[mcphill]

Who here has the 4th axis? I ordered one with my machine, but it has yet to be shipped... The rest of my machine arrived in October...

[BPR]

I ordered the 4th axis as well, but I haven't received my 1610L yet. I assumed it would come with the mill. I will call Phil tomorrow and find out what the deal is. Has he given you an eta for yours yet?

Paul

[SWATH]

I ordered the 4th axis as well, but I haven't received my 1610L yet. I assumed it would come with the mill. I will call Phil tomorrow and find out what the deal is. Has he given you an eta for yours yet?

Paul

When did you place your order?

[BPR]

I ordered mine right before Christmas, and was told that it should be about 5 weeks before it ships. I was assuming that everything would come at the same time. After hearing about Mike's not coming with the mill in October has me slightly concerned. It won't be the end of the world since I have a learning curve ahead with the machine, but I don't want to wait 3 months or more.

[mcphill]

I ended up requesting a refund for the 4th axis. Something happened with the shipment, and I am done waiting. I am supposed to receive the refund on Wednesday (have a tracking number...).

I think I might get the Tormach 4th axis. It is cheaper, and they have one that can be tilted (manually) in addition to being a rotary axis.

[BPR]

So, if I read you right, the unit was shipped and got lost? Are they trying to settle with the shipper, and that's the delay?

[kenealym]

I ordered 4th axis with my machine for delivery last October. I was told there would be a delay when I ordered but they were able to ship it with the machine in the end. I am just making a fixture to attach and centre a vise to it so have not used it for anything serious yet but it seems to do everything it is supposed to. It is very solid (read "heavy"), is supposedly sealed against coolant and came wired through to the controller board. It has slots to allow it to be mounted easily horizontally or vertically. I have replaced the hard wiring with an immersion rated socket to allow me to remove the unit when I need the space.

[BPR]

Thanks! I got an email from Phil today saying that they will have inventory on the 4th axis in about 10 days, so mine should ship with the mill. It definitely looks solid, weighing in at almost 100 lbs! Ability to remove it is a must I would think.

Has anyone here used the One-Lok CNC vise from Chick? It looks pretty cool, with some nice features. Seems perfect for a R&D shop. I can't find any published weight on it, but the price is pretty heavy- about $875! But it could be worth it if it performs like they claim.

[mcphill]

There were none in stock when my machine shipped. A couple months later, after several requests for info (still waiting was always the reply I got), Phil said they had some back in stock and would send it out. It was supposed to arrive before Christmas.

I checked in again after a couple weeks, and he said a few got "lost" - they were packed and ready to go but never were entered in as being picked up by UPS. Mine was one of those. They are out of stock again, so I have requested a refund instead of waiting even longer. I may order one later if I hear good things about it (there is not even a picture of it on the Mikini site...).

[SWATH]

Here is the spec sheet on the 4th axis I got from Phil a few months ago.

[mcphill]

Thanks for that. Why isn't this available on the website?!

Nice solid looking piece...

[SWATH]

Your guess is as good as mine. When they say they don't invest too much in advertising they mean it. They don't even put that much stuff about their own products on their own website. Who knows they may be having trouble filling orders as it is. It is week 5 for me and 4-5 weeks was the lead time estimate I was given in early December when I ordered. Hopefully any day now.

[BPR]

Mike, had a long talk with Phil today and he told me that they are receiving a shipment and will have stock in a few days. He assured me that mine would ship with the mill. I also got a PDF Spec sheet of the rotary table, and I agree it should be posted on their website. I took a leap of faith when I ordered mine assuming it would be up to the same standards that Mikini has with its 1610L.

I looked at the Tormach, and aside from being nice looking it looks lightweight. Actually, it is 24 pounds lighter, half the speed, and uses a NEMA 23 stepper vs a 34. The other noteworthy thing is that the Tormach has manual locks and Mikini's needs none.

Tormach makes a decent mill, but I think it is more in the hobby / school class than the Mikini. And to their credit, I don't think they imply otherwise. While the Mikini is certainly not a production CNC center, it seems capable of doing any precision R&D work. Also, Tormach has one of the best websites that I have seen next to GMT.

[mcphill]

I also think the Mikini is a better machine - that's why I bought on. I am a hobbyist, though, and don't actually "need" a 4th axis at all (to be fully clear, I haven't even cut anything "real" on my Mikini yet - shame, Shame, SHAME! ; ). The lower price and lower "duty" of the Tormach should be fine for me, until I find a heavier duty "need". That said, it won't be plug and play either, and the LAST thing I need is another project to add to the "not done" list...

I guess I will hold off for a while until I see a reasonable need for a 4th, and make a call then. In the mean time, you guys get your machines in and tell me how good they are!!!

[mcphill]

I did receive a full refund check from Phil yesterday, along with a couple "freebies" to make up for the long delay. He also said he noted that I would get free shipping if I decide to order one in the future.

[dirtridn2010]

I also think the Mikini is a better machine - that's why I bought on. I am a hobbyist, though, and don't actually "need" a 4th axis at all (to be fully clear, I haven't even cut anything "real" on my Mikini yet - shame, Shame, SHAME! ; ). The lower price and lower "duty" of the Tormach should be fine for me, until I find a heavier duty "need". That said, it won't be plug and play either, and the LAST thing I need is another project to add to the "not done" list...

I guess I will hold off for a while until I see a reasonable need for a 4th, and make a call then. In the mean time, you guys get your machines in and tell me how good they are!!!

I too have spoken (by email) to Phil (is he the only one that works there?) and he is very forthcoming with info. he has always replied with in 24 hours. He sent me some 4th axis stuff. the same one as in this forum. It looks very good, and it appears that it can be used as a rotary table. Not too many application for a rotary table on a CNC mill though. Given that the vast majority of things that could be accomplished on the rotary table could be accomplished with a little bit of programming and pocketing ops. still I like it. I'm looking to use as shown and make my own fixture to adapt my parts to it for machining. Regards Peter (dirtridn2010)