[RTP_Burnsville]

Don,

Thanks for sharing... That is an interesting idea. I saw something similar to that many years back in a process control application. Forgot all about it until now.

[Don Clement]

Interesting concept... I would think you would want to support the cantilevered motor shaft to protect the bearings, but that is not too big a deal if the loads are not too high...

One thing about the cable drive is that there are no extraneous forces bearing on the small shaft and thus one doesn’t need much support for the small shaft. Contrast this to mounting a worm and worm gear or taught steel belt reduction.
Don

[307startup]

New Adventures with 4th Axis PCNCs « Milling Around

Word from the horse's own mouth! I knew that it was possible, it's just a shame that they feel it's too expensive to produce. What with the 5 axis capabilities of SprutCAM, the existing 6" and 8" rotary tables, and now the upcoming introduction of the trunnion table, I don't see 5 axis machining being ultra-expensive on the PCNC 1100.

I disagree with their reasoning, but what do I know...I'm just a customer with a need Evidently I don't need the capability without stepping up to a Haas 5 axis machine...that I can neither afford, nor house in my current location.

I find it ironic they are capable and show competency in developing a concept, and counter to their claim of "affordable" personal CNC equipment for entrepreneurs, DIYers, bootstrappers and other users when they cede the market to their competitors...Wabeco, Novakon and Syil, who are all developing or have developed and offering these options.

4th, 5th and 6th Axis Machining

Novakon Systems Ltd. CNC LATHE

If ANY of you need/want a 5 axis option, SPEAK UP...Tormach IS listening! If it's only seen as an option needed for jewelry as they claim, we need to demonstrate a need for this for larger, complicated work.

Making excuses for them on your own behalf is counter-productive to having these affordable options produced. I understand business is for profit. Making a profit also entails R&D and production, as many entrepreneurs with their own line of products are aware. It's a self-limiting policy to make assumptions based on your perceived lack of need, when others do have that need.

On another note, I have some MORE suggestions for future Tormach products:

A set-up for additive 3D prototyping, utilizing a spindle-mounted plastic extruder head and base for workpiece build-up.

An adjustable/indexable angle head similar to this: Angle Head Holders

A Tormach specific horizontal machining option with outboard support
without having to self-modify a right-angle head.
(I envisage anchoring to the lower surface of the Z axis dovetail using a bolt-on slide w/adjustable gib)

I know there are some really inventive, creative folks using Tormachs or wanting to use them for their own purposes. I also know there are some very talented machinists, both home-shop and professional, who use these machines for their own projects/products. YOUR input is invaluable to Tormach and people like myself, to build a well-stocked variety of components to enable the full realization of genuine Personal CNC usage!

[sansbury]

From their blog post:

"It looked like it was going to be too expensive and not rigid enough for heavy cutting. It just didn’t seem good enough for us."

If they got as far as the prototype shown in the video, and didn't keep going, maybe that says something? It costs a lot--whether time or money--to develop a prototype. When I do one, the last thing I want to do is not put it into production.

Anyway, to put a positive spin on this, what is it you want to do that makes you so excited about a 5-axis setup? That might help the rest of us to understand why you're so enthusiastic about it. I'm not saying a 5-axis mill isn't cool, but I've yet to come across a project I couldn't pull off in 4 axes, and 3 is plenty the vast majority of the time. So I don't feel any need to bang on the table for a 5-axis setup. I don't make a lot of turbine blades

EDIT: I'm not trying to "make excuses" for them... they made their reasoning pretty clear. Since all development resources are limited, I'd like to see them put towards the lathe and ATC projects, both of which would mean a lot to me.

[307startup]

CNC porting of cylinder heads and intake manifolds require full 5 axis contouring. The Tormach probe enables digitizing a port for replication.

I have several more interesting projects, but those are being kept under my hat as potential competitors frequent the 'Zone

A trunnion requires a fairly substantial outboard support...just an off-the-shelf pillow-block bolted to a ground steel riser would have given far more rigidity than the 4th axis tailstock they used. Doweling and/or welding would have given their prototype trunnion table far more rigidity.

Far be it from me to tell someone how to R&D a product, I only do it in my day job

If push comes to shove, I could buy a Stallion Trunnion, or machine one from ductile iron stock. But that would cost and weigh more than a proper iron casting. If the end result is that customers are left to their own devices to develop accessories fitting our processes, why bother putting resources into other accessories, other than as a gimmick or fast-buck?

I guarantee if a working product were offered, even on a per-order basis, Tormach would sell many more than they anticipated being in this market.

[BlueFin]

CNC porting of cylinder heads and intake manifolds require full 5 axis countouring. The Tormach probe enables digitizing a port for replication.

Hey, that's a good idea! I used to ride motorcycles in the sand and there is noooooobody around who can port a bike, you could digitize the port, and just run the result with a negative finish offset, that would produce the same exact port shape, but bigger.

And we could still make little tiny turbo's for the four stroke bikes........

[307startup]

A 6" rotab will produce a turbine wheel big enough to support a small-block, an 8" rotab will prodocue a turbine wheel big enough to support a big diesel...I think a custom turbine for an ATV or dune bike would be an easy fix

[rowbare]

A trunnion requires a fairly substantial outboard support...just an off-the-shelf pillow-block bolted to a ground steel riser would have given far more rigidity than the 4th axis tailstock they used. Doweling and/or welding would have given their prototype trunnion table far more rigidity.

I agree that the tailstock they used as outboard support for the 5th axis proof-of-concept was a bit weak but the new trunnion design looks like it is much more rigid. While we might not see Tormach officially support a 5th axis product, the new trunnion might be a good building block for a DIY or community effort.

bob