- Joined
- Oct 7, 2013
- Messages
- 149
I spent more than I should have on my initial 440 CNC package a few months ago, and I'm very glad I bought it rather than a manual mill, but I need to get it paid off before I can justify spending more money on more accessories, but seeing Tormach release the power drawbar for the 440 made me want it even more. $700 for the factory kit isn't bad but I thought if I could get a few components cheaper I could make one that suited my needs just fine it didn't look that difficult and I saw a few others had made their own versions so I had a little bit of a template to follow. I ended up about $240 in everything I needed even had twice as much 6061 just in case i needed a do over, but I was surprised the first version worked very well. I didn't take pictures of each stage which it really wasn't a lot, the base plate, 3 standoffs threaded at each end, hardware and air cylinder. I got a 100mm x 15mm cylinder from ebay for less than $50 and a cheap foot pedal for $27, the hose and fittings was about another 50. I probably had less than 2 hrs machining everything. I have my air set at 90PSI and it operates well at that air pressure. If your even thinking about adding a PDB just do it, it is very simple, inexpensive and makes running the Tormach so much nicer.
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