[2_jammer]

Hello,
I'm thinking about purchasing the 622 and I was hoping I could get some feedback from someone using one of these machines. From what I can gather, they aren't even available yet.
Shane.

[tikka308]

I'm in the same boat as 2_jammer - anyone know more about these machines?

[jrmjimmills]

I just purchased a CNC 1032 but it will not be here for another week or so. I bought the PC ready version and will use Mach3. I got on here to find all the tricks to setup and run the Mach3.

[DonFrambach]

jrmjimmills - please post your impressions as soon as you can!

Don

[nine 16]

jrmjimmills, thank you for posting notice of your purchase.

I second DonFrambach; I believe there are many here who are wondering at the quality and performance of the Smithy cnc products. I am looking forward to whatever light you can shine on the 1032 (1034?)

Mark

[jrmjimmills]

I did a lot of research before making this purchase but the thing that helped me decide on the Smithy is the sales people. They have bent over backwards to earn my business. This purchase is for a state engineering lab and we used a purchase order. Some of the other venders could not accomodate that method of payment. The machine also has a great warranty if anything goes wrong they will stand behind their product. I will give a full report when the machine arrives.

[jrmjimmills]

Oh yes it is a CNC1034 not 1032.

[LUCKY13]

So how is the new mill coming?


Jess

[jrmjimmills]

It is up and running. we have run across some minor issues but overall the machine is great. Since I purchased the PC ready version, there was some development time in getting mach3 setup properly. The only other issues are with the accessories not fitting perfectly. I have been working with Smithy to resolve the fit issue on the coolant tray and splash shield. Also waiting on one more piece to get the 4th axis add on working. I honestly feel that we will probably get 2 more of these very soon. All three will be less expensive than one Haas toolroom mill. As for the smaller machines I see no reason not to buy a Smithy. I have a MaxNC that has been very good to us for almost 10 years now, but if I had to buy another small mill I would try the Smithy first just because of the quality of this machine.

[LUCKY13]

That is good to here, I would be interested in any more input you may have as time goes with your mill. I am looking at the size up from yours & trying to deside between it and others that are on the market.


A few things I would really like input on is the noise level, and accuracy of the machine. How about some pictures of it, or dare I ask, some vids of it milling. I am afraid this is a big purchase for me & I am a little worried about making the move to tell the truth. With me being just one person & not a company, I have got to make the right choice the first time.


Thanks Jess

[jrmjimmills]

I guess the only bad mark I can give this machine is the slightly noisy fan on top of the spindle motor. It runs even when the spindle is not on and is a little annoying if you are just setting up the machine. I may add a temperature relay to disable it if the spindle motor is cool enough. Once the mill is running it is not so noticeable and the machine in general is not noisy. I have not used it much yet but everything else is great.

Jim

[kuhncw]

Jim, now that a month has passed, how has the Smithy been performing?

Thanks,

Chuck

[jrmjimmills]

The mill is working great. I had a minor issue with the coolant tray. I guess I was the first to get one with the full coolant tray. The table had an interference with the front part of the tray but was easily resolved by offsetting the 6 tray mounting holes 1.5" to the rear. I think this tray is the std. setup for the std. manual mill. When they added the cnc linear bearing setup and ballscrew, the head extends an extra 1.5" from the column. I also adjusted the backlash on the ballscrews (x&y) as the locknuts were not tightened.
Everything is good now. I still haven't learned all the tricks for the mach 3 but the machine seems to be happy. I have not done any big projects yet but I have some students that will be making some injection molds this week.
We will update with some pics.

Jim

[kuhncw]

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the update. Please keep us advised on how the mill does on the injection molds. Looking fwd to the pictures.

Regards,

Chuck

[tmarks11]

bump...

Seems incredible that there is only one Smithy cnc user on this board. Are there any other Smithy forums out there that are more active (other then the Yahoo 3n1 forum which doesnt really seem to stretch to the cnc machines)? I am interested in the Sieg KX3/Smithy 622.

jrmjimmills, what is your viewpoint of the Smithy warrenty? The cnc specific portion of it seems to have holes in it you could drive a Mack truck through.

[laser3kw]

I am confused by the "Since I purchased the PC ready version, there was some development time in getting mach3 setup properly" statement. does this mean it is not "ready to use"? Do you have to purchase other third party items to make it operate?

[delwood]

Very interesting info. on the new smithy mill. I wanted to get started cnc milling and bought a slightly used smithy mi-1720cnc 3 in 1 only to find out smithy's cnc option didn't work out and was not available. Now i need to get production going by making a pc ready mill purchase. Any additional logic on choosing smithy over other medium sized mills would be welcome!
Thank you,
Del

[theshooter]

Hey Jim - can you post some pictures of things you've done with the Smithy so far and what metals you're milling? I am also looking SERIOUSLY at these machines, or a tormach, but if these will handle larger pieces, cut deeper, cut steel and stainless, then I am inclined to go for it. As much detail of what work you're doing would be great to see and hear about.

Thanks!
TAZ

[benji2505]

bump...

Seems incredible that there is only one Smithy cnc user on this board. Are there any other Smithy forums out there that are more active (other then the Yahoo 3n1 forum which doesnt really seem to stretch to the cnc machines)? I am interested in the Sieg KX3/Smithy 622.

jrmjimmills, what is your viewpoint of the Smithy warrenty? The cnc specific portion of it seems to have holes in it you could drive a Mack truck through.

we have a Smithy 1034. The Service and the people to deal with are great. Bad news is: If you buy one of the larger machines you will need it. We were very busy fixing the issues with our new machine during the first 4 month of operation. Going with one of the two smaller machines is probably better than the 1034 and the 12??.

The larger machines are somewhat new: I was told they have about 30 pcs of 1034 in the market by now. That explains the number of users in this thread.....

[Jim G]

Hi all.
I was wondering about the accuracy of these machines.

Can you ream two holes for a press-fit dowel in one piece of material and two slip-fit holes in another piece about 6 in apart and mate them together without much difficulty? ie, pounding with a 10# sledge?