to view the whole model.

I've tried a number of 3D CAD packages, and this one makes creating the models far easier than any of the others. I also have BOBCAD, which I find rather obtuse in comparison.


Regards,
Ray L.

I've loved alibre from the start-- its very similar to how solidworks started. If it had integrated CAM, it would be unstoppable.

[MichaelHenry]

I've loved alibre from the start-- its very similar to how solidworks started. If it had integrated CAM, it would be unstoppable.

It does - Alibre CAM and Alibre CAM Pro, based on Mecsoft's Visual Mill.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

It does - Alibre CAM and Alibre CAM Pro, based on Mecsoft's Visual Mill.

Any idea how that combination compares with BobCAD/CAM? I've been playing with BobCAD/CAM the last few days as well. I can see it has a lot of very nice capabilities, but wrapped in a complex, convoluted, and not at all intuitive UI. I bet it takes at least 2X as many mouse clicks to do most operations in BobCAD as it does in Alibre. In four hours I was able to learn enough Alibre to be able to model all the parts for the PDB, and build a complete PDB assembly. In four hours playing with BobCAD, I'm still not to the point of knowing enough to model more than the very simplest PDB parts, and there are some pretty basic operations, like translation (i.e. - moving entities), that have me completely baffled. And on the CAM side, I've so far only been able to make it create a lot of horrendously wrong toolpaths....

Regards,
Ray L.

[rlockwood]

Any idea how that combination compares with BobCAD/CAM? I've been playing with BobCAD/CAM the last few days as well. I can see it has a lot of very nice capabilities, but wrapped in a complex, convoluted, and not at all intuitive UI. I bet it takes at least 2X as many mouse clicks to do most operations in BobCAD as it does in Alibre. In four hours I was able to learn enough Alibre to be able to model all the parts for the PDB, and build a complete PDB assembly. In four hours playing with BobCAD, I'm still not to the point of knowing enough to model more than the very simplest PDB parts, and there are some pretty basic operations, like translation (i.e. - moving entities), that have me completely baffled. And on the CAM side, I've so far only been able to make it create a lot of horrendously wrong toolpaths....

Regards,
Ray L.

Welcome to "Bob" products. I have intimate knowledge of their series of crap.

Run.

I just learned of Alibre Cam, and have no experience with it at all, but played with rhino cam a bit. I think a lot of people underestimate how much of a difference having GREAT 3d parametric cad can make for a machinist, even if you're working on someone else's parts. If you're designing them, its even more important. Can in assemblies is great as well, makes fixture design and maintenance a breeze.

Fwiw, I can't recommend Solidworks/Hsmworms enough. Unfortunately it's terribly expensive. I've heard they cut deals for individuals though.

[LeeWay]

I fed SW my sob story about being a small two man company and they basically said Man up. No discount for the little guy. Turbocad it is then. I have managed with it so far, so it's cheap to keep.