[NikrHowe]

Was wondering if there are any 770 owners in Ontario? Or Canada for that matter?

I am seriously looking at the 770MX and would be interested in speaking with current owners and even making a shop visit if open to it.
Want to know what I could expect for performance, maintenance, useability, etc.


Cheers!

[kstrauss]

No 770MX here but I've had a 770-3 since mid-2013. I'm in Cobourg which is on the north shore of Lake Ontario about 100km east of Toronto.

[NikrHowe]

Hi kstrauss,
Thanks for reaching out. I am in Brockville about 100km East of Kingston, so not too far.
I don't believe the frames changed at all from the previous generation? So would be great to get your feedback and opinion on the machine.

What are you using it for?
What types of tolerances are you regularly achieving with it?


Cheers,

[kstrauss]

I've never seen a 770MX in person but I've read that the basic machine castings are identical to a 770. The 770MX uses a BT30 spindle and the 770 is R8 using TTS so there are significant differences in the spindle/ power drawbar/ ATC. The 770MX uses a baby PC that interfaces via Ethernet to a Mesa 7i92 while the 770 normally uses a Mesa PCI card connected to a parallel port cable. That said, I've been playing with a 7i92 interface for my machine.


I have been strictly a hobbyist user for the past few years. Previously I used the Tormach to fabricate mostly one-off parts for several groups at UofT, prosthetics for a not-for-profit, fixtures for a local factory, etc. Almost entirely in aluminum or Delrin plastic. Results are typically within a few thou of design but can often be improved by "dialing it in".

What is your planned usage?

[NikrHowe]

Understood, that is all what drew me originally to the MX.

Has there been any backlash issues over time? Do you have an ATC?

My planned usage is to bootstrap our prototyping and small batch production for customers. My father and I started a machine design and engineering firm last year and are getting more and more requests to manufacture the machines and components we design. As well as some ad-hoc production runs for customers. A machine like the 770MX would let us at least get started with a "name brand" machine rather than using my homebuilt machine. That is, until the business could justify a machine like a HAAS or Hurco. Space and power are a constraint at the moment as well so this would let us hit the ground running much sooner.

[kstrauss]

I have a power drawbar but no ATC. Since I mostly do one-offs (a dozen is a long production run for me!) the time to change tools is insignificant compared to the design and setup times plus my understanding was that the original Tormach ATC was not completely reliable.

I have adjusted the gibs a few times over the years and have enabled backlash compensation in PP.

My Tormach has been reliable with no real hardware problems in almost 10 years. Of course it it not used for real production. I suspect that almost all that you learn with the Tormach can be transferred to the Haas or whatever you may get as a second machine.

[NikrHowe]

Awesome, thanks for your feedback!

How did you purchase the machine? Direct through Tormach? Or through a distributor like Studica?

[kstrauss]

Direct from Tormach. Being rather far from a port of entry I used a customs broker (Livingston) to handle the paperwork. Everything arrived in plywood boxes on a truck with a lift gate. Painless!

[NikrHowe]

May I ask how much the brokerage and shipping cost?

That is encouraging!

[kstrauss]

I can't immediately find the invoice from the broker. I have attached the invoice which shows shipping + special charges for non-domestic documentation.

[mojorizing]

FYI, On the matter of buying a Tormach... I got a quote from Tormach for the Standard Package 770M on 1/19, expired on 2/19, put my order in on 2/18.
Today I went online to Tormach.com to check something and I see prices have gone up about 10% across the board - base prices, accesories, etc. Hopefully you got a quote before the price increase.
My shipping to Kauai, Hawaii is $4686, price of living in paradise

[SimplyFast]

I'm in Ottawa area. Bought a well equipped 1100 S3 about 6.5 years ago, direct from Tormach. Had it delivered to 'MyUsAddress' in Ogdensburg, NY (60 minutes drive), drove down with my truck and a rented 5x10 Uhaul double axle open trailer. Crossed the border myself (saving broker fees, and clerance delays, at the expense of an hour of my time)

Bought a Slant15 lathe with turret tool changer less than a year later to 'hedge' on a strong Canadian dollar before the exchange rates went to crap...then covid hit early 2020 and everything Tormach has skyrocketed in price since. (As everything else like food and gas....)

I do racecars custom parts, proto's and small production runs in various materials...Alu, Ti, SS, 4130/4140, Plastics etc... I'm listing that since the larger frame / rigidity of 1100 is what I beleive allows it to cut into the 'harder to cut' materails as a daily reality and not one-offs/hobby use.

I'd LOVE to have a 770MX and dedicate it to my smaller aluminium and plastic parts where you can get away with less frame rigidity where spindle speeds are more important for smaller cutters.

My 1100 willl soon get servos, BT30 spindle @10KRPM and a few more 'unnoficial' upgrades but in general the machine has been very good and Tormach has been responsive on the few issues I encountered.

That being said, I can't help to look at website and shake my head at the increases in pricing. Because of that specifically, I'm now leaning towards a HAAS Mini as my next 'small' machine.

When I bought my 1100, I was looking at other lesser machines and a wise shop owner told me to buy the bigger/better machine so that you can grow with machine as your needs develops over time. He was right and I'm glad I got the Tormach. The installation floor space was planned to +/- 1"...as I have a small shop, I'm sure glad I spend hours planning the floorplans to cram in the bigger 1100 in the end (as my first machine).

It holds .001" without issues (haven't turned on backlash comp yet!), I have power draw bar, on TTS R8, and no tool changer (need one though!)

Mods: Electric Spindle Motor Fan w/3D Printed Shrould/Duct, Dynamically Ballanced Motor rotating Assy w/SKF bearings, Dynamically Ballanced Spindle Rotating Assy w/SKF bearings, Quiet 'Link' type spindle drive belt, Santa Cruz Enclosure Tooling Trays/Screen/Keyboard mounts -> Most of this is already designed in the 770MX

[kstrauss]

To provide a little additional food for thought:
There is no duty on most any Tormach equipment coming into Canada but there is HST/GST as applicable.

I've often wanted the larger travel of the 1100 but my 10K RPM spindle is nice for most of my projects.

With a larger travel it might be reasonable to leave my RapidTurn mounted but that is mostly impossible with a 770 sized machine.

[NikrHowe]

SimplyFast,

Thanks for the information! Where did you find all of these mods? Or did you create them yourself?

[paulctan]

Shipping fees have gone up since 2013. Here's the fees from my 770M order and brokerage fees. I used clearit.ca as the customs broker. The 770M was shipped to Toronto. I'm still unpacking and installing it right now.

Attachment 477152
Attachment 477150

I can't immediately find the invoice from the broker. I have attached the invoice which shows shipping + special charges for non-domestic documentation.

[SimplyFast]

SimplyFast,

Thanks for the information! Where did you find all of these mods? Or did you create them yourself?

Some of the mods I came up with myself, some mods the inter web and places like this forum provided ideas and or specifics!

I have more mods that I haven't listed...and so many in my head that I want to do...

[SimplyFast]

I agree on 10k rpm...looking at upgrading to 10krpm as I write this lol

Basically they needed the give the 770 something the 1100 didn't have at initial intro to spool up the sales: Pricing and RPM's!
I would LOVE to get a 770MX (mouth watering) and dedicate it to alum, plastics, and brass/copper, and get a Haas Super Mini for the rest, and keep the 1100 as my ol' trusted steed.
Funds, and space are two things that are currently preventing me to do that!

I have a Slant15 w/ATC (bought when CDN exchange was like .95 and back in a day where it was 'affordable') but I can see how awesome the RapidTurn is for owners of 770's and 1100.....

[shred]

I've seen an 1100 with a water-cooled high speed spindle cartridge dropped in-- supposedly an easy conversion as it's the same size, although I think it ran off a separate VFD. If such were available in the 770 bore size that might be an option.

[kstrauss]

Another choice that I've played with to get higher speed is mounting a water cooled 24K RPM spindle beside the usual spindle of my 770. Rather like the Tormach solution of a small parallel mounted brush motor grinder but on steroids.

[nitewatchman]

I have the 24k water cooled spindle for my 1100 and really like it. It uses the same VFD Drive as the standard spindle and comes with programing dongles for both the Hi-Speed and standard spindle. Makes switching back and forth very easy. Spindle is fitted with both electrical and water quick couplers and change over takes 30-45 minutes, less if you don't have an ATC.

I have it paired with a standalone chiller also supplied by Tormach and it works quite well. The chiller is also equipped with low flow and high temp alarms and filtration.

The spindle is very quiet, much quieter than the standard spindle and mills very well although I have only used 3/8" end mills and smaller.

Gary

Another choice that I've played with to get higher speed is mounting a water cooled 24K RPM spindle beside the usual spindle of my 770. Rather like the Tormach solution of a small parallel mounted brush motor grinder but on steroids.