[macdarren]

A newbie here and doing my research to select my first CNC mill.

I am working from the premiss that it is best to invest in the 'most' mill I can afford (about 3k) for my little home shop. I need a bench top setup and had pretty much decided to go with one of the Taig models. I have friends that have and like their sherlines but they all seem to think that the taig will be a bit more rugged and stiffer and I may want to try a few smaller steel parts.

I had planned to go either with the microproto or the gecko setup offered by DeepGrove1



All that said I ran across this mill from Town Labs called the TL518

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Axis-CNC-Mill-...ht_3671wt_1167

http://www.townlabs.com/TL518main.html


I sounds good, a true servo setup, quite a bit heavier etc, decent price.
I looks a bit weaker to me than the Taig especially in the Z support area.

Anyone have some advice. The Taig seems much more common and for a beginner that might be even more important than mill rigidity?

Thanks in Advance

[Jeff-Birt]

Now, to be fair I am a Taig Dealer let me state that up front.

Wow I hadn't seen the Town Labs 'mill' before. To me is looks suspiciously like an import XY table for a drill press that somebody tried to make a mill from. They also listed no real specifications like backlash, precision, repeatability etc. In all honesty it looks a little rinky-dink to me.

There is a good choice of bench top mills available today. Taig, Sherline, and several flavors of converted Chinese imports. It is my opinion that in this size category the Taig is hard to beat (but it won't win any beauty contests). If you really need a larger mill, that is if you need a larger working envelope then your really back to only picking a favor of converted import machines.

Also, do a little research on who you are buying the machine from. For the Taig do a search here or or Google "Taig Owners Club" for the dealer your thinking about doing business with. As with anything there are some that are better or worse.

Also don't get too caught up in the debates over servos vs. steppers or lead screws vs. ball screws. It is the overall design of the machine (how all the parts work together) that matters. Keep a sharp eye out for stated accuracy, repeatability etc. For the Taig you can always compare the stated figures against those from Taigs site.

If you have any specific questions about the Taig feel free drop me a line or give me a call. (See 'Contact Us' on my web-site.)

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi macdarren. Welcome to the Zone! I must say, this is a very interesting first post. Well done!

Wow! A complete CNC mill with SERVOS and 4th axis for only $2600? Of course there's only basically a Dremel for a spindle motor and the column DOES look a little weak. But still it almost seems too good to be true. Oh! Oh! Isn't there a saying about that?

Hey I'll tell you what! Let's you and me buy that mill together. You put up all the money, and I'll do my part by reading every one of your posts about it.

CR.

[DeusExMachina]

Anyone else notice the dovetails on the ebay picture with the milled object...

I see some tubing but uhm, no dovetails on the mill

If you watch the youtube video the entire machine is vibrating constantly. And during a plunge it looks like the entire head is swaying...

Oh and here's the XY Table: http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...&PARTPG=INLMK3

[Hirudin]

It does seem to be moving around a bit much during the 3rd pass of that pocket (maybe other times too, but I didn't catch it).

If it were a lot less I think it would be cool, but as it stands it's like $1000 more than a TAIG with leadscrews and stepper motors.

The "largest table in its class" claim is pretty dubious. It seems like they're saying the actual chunk of metal is larger than other mills in it's class. But the X travel is less than the (extended bed) TAIG, and the Y is about the same. I'm also a newb (I spell it differently too) so it's entirely possible that I don't know the value of a big table. But who cares if the table is big if it doesn't move very far?

[macdarren]

Thanks for confirming my suspicions...I too thought it looked like it was really shaking durning the video...but being new to this whole table top cnc I thought well maybe that is 'normal' for this class...I mean certainly if they were making a promotional video they would not include something so obvious to even a beginner.

So I am back to the Taig...

Looking for a good turnkey setup...I would like a controller with at least four axis control and would even like five even if I don't do the 4th right away. So far the Gecko setup from DeepGrove looks promising inspite of the mixed reviews I hear about the vendor standard config. Going with Mach3 for control software or maybe EMC as I prefer *nix to windows but since there seems not good CAM alternatives I may end up with windows anyway.....I am also considering the standard microproto setup.

Any others that come to mind having a decent turn key setup that is expandable. I don't want something that has to be upgraded just to work but I expect as I get more experienced I will start pouring money into this hobby too.

Thanks
Darren

[DeusExMachina]

Going with Mach3 for control software or maybe EMC as I prefer *nix to windows but since there seems not good CAM alternatives I may end up with windows anyway....

Regardless of what you choose though your machine controller should be a fully dedicated machine with the absolute bare minimal on it..

You really shouldn't consider trying to use your everday cad/cam machine as a machine controller. You probably should even have it wired to the internet. Really don't want to have any chance of your $2k-$3k machine going awol with the spindle running at 10k...Or ever for that matter.

If you only have one machine, I'd suggest setting up multiple partitions on the machine, keeping one ONLY as the machine controller.

[escott76]

Thanks for confirming my suspicions...I too thought it looked like it was really shaking durning the video...but being new to this whole table top cnc I thought well maybe that is 'normal' for this class...I mean certainly if they were making a promotional video they would not include something so obvious to even a beginner.

So I am back to the Taig...

Looking for a good turnkey setup...I would like a controller with at least four axis control and would even like five even if I don't do the 4th right away. So far the Gecko setup from DeepGrove looks promising inspite of the mixed reviews I hear about the vendor standard config. Going with Mach3 for control software or maybe EMC as I prefer *nix to windows but since there seems not good CAM alternatives I may end up with windows anyway.....I am also considering the standard microproto setup.

Any others that come to mind having a decent turn key setup that is expandable. I don't want something that has to be upgraded just to work but I expect as I get more experienced I will start pouring money into this hobby too.

Thanks
Darren

Unless you like spending large sums of money, 5 axis isn't going to do you much good. To really take any advantage of it (besides indexing part sides between other opps) you need some spendy CAM software. Upgrading the hardware to 5 axis would mean the physical 5th axis, stepper, and a single stepper drive controller. Perhaps another parallel port card to deal with the extra outputs needed if you were tight on them to begin with. But that cost is insignificant compared to the software to make it work well.
Get 3 working right before you move up to 4, not 4 working to get to 5

[daanmuller]

Hi,

I am also a complete newb in regards to CNC milling.

I bought the deepgroove setup with gecko and 4th axis. After ordering I found some posts here that made me wonder if I did the right thing ordering from deepgroove. But it has worked out ok.

The taig just bolted together and I got the whole thing up and running using the instructions on the deepgroove and some other sites without any problems.

Setup in mach took some finetuning, I had to mirror the z and x axis but I think that has to do with the g-code the vectric software produces. And i found that I had to set the stepping on the x axis to 41000 steps instead of the 40000 I setup the y and z.

I run it using mach and vectric cut3D and vcarvepro, that I all run on the same dell p4 box without any problems. I generate the toolpaths in the vectric software and at the push of a button it sends it to mach ready to go.

The 4th axis isnt very usefull at the moment as the software doesnt support it directly. I guess that by swapping the x and a axis I could do engraving with it. And I can use it to turn my material 180 or 90 degrees in mach for cutting 2, 3 or 4 sides with cut3d.

Daan

[townlabs]

Townlabs TL518 pocket video.
The video shows a vacuum tube shaking. The machine is not shaking at all.
This vacuum tube is not a part of the machine. It was there just for the video clip.
Townlabs.

[Hirudin]

Watch closely at the beginning of the 3rd pass, you can see the spindle moving. To make it easier to see: cover the tube and the end mill with another window (see my attached image).

It should be mentioned that the machine is taking a fairly deep cut (~83 thousandths), that's deeper than I go with my Taig at the moment, but I'm still experimenting, also I usually run my machine a little faster. I stand by my original assessment: it would be cool if the price was lower.

[salzburg]

DeusExMachina you need a new pair of glasses. The only thing fibrating
or swaying was the airtube. The cut edges where smooth and strait.
They would't be if the column was moving during the cut. And no, I have
no connection to the machine or seller. For the price you seem to get a
good light duty machine.

[macdarren]

I went back and watched the video on the Townlabs website (I don't think that is the same video I saw before which wasn't from their site) but I must agree it looks like the machine is solid but the air tube or the camera was moving...if you look you can see the machine rails compared to the back ground don't move....

Of course this is a little too late as my Taig mill just arrived. It seems like a nice setup as well but it is pretty light especially compared to the weights given for the Townlabs machine. Hopefully I didn't make a mistake but if the taig turns out to be too small I will revisit the townlabs offering. It does seem like relatively good deal...full servo setup, decent weight and size for about what I spent for the smaller lighter Taig.

[townlabs]

Watch closely at the beginning of the 3rd pass, you can see the spindle moving. To make it easier to see: cover the tube and the end mill with another window (see my attached image).

It should be mentioned that the machine is taking a fairly deep cut (~83 thousandths), that's deeper than I go with my Taig at the moment, but I'm still experimenting, also I usually run my machine a little faster. I stand by my original assessment: it would be cool if the price was lower.

We, probably have to make another video. The spindle is not moving in the wrong direction, it maybe a camera.
We do not want to fight with Taig. Taig is a very good machine and we never said anything negative about it. It is enough room for everyone.
Townlabs team.