[antonio5005]

Is it possible that the Tormach 1100 cuts completely different in the winter colder weather than in the summer? With the same program, cutter, and material spec (not from same vendor) the Tormach seems to cut completely different. It squeals and chatters like crazy in the cold compared to earlier this past fall when I created the program. Anyone else notice this about theirs? Not ready to start adjusting things until I can find some sort of answer. I don’t want to be chasing my tail adjusting stuff only for it to change when the weather warms back up.

Sits in non-insulated garage. Program created around the mid-80 degree temps but now giving problems in the 40 degree range... any thoughts?

Thanks
Antonio

[jwatte]

For sure, bearings and dovetails and other mechanical parts will be slightly smaller when cold, which may lead to more play? Also, oil and grease may be more viscous, leading to different mechanical properties. (But those should warm up quickly with use.) Also, if the mill has been standing without maintenance, or if you've forgotten to hit the manual oiler regularly, that could affect things. Or maybe the cutter got chipped in the meanwhile. Or maybe the bearings got worn, if you have been using it a lot.

One simple test would be to add a space heater to the garage, waste some energy for a bit to bring it up to 80 degrees (and the material you cut,) and then see how it does. Spending a fiver in electricity to avoid a thousand dollar service call seems like a reasonably good deal to me. (Turn off the fan while cutting, though, if it's all on the same circuit, or you'll trip the breaker .... don't ask how I know :-)

[metalmayhem]

hang a 200w bulb or 2 over the mill . It'll give off some needed warmth , and it also helps to control humidity

[GLCarlson]

hang a 200w bulb or 2 over the mill . It'll give off some needed warmth , and it also helps to control humidity

Or stick a 40 watt bulb UNDER the mill or in the column. Or an engine block heater threaded into the base or column. Heat the machine, not the air. Cast iron is a pretty good conductor.

[antonio5005]

For sure, bearings and dovetails and other mechanical parts will be slightly smaller when cold, which may lead to more play? Also, oil and grease may be more viscous, leading to different mechanical properties. (But those should warm up quickly with use.) Also, if the mill has been standing without maintenance, or if you've forgotten to hit the manual oiler regularly, that could affect things. Or maybe the cutter got chipped in the meanwhile. Or maybe the bearings got worn, if you have been using it a lot.

One simple test would be to add a space heater to the garage, waste some energy for a bit to bring it up to 80 degrees (and the material you cut,) and then see how it does. Spending a fiver in electricity to avoid a thousand dollar service call seems like a reasonably good deal to me. (Turn off the fan while cutting, though, if it's all on the same circuit, or you'll trip the breaker .... don't ask how I know :-)

Thanks! That makes really good sense. I've had the machine for almost 2 years now. Last winter I decided to just not use it until it warmed up. The temps dropped to about freezing in my garage so I've never known this issue could exist. But since then, Ive added a touch of insulation and now I've got it up to the mid 40's in there, bearable anyway. So, this is uncharted territory for me. I will say I've been getting more and more of a whining sound from the spindle, like it's the bearings. I use flood coolant so I suspect that's caused it. It's not enough for me to stop everything I'm doing but I'm sure over time it will. Replacing spindle/bearings is certainly on the to do list when I come across the funds. Could this be contributing to it? I've thought about tightening up on the preload and see how it responds but I'm sure once it starts making noise it's headed downhill regardless.

Other than last winter though I've used it quite regularly since I bought it. I hit it with oil every time I fire it up and about every 4 hours as well. I haven't made any adjustments to the gibs, or ball screws, or any of that kind of maintenance yet. Seeing as how I'm only having this problem since it's been cold, I've been skeptical to. I'll get a couple space heaters though and give that a shot and I'll probably add some light bulbs like metalmayhem and glcarlson are suggesting. You're right though, it would certainly be cheaper than spending a lot of money chasing something.

hang a 200w bulb or 2 over the mill . It'll give off some needed warmth , and it also helps to control humidity

Or stick a 40 watt bulb UNDER the mill or in the column. Or an engine block heater threaded into the base or column. Heat the machine, not the air. Cast iron is a pretty good conductor.

Thanks for the suggestion!
Antonio

[74BurkeMVN]

My shop is in a 15x25 insulated room within an uninsulated 30x50 pole barn. The shop has heat, but I do not run it unless I am in there, so over weekends or periods of time when I'm not in there, the temp can drop into the high 20's. Even with the heat on for hours, the floor temp and machine temp doesn't move much. I've had my 1100 in there for almost 2 years and have not had any issues you describe. I run a "warmup routine" prior to making chips, but that's it.