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  1. #1

    Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    Hello,

    I have been debating buying a Tormach for some time now. I've decided I just can't stay away from adding the capabilities of a CNC mill to my shop any longer. I have read lots of negatives about Tormachs. However there are plenty of people out there that seem to love them. Tormach is right in my price point of what I can afford. My use case is a personal machine. My many hobbies all revolve around me being able to work metal. Aluminum, Steel, and Titanium. Titanium only in very small parts like knife liners. Tool steel only in annealed states. Mild steel in bigger parts. I could get away with a 440 for the work area I need, however I feel like I should up size now so I have the capability in the future.

    Is there any reason I should not buy one? Pros/Cons of buying used? How many of you have had bad experiences?

    Thanks you for any help!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    60

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I have only had good experiences with Tormach, I don't think other companies will give the support that they do for a garage machine hobbyist like me. I started with a 440, and it was able to learn so much so fast I quickly wanted more work area and HP, someone bought my 440 and I was able to order a 770. I would recommend starting with a 770M at least. the 440 is capable of doing a lot but it can be restrictive . I'd love to have a MX or even a a Haas but the $30K is just more than I can spend for making parts on the weekends. The Tormach's can do anything the larger machines can do just a bit slower . If there is something specific you curious about ask away.

  3. #3

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I bought 3 of the 440's based on what I've read on forums regarding tormach's support , and how long they've been around . Aside from a blown spindle drive and the crappy oilers these mills have been awesome . The oilers were covered under warranty and were upgraded , the spindle drive was just out of warranty and that was only a $400 fix . These mills in a year and a half have accumulated thousands of hours each , so a blown drive somewhere wasn't exactly a shock

    I looked at the tormach mills that were available at the time and I also weighed getting more novakon in the shop . I set aside X budget and was going to spend every dime one way or another . I wrote a pro's and con's list and I took into consideration , price/mill , power consumption , number of running spindles vs work envelope . It's nice to have lots of room on the table but if a guy doesn't utilize it then it's a lot of extra space eaten up in the shop for nothing .

    My torus was already using the only high volt plug I have in my shop , and it was a matter of getting an electrician in the get me more power or run 110v . When the 440's arrived and were setup , I connected all 3 mills and their computers to the same outlet as an experiment expecting that I'd blow the breaker , and it didn't happened . Based on that I will easily drop in another 3 mills when the time comes . The cool thing is that all 3 mills take up about as much space as my one torus alone

    I've worked on a variety of professional cnc's over the yrs and the last 8 were running haas , and though these mills are not professional machines they are quite capable for most machining applications .

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    1788

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I got my 770 in early 2013. I'm retired and my machine is mostly used for hobby work although it has also earned a few dollars over the years. I would love a larger work envelope but I didn't have the room nor the money to accommodate. I've never a problem that I couldn't troubleshoot and fix myself. This group has numerous very knowledgeable members. If you have any Tormach related questions, ask and you'll get honest answers.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    402

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I bought my 770 in late 2013.
    For the past 6 years, it's been a great machine.
    I've only had minor breakdowns, mostly computer-related.

    PROS:
    1. Full CNC capabilities. It can do anything a "real" CNC can do, but you have to baby it. Light cuts, light radial passes, less feed.
    2. Great support from Tormach
    3. Price
    4. Easy to repair.. and replacement parts are cheap.
    5. Add-on options, (4th axis, Tool changer, etc.)
    6. R8 spindle

    CONS:
    1. Tapping sucks on the 770. No accurate depth control. and if you "push" it too hard, the spindle stalls. (Threadmilling is the better option).
    2. 'X' travel is only 14 inches, and 'Y' travel only 7 inches
    3. Not very rigid, and prone to chatter if pushed. (Hence the light cuts)
    4. 1 (Chinese) Horsepower spindle motor. (Stalls)
    5. Not Super-accurate, with a bit of table backlash and slop. (+/- .003 accuracy)

    For the kind of work I do, it's been a good machine.
    It's made me a lot of money over the past 6 years, and has easily paid for itself.

    But, in retrospect, I would have been happier with a HAAS Mini-mill.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    591

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I have the 440, and it is just enough for me. I do 6061 aluminum, A36 hot rolled mild steel, and 6-4 Titanium. I got the 440 instead of the 770 because it just barely fit in the niche I had available. In fact, I'll have a really hard time to get in behind it if I ever need to -- and you do need to while you install the thing! Take that into consideration.
    I highly recommend flood coolant and the full cabinet and the power drawbar. All three highly recommended! (I'd used 1100s before, but with the old non-full cabinet they frequently made a mess. And manual tool changes get old very quickly.)
    If you're OK with the precision levels and power levels of the Tormach series, it's a nice piece of gear for the garage. If you're trying to run a business, you'll probably want something with significantly more powerful spindle, faster rapids, and more robust automatic tool changer, but then you'd pay more, too!

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by RussMachine View Post

    CONS:
    1. Tapping sucks on the 770. No accurate depth control. and if you "push" it too hard, the spindle stalls. (Threadmilling is the better option).
    Can you speak a little more on this? I know Ridgid tapping isn't a option without an encoder. Do you use a tapmatic style compression/tension head? I would like the ability to tap, even if it means adding an encoder. However it would be nice to be able to get started with something.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    1788

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I have the Tormach T/C tap holder and have used it successfully. Depth is a little iffy so use it for through holes or those not threaded near the bottom. Thread forming taps rather than the traditional thread cutting taps eliminate the problem of chip buildup. For me the problem is having sufficient torque. Since I mostly cut aluminum or plastic my 770 is usually with the belt in high range. This is fine when tapping 4-40 but doesn't cut it with 1/4 inch or larger taps. Moving the belt from high to low to tap and then back to high for cutting the next part is a huge pain and time waster. In consequence I mostly do hand tapping or thread milling for larger threads.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    402

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    Can you speak a little more on this?
    You CAN tap on the 770 without an encoder.
    Depth-control is the only drawback.

    I use the R32 Collet- Tension/Compression tap holder from TORMACH.
    And without an encoder, depth control isn't exact. (+/- 2-3 threads)
    When tapping, the holder will "stretch" at the end of the cut when the spindle reverses.
    It will cut an extra 2-3 threads while the tension head "stretches",
    This isn't really a big deal when tapping thru holes, but nerve-racking in blind holes.

    Also, the largest tap I can push with the tapping head is 5/16" (8MM).
    Anything larger, and the spindle wants to stall.
    For 3/8" (9MM) and up, I have to threadmill.

    Threadmilling is actually the better choice, for depth control (in blind holes), and finer quality threads.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    591

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I would like the ability to tap
    FWIW, I have learned to love the magic of thread milling.
    I go all the way down to M2.5, and can still use a thread mill (Sandvik makes a nice set, which sometimes goes on sale on Amazon)
    The tooling is more expensive than regular taps, but on the plus side, it doesn't break unless you really screw up the G-code.
    The thread milling cycle in Fusion has worked great for me, once I figured out what all the parameters were.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    1788

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    Quote Originally Posted by jwatte View Post
    Sandvik makes a nice set, which sometimes goes on sale on Amazon.
    Do you have a link to the thread mills that you use?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    591

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I use this (and its bigger brothers) for M3 and up: https://amzn.to/2OBhGBB -- it's a Micro 100 tool, and works well.
    It's a single-thread tool and thus works for a variety of nearby pitches.

    I use this for M2.5: https://amzn.to/2KxxWCe -- this Sandvik was about $60 when I bought it. I think there are two sellers on Amazon with different pricing strategy :-)
    Note that that tool is multi-thread, and thus only works for the exact pitch.

  13. #13

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I've been running my 440 for 4 years - - only have experienced excellent customer support from Tormach; 1 repair (Z axis stepper) cheerfully replaced under warranty. Great machine for the price and size, so long as it matches your requirements. Threadmilling was a concern, but I threadmill now and it is so easy now that Fusion fully supports the CAM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    99

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    Quote Originally Posted by jwatte View Post
    I use this (and its bigger brothers) for M3 and up: https://amzn.to/2OBhGBB -- it's a Micro 100 tool, and works well.
    It's a single-thread tool and thus works for a variety of nearby pitches.

    I use this for M2.5: https://amzn.to/2KxxWCe -- this Sandvik was about $60 when I bought it. I think there are two sellers on Amazon with different pricing strategy :-)
    Note that that tool is multi-thread, and thus only works for the exact pitch.
    I haven't thread milled yet and am curious when threading into a blind hole,do you thread up?
    Do you have to pause and blow out chips every pass?

    Dave

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    2151

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    Quote Originally Posted by toyshop View Post
    I haven't thread milled yet and am curious when threading into a blind hole,do you thread up?
    Do you have to pause and blow out chips every pass?

    Dave
    In theory you get best results thread milling from bottom up.

    oh and I enjoy using and makin stuff with all my tormach tools

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    591

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    I use flood coolant, and have never stopped for chips when thread milling. They seem to just ... disappear? Never been a problem. Most of my holes are through-holes, though.
    Also, if you by chance break a thread mill, it's not stuck in the hole, you can extract it and save the part. That, in itself, is probably worth something :-D

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    99

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    thanks
    Dave

  18. #18
    Thanks for the help everyone. For those of you with the 440 or 770, what kind of actual tolerances can you hold? I know this is dependent on a lot of factors. But I would love to know what everyone is seeing.
    Thanks!

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    591

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    440 owner here.
    For +- .003, I'd just slap it in the vise and press go.
    For +- .001, I'd have to measure and tweak for a second pass, and it might still come close to fully over in one direction and fully under under in the other.
    For better than that, you'd need someone more patient than me.

    This is with best practices -- sharp carbide tooling, not too thick or deep, nor thin or shallow cuts, spot every drill, a finish pass that cuts a little bit rather than just rubs, well aimed flood cooling, manual brushing of stubborn chip piles, etc.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    402

    Re: Talk Me Out of a Tormach 770

    what kind of actual tolerances can you hold?
    I have a 2013, Series 3 - 770, and I can usually hold +- .002 in X,Y,.
    And, when circle-milling (Bores), I've noticed a bit of slop (+-.003)
    I think my ways might be a little loose. - But.. I'm in no rush to start tweaking the Gibs..

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