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I never did get the air cylinder, but they are easy to come by.

I have one, along with 30 tool holders. Same story....took a long while to get it and I went a different route in the meantime. It is a cool spindle, but if I use it, it won't happen anytime soon.

I don't have the macros set up, either - I do as stated above in the programming, though I will set up the tool change macro some day. The TV400 is essentially the same machine with a larger table as...

The machine won't do a tool change until you:
Home the Z axis(G28 Z0)
Orient the spindle(M19)
Pre-Call the tool(position tool change carousel)

So, to install tool 2:

G28 Z0 M19
T2
T2 M06

Also, you will want to cycle through the complete rotation as well(don't park it in the middle of the cycle) - the z axis servo load goes up substantially while the drawbar is released(after the tool...

Bob at Mori has been pretty helpful getting me taken care of whenever something pops up.
In the ATC menu, pressing 99 and then the input button(and then "Y" input) releases the interlock. You...

I have the same machine(TV-300 with 20 tool changer, 8k spindle, auto-lube and no APC). I will gladly help if I can.

The machine should fly along nicely with the servos. Also, I wonder if your acceleration setting vs gas cylinder is possibly causing an issue on your z axis? The gas cylinder will act to slow an...

http://www.usovo.de/shop/product_info.php?info=p452_manual-tool-changer-for-Optimum-Milling-Machines.html

The site linked above has some cool spindle/tool changer options, including one for the...

Your 28lb z axis shouldn't be problematic at all. I am thinking the coupler or something similar is(was) the real issue. I have a +/-50lb z that can run up and down at 400 ipm without missing steps -...

Awesome machine, Steve. Just read the whole thread, as I am considering building or buying a cnc router myself. This is one of my favorites. I just figured I would pipe in on the stepper/servo thing...

IIRC, they have 2 collet offerings - the $15 collets are their "high precision" collets(<.0003" TIR or something), while the lower priced ones are "less precise" I guess. I ordered the high precision...

I purchased a good little bit of tool holders from that buyer several months ago(almost a year probably) - the tools were as true or perhaps slightly more true than the Tormach tools, so runout isn't...

R8 tools eject more easily than MT tools, but if you are planning a power drawbar/tool changer like Hoss's machine, then you would be using a Tormach-style system. In this case, tool ejection from...

I think most people go with the R8 setup - R8 tooling is fairly cheap and easy to come by. If you use a Tormach style tooling strategy(recommended for ease of use), then either is as good as the...

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1944&category=-269978449 - r8 head

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1906&category=-269978449 - MT3...

The Sherline spindles are great, rugged little units(aside from their mounting strategy). Once properly affixed, they are good for 10k+ rpms and quite rugged and true for their size and weight. X2...

I agree - a larger and stronger version would be great. It is a nice concept that could fairly easily be scaled up I would think.

No way this setup will work well with a 1/2" endmill at anywhere near .5 DOC. It just isn't that rugged(nor are the Sherline/Taig machines it was designed to work on). I have the newer one and some...

I will throw in my $.02 - that motor won't "cut it". I tried using the same motor on my x2 head a year or so ago - the brushes sparked like crazy and the shaft was about 180F after about 5 minutes...

Interestingly enough, I have been considering swapping from R8 back to MT3. I use the Tormach tools, and the MT3 spindle will allow the entire mill head to be about 3/4" lower on the z axis during...

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/drawings/mmheadassy.pdf

The Taig mill fits your budget and size envelope, and is almost certainly more accurate than any of the "X" mills out of the box. With proper adjustments, it can hold .001" in stock form(cnc of...

I used a Seig x2 motor for a while on the Sherline head(different machine, though). It is a little bigger and heavier(had to make a little adapter to mount it), but it also had easily 2x the power...

How else should the weight be stated? The enclosure/stand is part of the machine - no different than a 3500 pound HAAS minimill for example - how much of the 3500 pounds in that machine is attributed...

Do you lose steps in exact stop mode?

I had similar issues a while back and it turned out to be that the pulse width was not long enough - 210 drivers can cause the described issue if the signal is not buffered. Here is a quick way to...

Not so sure I agree here - that Mikini machine is 2000 pounds vs. 1100 pounds of Tormach. Similar size and travels otherwise - hard to imagine it being less rigid than a Tormach.

120 ipm on a taig means 2400 rpms on the stepper motor! if this is not a mistake, it is damn impressive.

It seems that the Tormach is only comparable to this machine in price and work envelope. They otherwise seem to be in a different class.

Tormach - 1100lbs open configuration.
Mikini - 2000lbs...