[kenealym]

I am not an electrical engineer but I think it has to do with the difference between RMS and peak to peak current and with the transient current peak on the start up of the motor. The system is still rated for 20amp 240v supply.

[MichaelHenry]

So far so good - the main issue I have been having is that while this has worked fine for plastic and thin aluminium (4mm), using the taps in thicker aluminium or in mild steel the spindle stalls. I am still working on what I can do here. So far I have used only dripped tapping fluid and speeds up to 1000rpm. It may be that with flood coolant/lubrication and higher speeds I may get more grunt.

What sort of taps are you using? For power tapping gun taps are generally recommended. They push chips ahead of the tap, whereas standard taps accumulate the chips in the tap gullets and that can cause a standard tap to jam on deep threading.

Mike

[dirtridn2010]

Hi Guys, In the last throws of my decision making about the Mikini. One question that you may be able to solve for me is the issue of whether I go for Stepper or servo drives.
Phil tells me that they will install them on each axis xyz 4th and 5th if required.
It's a 1k per unit, which seems reasonable. But are they really justified on such a machine?
The way Phil seems to put it is that your rapids can be faster and still maintain all the accuracy. He also recommends the HSS (24,000RPM to go with it) to maintain chip load.Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[dirtridn2010]

I still have not been able to see a Mikini. It makes it tough. If i buy a car one of the reasons is that I have seen and driven it. Even heard lots about it. Is there anyone out there in AUSTRALIA who has one, or even had one. I would love to hear from you thru CNCzone or email ([email protected]). I one thing I only just noticed despite it being in the paperwork for a while is that they are final assembled and QC'ed in the U.S. Gotta be better than China.

[BPR]

I was considering the same thing when I ordered mine: Steppers vs Servos! I personally think that it depends on what you plan to do with the machine. For me the servos didn't make sense as I am doing R&D prototyping mostly, so the extra speed didn't really seem to matter. From what I understand, there are pros and cons to both systems. I think that the steppers are more than adequate for the class of the machine. If you are looking for more of a production machine, then you should probably wait for their 1610LP model coming soon. It will be a real production machine with ATC and more powerful spindle. I'm sure that it will be very nice. Phil also told me that there will be an upgrade path for the 1610L, so you could buy one now and upgrade later on.

[mcphill]

Servos were definitely in my list of "wants", but not "needs". I also decided to go with steppers, as I do mostly one-off parts. I have no concerns regarding accuracy going with steppers, and waiting an additional 10-15 minutes, or even an hour, due to slower feeds, is not an issue for me. I do think there could be a slight quality gain with servos (especially on 3D contours), though, as they will be closed loop, so you can't miss a step as you can with servos.

If I had the extra money I would have gone with servos. If I were in Australia, I would think long and hard if it is even a remote chance I would want to upgrade to them later...

For me here in the US, I know I can upgrade to servos "at any time" and it won't be that involved. It will be slightly more expensive in the long run, but the cost of entry was too high for me to do servos off the bat without me knowing if the investment would even pay off. However shipping costs aren't that high for me, and being close to the same time zone makes it so much easier for quick access with questions if/when I upgrade. If I were in Australia, I would want the confidence that comes with the servos being installed, debugged, and tested at the factory, rather than by me...

[SWATH]

I too was also torn about the stepper vs servo option. I talked to Phil for awhile about it and he talked me into staying with steppers. He said that the steppers that they use are ultra premium hybrid micro-stepping drives (or something) whereas the servos would be middle of the road as far as servos go. He also said something like despite the servos being more powerful they have less static holding power or something. I asked him about losing steps and he said it would be difficult to do unless you have a crash or something, he also said that you will likely pull the tool out of the collet before you lose steps. Anyway I came out of that conversation thinking the steppers were better and relieved that I wasn't spending a lot more money on something that may only be marginally better if not the same or worse. I figure if I'm ready to step up my game to full on production I should be able to afford the 1610LP by the time it comes out, it's projected to be around $24k. That way I can have two Mikinis, one for R&D and one dedicated for production.

On another note, today is the day my Mikini lands in my driveway! Pictures and video to follow, although maybe not until the weekend, it might take me that long to get it in the house. I plan on doing a fair amount of video for you guys since the only videos on youtube are from Mikini and are too short. Mcphill has a couple on Vimeo though, which are nice. They are the only customer videos of the machine in existence as far as I know.

[SWATH]

Well scratch that. The freight company screwed me. We had arranged for delivery today so I took the day off and went out and rented some moving equipment (truck, pallet jacks, ramp, etc.). They never showed and never called. So I looked up their number too find out what's going on, turns out they decided to just deliver on Monday instead, it's more convenient for them. Meanwhile I'm sitting here with all this rental equipment for the weekend being charged per day.(chair)

[mcphill]

Ouch, sorry to hear that. They owe you something for that mix up! Good luck getting it, though... I went back and forth with my final delivery many times, and it took over a month for us to finally be able to match times - they were guaranteed to make it in the window I finally gave them!

[dirtridn2010]

I would be totally P...ed is that had happened to me. I can't wait to see your vids on your new machine. If I end up getting e Mikini, I will try to do the same thing. Ian am still waiting to hear from somebody (anybody - good news bad news)) in AUSTRALIA who has a Mikini. Phil has been very very good. He has provided me with stacks of info in very quick time. But i still have this urge to talk to SOMEBODY in AUSTRALIA who has one. The machine seems to tick all the boxes for me. I want to order, But but I just need to know (I don't know what to do if I cant hear from somebody in Australia). I suppose I could go for Tormach (al least I have spoken to a couple of guys in Australia with them) I don't need your life story, I just need to know that things went well, or that the problems got sorted and the machine is what it claims to be.

[SWATH]

Machine has landed! All I can say is WOW this thing is a monster! Big and super freaking heavy. I mean this thing is so heavy it kept crushing my wooden ramps so I had to reinforce them and was even a little difficult to push on a pallet jack with no resistance. I knew it was going to be heavy but it was heavier than I anticipated. The driver kept asking what was in it that weighed so much, he must have commented on the weight ten times in as many minutes. He said he that was heaviest thing he had ever moved. Did I mention it was heavy. After a late 8pm delivery I finally got it de-palleted and put in place at around 2am this morning. One problem was that the cut outs for the pallet jack forks didn't match up with either the two different sized pallet jacks I had so I couldn't set it down on the ground and had to set it on wooden blocks so I could get the jack back out from underneath it (anyone know what size pallet jack this thing requires?). I'm very impressed with the quality of this thing, everything seems top notch and very rigid. In fact the whole thing seems like a massive hulk of solid iron, no play in anything that I can feel. I also appreciated the surprises that Phil threw in (hush hush). Hopefully I'll be able to power it up today after a stop to Lowe's to get a plugged cable for the power feed. BTW what way oil are you guys using, the manual recommends #1 (I suppose because of the linear bearing ways) but that #2 was also acceptable. Anyway here are a few pics of the process:









More to follow once I get it set up.

[mcphill]

Hey, they wrapped the bottom doors - glad they updated after my experience!

It is a nice machine, I was hoping to get a pallet jack for moving it around now, guess I need to make sure it fits in those slots...

I am using a Mobil Vactra #1 equivalent. #1 is thinner than #2, which I thought sounded like a good idea... Both are spec'd for small to mid-size machines:

Mobil Vactra Oil Numbered Series

I picked mine up at a local Wholesale Tool shop - I imagine Harbor Freight carries something similar...

[SWATH]

So far I have two problems. One is that I can't lower it to the ground without the right sized pallet jack (which apparently is called a 4-way jack) and I can't power on the machine. I have the plug wired up, 125v on 2 lines, and plugged in, the breaker works, but the contactor (thing right beside the breaker with the blue button/switch) does not seem to be working, it doesn't do anything when I power it up. If I manually push it in then current flows through it like it's supposed to but the machine still won't power on or do anything. I can't any response from the machine whatsoever. I called Phil and he immediately answered and began trouble shooting it but everything that he suggested to check was ok. He is going to talk to the electrical engineer and get back to me. Anyone else experience this (nothing happens after turning on while all the usual things to check are fine)?

[SWATH]

Ok one problem solved. After talking to Phil he suggested I check both lines for voltage. I was checking each line and reading 125v, so I checked both simultaneously and they still read 125v. Bingo, I knew what it was then, I checked the breaker and it was a tandem. I put two single poles in its place and the machine came alive. Now I just need to get it on the ground and I'll be all set.

I jogged around with the pendant a little putting a pencil in a drill chuck and drawing a square. I put the face of the chuck on a gauge and it took 25 clicks on the wheel to nudge the dial .001 making each increment .00004. I zeroed the Z then jogged around a bit, then came back and jogged the Z back to zero on the gauge, the DRO read .0002. So far so good.

[mcphill]

To place it on the ground, you can settle it down on blocks (like a 4x4) under each side. Then you can jack up one side (put a 4x4 in the pallet jack slot, use a floor jack to lift it up to take the weight off the blocks on the ground), remove one side of blocks, and lower it down. It will be angled on the floor (one side on blocks, the other side not). Then jack up the other side, remove the blocks, and lower to the ground.

[MichaelHenry]

Harbor Freight frequently has an aluminum racing jack with a low profile on sale for $80 or so. I use one of those with my Tormach PCNC 1100 mill whenever I need to service it. The Mikini weighs quite a bit more but the jack should be rated high enough for it too.

Mike

[SWATH]

Which way is the spindle supposed to turn when talking CW and CCW? When in both manual "FOR" and with M3 the spindle spins CCW when looking from the top (it is clockwise when looking up from the part being cut), is this right?

[jeffrey001]

Must be CW.( looking from the top)

Just look at the tip on an end mill or drill and imagine it cutting material.

You rarely use M4 unless you mount a saw or retract with a tap.

Jeff

[SWATH]

Must be CW.( looking from the top)

Just look at the tip on an end mill or drill and imagine it cutting material.

You rarely use M4 unless you mount a saw or retract with a tap.

Jeff

That is exactly what I thought. Looks like the wires are reversed or something.

Update:
Actually Phil just got back to me and stated that it is wired this way on purpose. Is that weird?

[jeffrey001]

I cannot understand how wires could be wired the wrong way.

Machine are supposed to be tested before shipping.

But it could probably happen anyway

Jeff