# First CNC Project in 30 Years - Really Like This Tormach 1100MX So Far



## BladesIIB (Jul 3, 2021)

Steep learning curve to get this first part complete and I am eager to learn more.  I did find what I think is a more efficient way to use the manual tool setter rather than a paper shim like the instructions.  Also lets you use any surface even the table, no block needed.  Had some ups and downs and near crashes with this first part but eventually sorted out my errors and ended up with a part I am very happy with.

Have not been using coolant on my manual machines and finally dove into getting my coolant mixed up and reading a refractometer. 

Busy weekend in the shop and many more busy weekends ahead with this new machine.


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## Richard King 2 (Jul 3, 2021)

GMTA  .  I was just looking at Tormach website.   I did some training at Tormach.  They are an American company who imports new machines from China.  They helped design the basic machine they buy over there.  Also they fill a knitch that was lost when American manufacturers stop making machine tools.  The story is 2 friends, one an Engineer and he could find a small CNC mill....They offer tech support that is neat.  They have a room full of their machines and when you call them with a problem, the tech goes out to that style of machine and walks you trough fixing your issue...on the same machine.  I was thinking management here should invite them to have  their own room on here.   John Saunders of NYC CNC has some super You Tube shows on running them.   https://www.nyccnc.com/tormach-pcnc-1100-series/


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## BladesIIB (Jul 3, 2021)

Richard King 2 said:


> GMTA  .  I was just looking at Tormach website.   I did some training at Tormach.  They are an American company who imports new machines from China.  They helped design the basic machine they buy over there.  Also they fill a knitch that was lost when American manufacturers stop making machine tools.  The story is 2 friends, one an Engineer and he could find a small CNC mill....They offer tech support that is neat.  They have a room full of their machines and when you call them with a problem, the tech goes out to that style of machine and walks you trough fixing your issue...on the same machine.  I was thinking management here should invite them to have  their own room on here.   John Saunders of NYC CNC has some super You Tube shows on running them.   https://www.nyccnc.com/tormach-pcnc-1100-series/



I have watched several of John’s videos at NYC CNC they are good. There is a Tormach thread on the forum but seems to not get used much. I know several folks on here have one. Was not sure how there tech support worked exactly but I do know their customer support has been phenomenal.


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## mksj (Jul 3, 2021)

Impressive learning process, but I am exhausted at the end (and you did all the work). As usual, great presentation and narrative.


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## BladesIIB (Jul 3, 2021)

mksj said:


> Impressive learning process, but I am exhausted at the end (and you did all the work). As usual, great presentation and narrative.


Thanks Mark, appreciate the feedback, it was a long day in the shop, you deserve a break after watching it all for sure!


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## samstu (Jul 3, 2021)

Likely you know this,  Titans of CNC has a free online class with Tormach specific instruction with Fusion/solidworks/mastercam.   Registering for his school can get you educational discounts on solidworks and other software.  I have found the titans class to be very helpful for my learning and will follow your videos too.


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## BladesIIB (Jul 3, 2021)

samstu said:


> Likely you know this,  Titans of CNC has a free online class with Tormach specific instruction with Fusion/solidworks/mastercam.   Registering for his school can get you educational discounts on solidworks and other software.  I have found the titans class to be very helpful for my learning and will follow your videos too.



Yes I have watched many Titans videos and find them very helpful. I am registered and on their Facebook group as well. They are actually about 45 minutes from me in Flower Mound, TX from what I understand.  NYC CNC and Lars Christensen have also been my go to videos to get this far. So much to learn, some days I think I forget more than what sticks. Like learning another language, right now I speak enough to get in trouble and not quite enough to get back out sometimes.


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## Brento (Jul 3, 2021)

A tip you can do for some programs thst are long like that is you can create a sub program. For example the main program would basically call up the first part from your library and run it then go back the main program and it would call up your second part of your program and continue until you were done. In order to do the subprogram though you would have to go into the individual programs and add in a line to return to the main program.  Its been 3 years so i dont remember what it would look like but we would do it for production work to do like first and second ops in one setup.


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## BladesIIB (Jul 3, 2021)

Brento said:


> A tip you can do for some programs thst are long like that is you can create a sub program. For example the main program would basically call up the first part from your library and run it then go back the main program and it would call up your second part of your program and continue until you were done. In order to do the subprogram though you would have to go into the individual programs and add in a line to return to the main program.  Its been 3 years so i dont remember what it would look like but we would do it for production work to do like first and second ops in one setup.


Brento, thanks for the tip. I actually had someone comment on YouTube and prompt me to dig into that a little further. The answer was actually on the screen, I just did not understand it. The 100,000 lines is how far ahead it is looking to verify your tool paths and checking for errors. It will run the full code just warning you it was not verified beyond 100,000 lines. You can change the parameter to increase the number of lines reviewed which may slow the load time down or you can also just have it load all preview lines. I just did a short video today setting up a coolant wash down hose and addressed this correction. Always more to learn and next time I can run the full code in one operation.


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## Brento (Jul 3, 2021)

BladesIIB said:


> Brento, thanks for the tip. I actually had someone comment on YouTube and prompt me to dig into that a little further. The answer was actually on the screen, I just did not understand it. The 100,000 lines is how far ahead it is looking to verify your tool paths and checking for errors. It will run the full code just warning you it was not verified beyond 100,000 lines. You can change the parameter to increase the number of lines reviewed which may slow the load time down or you can also just have it load all preview lines. I just did a short video today setting up a coolant wash down hose and addressed this correction. Always more to learn and next time I can run the full code in one operation.


Gotcha. Keep that tip in the pocket bc sometimes the sub program idea is good way to do boring programs or any little program you fin yourself doing a lot. Another example is if you get to doing dovetailing. I actually have the program for that if you want but it can be a nice sub program that will call up the dovetailing program and then you just change your parameters to what you need done. And then you can go back to a main program.

I dont know what you plan to do with your knife making but where i worked we did dovetailing a lot. I saw that you watch John Sanders so you know the benefits with dovetailing a part i am sure. A lot of neat options. And i still have alot to learn. I only had about 2 years of cnc programming experience and setup experience. Already miss it watch you go through it all


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