Newbie Here

Guys I was looking at the PH-833VT ultra precision mill last night. Does anyone have an opinion regarding if the added dollars for what is advertised as better quality machine would be worth sacrificing the size of the larger table size of the PH-940v. The PH-833VT Y travel is 11" which I believe will be plenty for a 9" wide piece of material. I noticed a you tube video that showed an aluminum plate that was milled flat and then clamped to the table and then the part clamped to the plate for machining. I believe that machining something 9" in the y axis would be the exception and not the rule. In addition, it would give me a little more space in the shop. However, I will be paying more for a smaller machine for what is advertised as better quality because it is fabricated in Taiwan. Any opinions would be appreciated and as I said in an earlier post I will be converting the mill that I decide on to CNC.

Thanks

Lee
 
I am assuming you mean PM machines in your post above? If so, or even brand aside, personally, I would pay extra for 100% Taiwanese model. In the size you are looking for if you are going to put it on a stand and not a bench you may want to consider the knee mills to get a little larger and stay 100% Taiwan. Jump in price and no idea the impact on turning to CNC. When I upgrade it will be to a knee mill. Not much larger footprint for the PM-935TV and a truly versatile machine that will be good quality.
 
Maybe contact PM and ask the question which mills can be easily converted to CNC or have a full kit. And ask if they could put on ball screws as stock so you would not need to do it for CNC conversion later.
 
CNC will be nice for working on rocket fin parts and other things.
 
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Good information!

I am probably at the Mill B option. PM-833TV. I am planning on building my own tube steel base because I am going to build a custom acrylic enclosure with a sloped bottom covered with a EPDM sheet to make cleanup of chips easier. The tube steel base will be topped with a 1/2" thick plate and topped with the EPDM and then the mill will be will sit on top of the plate & on top of the EPDM. I am also going to build custom cabinets on each side of the base with drawers. Currently planning on using the Acorn board with ClearPath Servo motors and Heavy Metal double ball nuts and premium ball screws. Currently trying to decide on the servo size for the z drive screw, how many separate power supplies / amplifiers for the drives and misc. equipment. Currently the plan is 1 for the x & y motors, 1 for the z drive motor and 1 for the acorn board and other misc. stuff. I am also planning on a cooling fog mister, a couple of cameras with a raspberry pi so that I can record the milling process for when things do not go as plan. The touch screen monitor will be on a separate tube steel post with some attachments for misc. tools, air hose, & small shelf mounted all mounted to the floor to the right of the enclosure. My shop also has a grounded dust vac system and I plan to have a port on the tool holder stand. The electronics enclosure will be mounted on the shop wall behind and to the left of the mill enclosure. Once I figure out the electronics (mainly power supplies) I will be able to size the electronics box and draw it up in cad for everyone to review, if you interested.

Again if anyone has an opinion on my current plan or any other upgrades that I should consider please let me know.

Thanks

Lee
 
Blades. I noticed you call home in Texas. I was born in Dallas and raised in Katy Texas. I am a graduate from Texas A&M University (please don't hold that against me if you color is Orange with horns). Work brought me to California about 30 years ago. I love the California weather but miss the Texas people. The majority of the people here all seem to be in a hurry!
 
Lee, I have been fortunate to live quite a few places and yes Texas has been home for the last 11 years, in addition to 6 years some time ago. I live in North East Dallas and do enjoy Texas. No offense on A&M, I went to school in Arizona but my son will attend A&M so I guess I am connected to an Aggie now. I look forward to pics of your build. May inspire me to tackle CNC myself.
 
Welcome aboard @leegscott. Have a seat. Buckle up and prepare for the ride!! All of us on here will gladly help you spend your money, and even possibly give you some advice. ;)
I have an PM-833T mill. The TV version came out after I bought mine, which is a real bummer. I too would like to convert mine to CNC, but the straight "T" version is harder to do because of the geared head vs the belt drive. I will do it eventually but too much to do right now. Most likely a next winter project.
As far as Taiwan vs Chinese, I feel that the difference is significant. I had a PM-1022 lathe (Chinese) that I just sold and bought at Eisen 1440E lathe (Taiwan), and I will say the difference between the two is night and day. Of course, the 1440E cost nearly 4x what I paid for the 1022 initially but the 1440 is a thing of beauty.

Below is a link to a guy that has done a CNC conversion to the PM-833TV. He did a real nice job but learned a few things along the way. He went sort of cheap to start with utilizing stepper motors vs servo and using a single ball nut vs a double, so he ended up redoing some of it. He has it all documented , which he did a fantastic job on including a BOM.

---->PM-833TV Converted<---
--->Upgraded PM-833TV<---
And his website....--->Dr. D. FLo website <---

Side note.... I would love to see your projects with the rocketry down the road. When I was a kid my brothers left some Estes rockets laying around. I started to mess with them which then piqued my interest in RC aircraft which then kindled a spark in full size flying. 30 years and 9000 hrs of flying later, I had to retire due to a medical issue.
 
7 miles up. I would be glad to share my rocket stuff. If your interested, you can look at my website www.scottrocketry.com. Been into rockets since 2007.

I launched a rocket in September that went to 31,500 ft (just a little short of 6 miles up) that I still need to add to the website.

The reason for the mill is to be able to machine materials that I can use in the construction of the rockets. The rocket in September was traveling at Mach 1.5 which creates heat and strength of material issues.

Sorry to here about you having to give up flying but when one door closes another opens which I have learned with my own getting older health challenges.
 
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