I'm looking at the newer Tormach 1100M video's and was wondering how current Tormach owners like their mills?
I bought the 770 Series 3 mill seven years ago. In addition to the basic mill, I bought the 4th axis, the stand plus coolant kit, and the TTS tooling set. My primary reason for buying it was the CNC mill gave me the ability to perform machining that would otherwise be impossible. At the time I bought the mill, there weren't many alternatives . I didn't want to go though the bother of a DIY CNC and I wanted a mill that was designed from the ground up as a CNC mill rather than a manual conversion to CNC.
I have found a number of deficiencies over the years, some in manufacturing and some in design. Also, it is not truly capable of sub thousandths accuracy. For instance, my spindle has more runout than my forty year old mill/drill. The spindle is actually a warranty replacement as a bearing went out on the original at about four months. The original control computer was replaced after about two months. The 1 hp VFD driven spindle motor is terribly under powered at the low end of the speed range. Last year, my Leadshine z axis driver failed, the cause of which was a burned connector which took out the driver transistor. Tormach replaced the driver, no charge and I was able to repair the old driver, giving me a spare. I also replaced the cooling fan in the control cabinet and a defective capacitor in the coolant pump motor.
On the plus side, Tormach has made considerable improvements in the last seven years. The switch from the original Mach 3 to their Path Pilot software has been a good step forward. While the mill is not capable of day in/day out sub thousandths precision, with care some precision work can be done with it. My problem with the blown driver was caused by oxidation of a plug in connector and had been identified by Tormach. They currently use an anti-oxidant silicon grease on those connectors. I haven't examined the M class machines to se if some of the mechanical deficiencies have been corrected but from what I have seen, it appears that improvements have been made. Their support team has also become much more experienced and they are willing to work with you to solve problems.
Bottom line, would I do it again? Most likely, yes. There have been disappointments but on the whole I am satisfied with the performance. I love the TTS system and have actually set up my mill drill to use it as well. If I had the room for it, an 1100 would be a preferable machine because of the larger work volume and 50% more spindle power but I couldn't fit one into my basement shop. At the time that I bought my machine, the full enclosure wasn't available but I really don't miss it.
If you have any specific questions, I will try to answer them.