[kentavv]

Here Novakon says the IH is tested and integrated in China. That's not correct, it is?

http://www.novakon.net/NM-200%20Seri...on%20Chart.pdf

[ksanalytical]

The base mill is fully Chinese, but I believe quite a bit of work goes into the manual mills stateside.

However, they are obviously referring to the turnkey mill in the chart and those are definitely worked on heavily in the US. All the parts for the CNC conversion kit are built here. From what I've seen first hand, each turnkey is nearly completely disassembled and rebuilt during the upgrade...

This is a little confusing too since I was under the distinct impression that Novakons machines came directly from China as complete units. Maybe I was mistaken about them, but they are definitely mistaken about IH.

Ken

[dsdmax]

11.5" of Z travel ... who cares about 6 axis - by the time you added the components you would only be able to profile a penny!!!!

i hope that is a typo

[kentavv]

Of course, the distance from the table to spindle is greater. Apparently Smithy (about the same as Novakon I guess) added a 6" to improve the distance but that does nothing for travel. Anyway, always bothers me when companies compare their products to the products of others and don't get their facts straight. Glad to hear IH is still CNC'd in the US.

[CROSSHATCH]

I do like it too, but at least NOVAKONS electronics are Geckos. Novakons nm-200 is not a bad machine for the price, we may need to provide a little American engineering but thats fun

[MichaelHenry]

Last time I checked they also had some errors in the Tormach specs. Maybe those are just typos, but shoddy fact-checking makes one wonder where else short cuts have been taken.

Mike

[Runner4404spd]

Really all of those only offer stepper controlled axes, but the IH is still the only one with a servo positioning and good limit swithes and it has the best rated accuracy according to the chart. i still think its a good push to buy the IH mill, just need to get IH on the ball with customer service.

[ksanalytical]

It's worth noting that IH runs Gecko drives as well. G320s for the primary axes. Any 4th axis drive is accomplished with a Gecko running a stepper motor. I don't think that should matter much (maybe even preferable), but it seemed pertinent.

One of the main reasons I went with IH over the Mikini was the open design of the controller. I support users of high end laboratory instrumentation for a living and proprietary components frequently equal controlled obsolescence. I feel like I could completely replace the IH control box within a couple weeks using off-the-shelf components if necessary.

Ken.

[mcphill]

Here's a comparison chart I made when researching different mills. FWIW, I ended up getting the Mikini. It is done, and ready to be shipped to me. I can't wait!

[MichaelHenry]

mcphill,

FWIW, I'm pretty sure that the Tormach Z stepper has nearly twice the torque you list in your table.

Mike