+Warren Bailey Thanks! I actually have a video planned (maybe in a month or so) talking about how to setup the tool table and offsets in pathpilot and your CAM software. I have a good amount of toolholders now and need to organize them and get them numbered and such.
Liked the overview, and the unboxing. Please do mention how Tormach handles the axis controller when the fourth axis is added; it would interesting to know if the 3 axis controller ends up as a spare part.
Wonderful video. Quick question. When you end up with flood coolant where does it all drain out to and whats the best way to clean chips out of it. Considering one for allot of oddball hobby work and the fourth axis will be a must in the coming times.
The flood coolant is terrible. It just gets clogged and any cut longer than 15 minutes, you'll need to monitor and clean out the chips. I've never had the flood coolant last more than 15 minutes at a time.
So how does it compare to your other cnc mill? Why did you decide to get the tormach? I've been looking at doing my own CNC mill conversion, but also been considering the 440 (okay dreaming about the 440, It's almost $10,000 Canadian for just the basic machine. $15,000 for the delux, and that's before any shipping and taxes!)
I too am curious as to how they will implement the 4th axis stepper driver. That Leadshine MX4660 goes for $379.00 and it appears that the cable from the Tormach controller PC is connected directly to the MX3660 via the internal ribbon cable.
Looking now at the MX3660 manual it appears that there are four additional digital outputs. "Output 1 + General purpose output (max 24V@70mA). This pin is connected to pin 17 - “Input 1” - of the DB25 connector. Used to output the digital signal, sent through DB25 “Input 1” from the motion controller, to the connected external device here." So the 4th axis kit will, most likely, just include a single stepper driver like the kits for the 1100 and 770.
Hi. At work we are thinking of buying a 440. We do have a lot of experience in 3d and laser cut but non in milling. Time wise how long and hard do you think it would take a milling novice to be able to cut its first piece?
It's the side cabinet for the 44" tool cabinet that I mounted on casters. It's absolutely fantastic and you can get it for under $200 on sale. It's worth every penny. I have a rail mounted to the back as a monitor mount now. It's a great rolling tool cart for the mill.
don't think of the table moving, think of the spindle moving. If you move in the positive direction, the spindle should move in that direction, therefore the table moves in the opposite. Check out my video that goes into details on axes and offsets and such: th-cam.com/video/d99B8UmP4tE/w-d-xo.html
Nice overview - I especially appreciate seeing the electrical cabinet on a commercial mill. Just curious - is there any active cooling in the cabinet, or is convection enough to keep everything cool?
+Paul Frieden Have a look on the NYC CNC youtube page (it seems they did it in collaboration together) where he details 2 types of cooling systems for it. The website suggests its an optional extra
I saw the NYC CNC about the work cooling system, but I'm also interested in the cooling for the electrical components. I'm working (slowly) on a conversion, and I'm trying to decide if I need a fan and external ventilation in the control box. I've heard people say that the drivers seem to stay cool, but most people still tend to have a fan. I'd rather seal it up to avoid debris and coolant getting in there, but not at the cost of destroying components.
+Paul Frieden DEFINITELY use a fan. The tormach has a pretty high-powered 48V fan. My own mill uses 2 120mm fans. The electronics can get warm after long jobs. Fans are cheap too :-)
So how did you turn it around? Doesn't it weigh in at over 600 pounds? I just purchased one of these and have been wondering how I'm going to move it around.
@@briandodds I have a few machines over 500 pounds in my garage and with a couple 2x4s and furniture dolleys, you can easily move them around if you're patient and you plan it out.
Nice vid, it would be nice to know the weight of the just the mill for lifting. I would suggest that you NOT put your PC in the cabinet. The hard drive and the rest of the electronic components are not fond of the vibration that will be present during mill operation and it will greatly shorten the life of the PC. Second, is holding the off switch on the PC the only way to turn it off? That is really hard on the CPU as it shuts the PC down by grounding an input to the CPU. This method is OK once in a while but all the time is problematic.
+Mark Nano It's an RF/EMI filter. It's used to filter out line noise from the AC power. It's not absolutely necessary, but helps get rid of noise (if it exists) so you don't run into issues.
+Robert Cowan (Rowen Hobbies) Thanks for your quick response. On my mini mill I use the Gecko G540 stepper controller. Occasionally, in a middle of a program, all motions will stop and the "RESET" button on Mach3 will be blinking. You think an RF/EMI will help with my problem?
+Mark Nano Good question. It's possible. It could be a lot of things though. Are you running homing or limit switches? Sometimes they can have some noise on the line and falsely trigger. If so, try disabling your limit switches and see if the problem still exists. Using a resistor in-line with the switches can fix the issue. If it's your power, a filter can help, but sometimes these issues can be difficult to track down.
+Robert Cowan (Rowen Hobbies) +Robert Cowan (Rowen Hobbies) I do not have limit switches. The shutdowns happen randomly and unpredictable. I will try to install RF/EMI filter. Could you suggest a good RF/EMI filter for me (possibly the one in the Tormach 440)? I have a standard 110V power.
+Mark Nano There are MANY out there, I can't specifically recommend one. Just do some looking on mouser, digikey, or even eBay. They are relatively inexpensive.
It depends on what all you get. The machine alone is $4900, but then you add enclosure, computer, stand, etc, and it can add up. The full machine with all the accessories (including enclosure, vise, tooling, etc) is around $10k.
Glad to know there actually IS an electrical diagram.
Oh yeah, it's a decent little machine.
I really liked the stop-motion animation you did!
+Hirudin Thanks! I need to do that more. It's a lot more work, bu it's fun.
Great detailed overview Rob; would be great at some point to see initial set-up of the TTS holders and tools. Can't want to see your first chips!!
+Warren Bailey Thanks! I actually have a video planned (maybe in a month or so) talking about how to setup the tool table and offsets in pathpilot and your CAM software. I have a good amount of toolholders now and need to organize them and get them numbered and such.
Liked the overview, and the unboxing. Please do mention how Tormach handles the axis controller when the fourth axis is added; it would interesting to know if the 3 axis controller ends up as a spare part.
+ForgottenMan1 Sure thing. I plan on getting the 4th axis (depending on the retail price of course). I'll certainly do a video showing the setup.
I hope you realized that this coolant is crap .... got everything starting to rust , I am glad I changed it pretty fast.
Great videos Robert!! Looking forward to more! :)
Mike
Interesting build :) Wow, just looked up the price... much cheaper than I had assumed.
How much is it
Wonderful video. Quick question. When you end up with flood coolant where does it all drain out to and whats the best way to clean chips out of it. Considering one for allot of oddball hobby work and the fourth axis will be a must in the coming times.
The flood coolant is terrible. It just gets clogged and any cut longer than 15 minutes, you'll need to monitor and clean out the chips. I've never had the flood coolant last more than 15 minutes at a time.
So how does it compare to your other cnc mill? Why did you decide to get the tormach? I've been looking at doing my own CNC mill conversion, but also been considering the 440 (okay dreaming about the 440, It's almost $10,000 Canadian for just the basic machine. $15,000 for the delux, and that's before any shipping and taxes!)
I bet they will provide a breakout box or an additional MESA card and external stepper driver for the 4th axis. That's how MaxNC did it.
+eformance There appears to be an add-on board for the MX3660 that would allow for a 4th axis. An additional MESA card would be unnecessary.
I too am curious as to how they will implement the 4th axis stepper driver. That Leadshine MX4660 goes for $379.00 and it appears that the cable from the Tormach controller PC is connected directly to the MX3660 via the internal ribbon cable.
Looking now at the MX3660 manual it appears that there are four additional digital outputs.
"Output 1 + General purpose output (max 24V@70mA). This pin is connected to pin 17 - “Input 1” - of the
DB25 connector. Used to output the digital signal, sent through DB25 “Input 1” from the motion
controller, to the connected external device here."
So the 4th axis kit will, most likely, just include a single stepper driver like the kits for the 1100 and 770.
Great videos tanks you robert
tanks!
Hi. At work we are thinking of buying a 440.
We do have a lot of experience in 3d and laser cut but non in milling. Time wise how long and hard do you think it would take a milling novice to be able to cut its first piece?
Nice to see another one out in the wild. Sub'd and will keep an eye on your vids. Thanks for sharing! +Robert Cowan
A great informative video! Keep up the good work! :)
what US general toolbox is that. looks perfect
It's the side cabinet for the 44" tool cabinet that I mounted on casters. It's absolutely fantastic and you can get it for under $200 on sale. It's worth every penny. I have a rail mounted to the back as a monitor mount now. It's a great rolling tool cart for the mill.
Hi, is that normal if u jog to plus directions, the table is moving. Opposite direction?
don't think of the table moving, think of the spindle moving. If you move in the positive direction, the spindle should move in that direction, therefore the table moves in the opposite. Check out my video that goes into details on axes and offsets and such: th-cam.com/video/d99B8UmP4tE/w-d-xo.html
Nice overview - I especially appreciate seeing the electrical cabinet on a commercial mill. Just curious - is there any active cooling in the cabinet, or is convection enough to keep everything cool?
+Paul Frieden Have a look on the NYC CNC youtube page (it seems they did it in collaboration together) where he details 2 types of cooling systems for it. The website suggests its an optional extra
I saw the NYC CNC about the work cooling system, but I'm also interested in the cooling for the electrical components. I'm working (slowly) on a conversion, and I'm trying to decide if I need a fan and external ventilation in the control box. I've heard people say that the drivers seem to stay cool, but most people still tend to have a fan. I'd rather seal it up to avoid debris and coolant getting in there, but not at the cost of destroying components.
+Paul Frieden DEFINITELY use a fan. The tormach has a pretty high-powered 48V fan. My own mill uses 2 120mm fans. The electronics can get warm after long jobs. Fans are cheap too :-)
So how did you turn it around? Doesn't it weigh in at over 600 pounds? I just purchased one of these and have been wondering how I'm going to move it around.
I just scooted it around. Also, a couple 2x4s and some patience works.
Would like to have seen you doing that. :)
@@briandodds I have a few machines over 500 pounds in my garage and with a couple 2x4s and furniture dolleys, you can easily move them around if you're patient and you plan it out.
@@RobertCowanDIY Good to know, the PCNC 440 I'm getting will be the first tool in my shop that is even close to being this heavy. :)
Nice vid, it would be nice to know the weight of the just the mill for lifting. I would suggest that you NOT put your PC in the cabinet. The hard drive and the rest of the electronic components are not fond of the vibration that will be present during mill operation and it will greatly shorten the life of the PC. Second, is holding the off switch on the PC the only way to turn it off? That is really hard on the CPU as it shuts the PC down by grounding an input to the CPU. This method is OK once in a while but all the time is problematic.
What did you say at 8:30? Is it RFVMI Filter? Also could you please explain the use of this filter? Thank you.
+Mark Nano It's an RF/EMI filter. It's used to filter out line noise from the AC power. It's not absolutely necessary, but helps get rid of noise (if it exists) so you don't run into issues.
+Robert Cowan (Rowen Hobbies) Thanks for your quick response. On my mini mill I use the Gecko G540 stepper controller. Occasionally, in a middle of a program, all motions will stop and the "RESET" button on Mach3 will be blinking. You think an RF/EMI will help with my problem?
+Mark Nano Good question. It's possible. It could be a lot of things though. Are you running homing or limit switches? Sometimes they can have some noise on the line and falsely trigger. If so, try disabling your limit switches and see if the problem still exists. Using a resistor in-line with the switches can fix the issue. If it's your power, a filter can help, but sometimes these issues can be difficult to track down.
+Robert Cowan (Rowen Hobbies) +Robert Cowan (Rowen Hobbies) I do not have limit switches. The shutdowns happen randomly and unpredictable. I will try to install RF/EMI filter. Could you suggest a good RF/EMI filter for me (possibly the one in the Tormach 440)? I have a standard 110V power.
+Mark Nano There are MANY out there, I can't specifically recommend one. Just do some looking on mouser, digikey, or even eBay. They are relatively inexpensive.
Did the computer come with the mill?
Tormach offers various packages, and many of them include the PathPilot controller (which is the computer).
Thanks
How much was this setup?
It depends on what all you get. The machine alone is $4900, but then you add enclosure, computer, stand, etc, and it can add up. The full machine with all the accessories (including enclosure, vise, tooling, etc) is around $10k.
I thought men sending mud pics were the only ones that used inches. They were lying ;)
YOU WORK FOR SPARKFUN TOO, RIGHT?
I used to work for them, but I left about a year ago. I was the product manager for about 7 years though!
Wow, I just found you channel. Nice to see you again in new videos. You have you own channel, cool. You have you own company too?
Thanks! No, I don't have my own company, working for someone else. I've been self-employed before, it's not as glamorous as it sounds ;-)
Yeap, it is hard to be a self employed. Well I am your new follower on youtube :)
Thanks! I have some neat projects I'm working on, so stay tuned for some new videos in the upcoming weeks.
Next time you make a video like this, please don't draw your finger through the high voltage terminals. Just for order's sake... :-)
Sure, but the machine was unplugged ;-)
That is an expensive ass machine, as is the 3D printer you have. what in the hell are you doing that you can afford that crap?
I get this a lot. I made an FAQ for my livestreams that addresses a few of the most common questions: goo.gl/oYjKZ8
Well, now there is egg on my face. Still, very expensive machinery that is not accessible to the majority of us sadly.