[upnorth]

I was recently trying to decide if I should go for a stepper or a servo Torus pro. With the new website at Novakon I realized that the prices were in USD. Oops I'm in Canada so that's not good. So now it looks like the stepper version is my only option and affording it is a bit of a stretch.

My question is how important are those servos? I am currently using a Hercus V300 with servos and they work fine although with a few quirks. The Hercus is just too small and I need a lot more room on the table. Speed is not terribly important to me as my competition all use manual machines. Am I going to miss anything by not having servos? I do want to have the power drawbar and its quite important to me. To get the servos I would have to give up the drawbar and save for a few more months.

If I need to ask a more specific question please let me know. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Tom

[SCzEngrgGroup]

In terms of real-world performance, there is not much difference. The servos are quieter, and a bit faster. I bought my machine with steppers, and converted to servos about 9 months later. I tested the steppers at 350 IPM (using a KFlop motion controller) and had no lost steps, but actually ran it at 250 IPM for those 9 months. Never lost a single step, or had any problems at all, unless I ran into a vise or fixture. I would not hesitate to buy another stepper machine. And, it's not that big a deal to do the conversion later on if you still want to. It took me one day to do mine.

Regards,
Ray L.

[UniqueMachining]

upnorth

If I had to give up one or the other, the PDB would stay hands down. From an everyday operational standpoint, the PDB will increase production, reduce time and aggravation.
Servos are fast, smooth and accurate but at lower speeds (<150 IPM) the benefits are marginal.

John (also Up North)

[upnorth]

Wow thanks for the fast responses. You two have pretty much confirmed what I was thinking. The 250 ipm movement Ray mentioned is a huge improvement over what I have now. I mostly did manual machining in the past so am happy not to have to crank the handles all day.

I currently use a manual drawbar. I have been hesitant to invest in more tool holders because they are so expensive an I knew the smaller machine was really only for training. Seeing the video of the tool change speed with the power draw bar was amazing. Also with the Tormach tooling system the holders are far cheaper than what I currently have. That means i can afford a lot more tool holders.

Thanks again guys I know know that steppers are fine and the power draw bar is worth getting.

tom

[Novakon]

Hi Tom,

I will throw another advantage of our PDB...it can use the same R8 collet tools you may already have. You are NOT restricted to the TTS tools at all. The PDB can swap out between R8 and TTS style tooling in a snap. You will only see this feature in Ray's PDB design. It is simply superb! I recommend the PDB over servos also.

Regards,
John

[mklotz70]

I've got both, but still only run the servos at 250ipm. I agree with everything above......the PDB is the clear choice over servos!!!! The ability to use existing R8 tooling with Ray's draw bar......completely awesome!!!

[AUSTINMACHINING]

Hi Tom,

I will throw another advantage of our PDB...it can use the same R8 collet tools you may already have. You are NOT restricted to the TTS tools at all. The PDB can swap out between R8 and TTS style tooling in a snap. You will only see this feature in Ray's PDB design. It is simply superb! I recommend the PDB over servos also.

Regards,
John

+1
This is a very cool feature. I use a 2.5" face mill and a lathe chuck (heavy) for vertical lathe work.

[upnorth]

Thanks for the input guys.

Decision has been made its going to be the Torus pro with the computer and power draw bar..

Tom