Thoughts on Tormach pcnc-440?

GunsOfNavarone

GunsOfNavarone

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So first up, I want to get my feet wet in the home shop CNC world. If I can do some light aluminum router work, then great. I am willing to spend 1-2K on the unit. That seems to be a water cooled, 1.5KW VFD motor with 4 axis 15" by 25" working area. Here is the lower end of that list...
Ebay CNC
Thoughts and opinions? I think having this and learning that build and code will help me tremendously when CNC'ing my lathe and mill. I realize this is no 800 pound mill, just fun for odds and ends though I am NOT a wood guy, metal really is a must, obviously SOFT metals.
 
Will it cut aluminum? Yes, but the finish is not going to be as good as from a milling machine just due to the flex and vibration of the machine. Heavy mist coolant is a must when cutting aluminum.

It won't be long before you appreciate the way a milling machine is built vs. a router. But it will give you experience with G code and controls.
 
Can you work with plastic?

John
 
Don’t need plastic for much...
so it leads to this... Tormach pcnc -440 I know it’s a no brainer, but 1-2k vs $6k
Tormach
 
I'm seriously considering the Tormach 440. The worst dirt I can find is some people report "excessive backlash". What I read is .003" More or less. Not really an issue for me at this juncture. I have no idea about the company or their products, for its capabilities, $6k sounds like a great deal
 
Ok, so now you're getting serious. At first it sounded like you just wanted a cheap router to get your feet wet with CNC but now you're getting ready to step up.

I think you've convinced yourself to go with the Tormach. We have a local dealer for them here in Santa Cruz and I want to get them to fire one up for me when the lockdown lets them open back up. It has about the same working envelope and specs as my project machine, and I know a lot of hobbyists are happy with both the tool and support. Their tooling system is used by lots of DIY CNC builders too. I don't think you can go wrong with that machine and I doubt the router will be good enough with metal to justify the price.

But....

How much space and power do you have in your shop? Once you get above ~$4k you start getting close to used industrial VMC's with a whole lot more capability than the Tormach.

It really comes down to what you see yourself doing, if you're just gonna make small stuff, and you value support go with the Tormach. But if you have the space and inclination to take on a project your $6k can buy a whole lot more machine.


John
 
Thanks for the input John. I actually did look at used industrial machines just for sh1ts & giggles... yeah, just the shear weight tells me no.
I am really curious what a 440 owner thinks once the shiny wears off. I am so licking at the bit right now...I think this is where my wife has to give up her half of the garage....
 
The 440 is a neat little machine. Normally I think it is too close to the 770 in price, but with the sale they have going right now, it is tempting to grab one myself.

With that said, I think I'll hold out as I am about 75% of the way to a nicely spec'd 770M.
 
What sale? I've built 3 different machines on there site...haven't came across any sales there...
 
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