Re: Believable negative review of Tormach company support and product quality
Originally Posted by
AUSTINMACHINING
Short answer is "No". That's what you can do with a 3d printer though.
++1
3D printer won't destroy a $50 endmill and punch a hole through your vise or table because you selected the wrong offset or screwed up zeroing you axis. Won't sling your part across the room at 60 mph because your workholding method sucks. A 3D printer won't overheat and slag your tool because you just randomly selected feeds and speeds without bothering to learn the science behind it... or at least use a program like HSM Advisor or G-Wizard to get the right answer.
I think some people expect a cnc mill is just as easy to use as a 3D printer, and quickly become disillusioned and angry when they met reality. There is a reason why the tradition tech school - apprenticeship - journeyman approach lasts for years.
It would be impossible to write a "slicer" (aka CAM) and mill controller to recognize and take into account all the variables: workholding, correct tools, automatically find tool offsets and work offsets, select the right tool paths, etc etc etc. And if such a beast existed, it would cost millions of dollars. And you probably still could cause tens of thousands of dollars in a heartbeat if you didn't know what you are doing.
Tim
Tormach 1100-3, Grizzly G0709 lathe, Clausing 8520 mill, SolidWorks, HSMWorks.