PM727 vs ZX32G any input ?

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mak91

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I've out grown my cnc converted x2 mill and I am looking at the PM727 and ZX32G sized mills. What ever I buy will be converted to cnc. Right now I can get the Bolton Tools ZX32G for $250 less than the PM727. Any input on quality differences of these two machines and if its worth the extra money for the PM727 would be appreciated. Also any other machines of this size I should be looking at ? I need the 18 inch or so of table to spindle height and a minimum of 15 x travel for the project I have coming up. The searches I've done on both of the companies and mills haven't given me enough information to make my decision.

Thanks in advance for any feed back.
 
I looked at the same mill from Bolton before I got my PM-727. Compare the travels between the two and that will help decide quite a bit. I am very pleased with my PM-727M, out of the crate it was smooth working, tram wasn't bad, fit and finish were nice, as I expected. All based on input from the guys here I decided on the PM mill and have absolutely no regrets. Is it made in China yes is it perfect no is there support after the sale absolutely. I had one issue since I got my mill and sent QMT an email on a Saturday morning thinking I would get a reply the next week, to my surprise the issue was handled by the afternoon and the needed part was on the way Monday morning. I'm not a CNC guy so hopefully others will chime in on this.
 
TW, thanks for the quick reply. The specs on both machines are almost identical and both will fit my needs. Being made in China I've read good and bad reports on both. I guess my biggest question is "is there a $250 overall quality difference. $250 isn't much in the grand scheme of things but if the machines are of same quality I could spend the money on accessories but if the quality of the PM27 exceeds the Bolton Tools mill I have no issue paying for it. Did your mill come with a drill chuck ? The new PM727's I am told do not which seems to make the Bolton mill even a better deal as I think it does come with one.
 
In my opinion, so take it for what its worth, $250 is worth the support I have gotten and heard of others getting. QMT does have parts availability and have read that Bolton may not be so good. The 3 year warranty was another deciding factor for me. My mill did come with a drill chuck and arbor, various tools, and a pair of t bolts I do not remember them being listed in the parts that come with the machine. The drill chuck probably is not a Jacobs or Rohm quality part but isn't to bad for runout, I don not make aerospace parts. LOL. I also bought a set of R8 collets rom Matt and they are nice quality. Might be a good idea to call QMT and Bolton and see who you would like to deal with, for me that would tell me a lot. My decision was greatly influenced by the guys here after reading as many posts in the Precision Matthews section as I could and seeing that Matt and company seem to really care about there customers. This all comes from a relative newbie to this whole machining game so take it for what its worth.
 
I would recommend you buy from PM.

Bolton Hardware doesn't move the volume of machine tools that Matt does, and you will more than likely get much better after-sale service from Matt than from them.

Think of it this way: same build line, tools are going to two different vendors. One buys a higher volume and demands a higher quality product. Rejects from QC from his product line get shipped to the other vendor.

Is that risk worth $250?
 
I have the 727 and it is excellent mill. Does everything I need as a hobbyist. The deciding factor for me was QMT Customer Service. I also have one of their lathes and customer support is fantastic and well above average. Good luck.
 
Another point too, the Bolton is NOT the same machine, many people think they are, because it has similar specs. And they look darn close. But its a completely different factory who builds them. If we carried that machine, we would be cheaper. But, we do a 3 year warranty, and I can't do that one something that I know will not be a good machine. I was not happy with the quality from that factory at all. I am not saying the PM-727M is perfect, its still from China, and built to a price point. But its a pretty darn decent mill. I agree they look almost identical in pictures and specs, but they are absolutely NOT from the same factory at all.

I completely get why people think it, but short of saying "THIS MILL IS NOT FROM THE SAME FACTORY AS THE CHEAP MILLS OUT THERE" on the web site, I don't know how to explain it. I know when I would look for something back long before I did this, its so hard to sort through everything. But all I can say for sure is that its a completely different factory, and the quality of the PM-727, while still from China, IS better than that other machine.
 
And Thanks for the nice words guys, it means a lot! Without all of you, we would have nothing!
 
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