Moving a Tormach PCNC 1100 CNC machine

CNC Dude

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Hi Group,

Here is my conundrum: I have the chance to acquire a Tormach PCNC1100 CNC machine at a very decent price. Other than paying for it, the only challenge which remains is moving it from the current owner's facility to my house. I have done this before and it is a full day worth of work, when all of the conditions are right. Unfortunately, on this case there is a small glitch. The machine is not under power and can't be powered, which means I will have to move it AS IS!

In theory, I should lower the tower as much as possible so that I can grab it with an engine hoist. Since that option is not available, what other techniques can you recommend? The machine is already in its stand which makes it easy to use a forklift to move it in and out of the truck. But I think I will need to grab it from the top hooks at some point in time, so that I can place it on my home garage.

My other concern is that since the machine is raised, it might tip as it is being transported. What do you think about this? Am I being overly paranoid? Which most likely I am anyway, but then again, this is not your typical $9.99 item. If I break it, I will feel it in a bunch of body parts I don't even know exist!

Thanks for your input!
 
I would imagine you could remove the steppers without too much trouble and rotate screws by hand to get the table positioned the way you want and the head lowered onto a wood block.
The base of the mill is (should be) bolted to the base cabinet but be careful as it may be top heavy.
 
Properly strapped down, it should be fine in transport. Wrap the straps around the head, and tie corner to corner. Use good straps. I normally drive a mile or two and then recheck the straps after the load has settled in.

The most dangerous time is moving it around on the forklift. Some safety straps work well here.

Is it possible to get access to the Z lead screw and manually crank it down? Maybe remove the Z motor, I'm not sure what this entails. That could wait until you get it offloaded at home. From what you said, I assume you have a forklift available at home. If you need to rent one, then get a low clearance forklift that will drive right into your garage at least enough to get it setting on the floor. Where possible, I normally do the lift, then drive the truck or trailer out from under the load. Then lower the load before I move the forklift. Another thought, if you have to rent a forklift, is to get a long reach forklift, then you can pretty much set it right inside where you want it.

I have moved machines on concrete just by installing an anchor plate on the floor, and sliding the machine with a come-a-long. A female threaded anchor works well for this, installed flush with the floor. Then just remove the bolt when you're done. A little liquid dish soap makes a pretty good lube for this.
 
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Hmmm, why didn't I think about removing the Z axis stepper? Shame on me! Thanks for the suggestion! If I can lower the tower manually, that will give me lots of peace of mind.

OK, I do not have a forklift at home, but I have a pallet jack which I use every now and then to move the machines inside my garage. So that is no biggie as long as I can have the machine delivered to my garage.

I also plan on removing the stand sheet metal so the machine can be grabbed better. I don't want to mess the sheet metal used to gather the coolant. Plus it will make it easier to clean the machine as well.
 
Take you a skill saw and some 2x or 4x and make a couple of blocks for the head as it sits. Run over to Sunbelt Rentals and get the 6x12 drop deck trailer to put it on. CG stays way low and easy on and off that way. About 75$ for the day rental.

If it's the one that I am thinking of, it's sitting on the ground right now, so you would only be lifting it a foot or less to load.
 
X2 on the drop deck trailer! I rented one to haul my BP home that worked great. Check first not many locations have the drop deck available and if they do its usually rented most of the time. At least thats what I found anyway. Another thing to consider is unless you have a forklift, despite the deck dropping down to ground level, its still probably 3" thick with a transition ramp section. I would not attempt rolling the mill off on a pallet jack. You will need to invest $200 in a HF engine crane or rent one to lift the machine just enough to pull the trailer out. Once shes ground level the pallet jack is fine to roll around the garage.
 
I have the HF engine hoist but that won't work to lift it into the stand. Not easily at least.

Last time what I did was rent a sunbelt engine hoist which will go directly through the machine stand. I also rented the truck with the lift. Man, but those trucks swindle like crazy! I actually lost weight due to stress while driving the machine to my house. BTW, the entire operation took from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Ridiculous!

I am hoping that we can load this into the truck with their forklift and then we can unload it into my garage with another forklift. Apparently, however, that would cost me dearly (I have heard in the vicinity of $1000!!!! Pain oh pain!).

I am wondering if renting a UHAUL trailer would do the trick??? If I have to tear the machine apart anyway, I might as well put the stand on my truck bed and then the machine on the trailer. It would be well strapped, so that would help.

A tele-porter would come so handy right now... ;-)
 
The table and the head can be moved by hand by removing some covers and accessing the shafts from the steppers. The owner's manual explains how to do it somewhere in the beginning sections if I am remembering right. http://www.tormach.com/document_direct_download.html?doc_id=738

The mill can be removed from the stand and then lifted pretty easily with an engine hoist. Tormach makes a special lifting kit that allows you to pick it at the right balance point: http://www.tormach.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=PCNC1100_InstallTools.
 
The table and the head can be moved by hand by removing some covers and accessing the shafts from the steppers. The owner's manual explains how to do it somewhere in the beginning sections if I am remembering right. http://www.tormach.com/document_direct_download.html?doc_id=738

The mill can be removed from the stand and then lifted pretty easily with an engine hoist. Tormach makes a special lifting kit that allows you to pick it at the right balance point: http://www.tormach.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=PCNC1100_InstallTools.

Pay attention to BOTH of these statements. The Tormach has a lifting ring, but MUST BE single point lifted (a 1 ton minimum long-reach engine hoist is needed, NOT the standard HF engine hoist) using the lifting bar following the Tormach setup. Most Tormach owners have a lifting bar, you can probably borrow nearby (it's heavy plate plus chain-cheaper to buy than try to borrow by mail). If you don't follow the Tormach directions, you may have problems- this is 1500 lb or so, and it IS top-heavy. Have at least two helpers to assist, and get it down low as soon as it's off the stand.

You can also disassemble the head/column etc. See CNCzone Tormach forum for lots of details and examples. While Tormach doesn't recommend pulling the 1100 apart, it's been done successfully and well documented.
 
Hmmm... This is weird! I could have sworn I had already replied to this thread with what I had managed to accomplish and that response is definitely not here! Did I dream this up, or did hackers mess up the forum with that thread being obliterated when the backup was put in place?

Anyway, I remember I thought the idea of moving the axis manually was brilliant and I was wondering how on Earth I didn't think of that. Last Tuesday January 6, I paid for the machine and manually moved the Z axis as suggested previously. I placed a piece of wood in between the spindle and the table.

By then I had managed to hire a couple of guys I found through the craigslist and they moved this machine in and out in LESS!!!!!! than 10 minutes. Blown away!

Anyway, you can watch some of that on this video:

http://youtu.be/rKNLzpPHmeQ
 
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