I normally don't post much. Really i don't post anything unless i have a problem i cannot solve which does not happen often. I certainly do not go out of my way to talk bad about anyone or a company. I don't have time for that type of stuff. But i feel i need to possibly save someone else some aggravation/disappointment. I bought a brand new PCNC440 as a sort of second op machine to take some pressure off my VMC. I bought it with the power draw bar, tool changer and some tooling. I spent almost 10k. I did not buy their control because i much prefer to use mach3. I have 4 other machines running mach3 daily. I was installing the ATC and thought Tormach would have the drivers/plugin to interface with mach3 since they used to use it. I expected they would not help me. Well, not only would they not help me but they immediately pointed out that i voided the warranty. I really didn't care about the warranty or the electronics, i wanted it with no electronics anyway. The tech that responded was a bit rude in telling me mach 3 was a "bad plan". This really wasn't what i wanted to hear as a customer that just spent almost 10k. Anyway, i got the toolchanger working fine without their zbot board.
I'm running a smooth stepper on this machine because i feel the steppers could use all the help they can get. I'm really not a fan of stepper motors. All my other machines I've installed ac servos. Of course the smooth stepper helped increase the rapids. But the z was a bit slow especially with the power drawbar which probably weighs 10lbs. I figured the motor was just undersized. No big deal. ordered a bigger motor. WELL...in the process of installing the motor, i realized that Tormach had not used a thrust bearing on the ballscrew. That's right folks, no thrust bearing. Hell even an old Bridgeport has a thrust bearing on the leadscrew. So the stepper motor is supporting the whole weight of the head. By this point i'm furious. Pulled out the manual. Sure enough, none of the screws have thrust bearings. Had i know this, i never would have laid out that kind of money for what amounts to a hobby machine. I should have just bought some old junk and rebuilt and retrofit like i always do. Would have ended up with a much nicer machine in the end. (with proper thrust bearings). But i will make it work...because that's what real machinists do.