Quote:
Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi
Along with the 1100, I was thinking the 4th axis would be the best addition. Anything else you guys would suggest? Possibly a power drawbar as well.
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I use the Tormach sourced 4th axis on my 1100. It works, and for what I do it works very well. However, it has some drawbacks.
For one, it takes up a lot of room in an already small work envelope. I'm making really tiny stuff, so that's not an issue for me, but keep in mind that the 1100 has 18" of X travel to start with, and the 4th gobbles up a bunch of that. In most setups it precludes the use of the ATC. It's also relatively slow; in my work it's usually the limiting factor in feeds/speeds. Set up/take down is a bit of a pain, as it weighs a ton and seeps oil, but you may find you have to do it frequently to make room for 'normal' work. You also have to think a bit about backlash- it's driven by a stepper, and a lot of direction reversals will start to accumulate some positioning error if you aren't careful to keep the backlash adjusted.
On the upside, it is a real deal 4th axis for not a huge amount of money, and you can purchase it any time after the mill. If you have a really good case for using it, go for it, but I doubt it'd be a reasonable return for a FIRST team. I bought it with a specific need and, half a year later or so, it's just starting to really pay for its self.
For school/FIRST use, the power drawbar would be a lot more useful. The ATC even more so. More tool holders and/or tooling is even better then either.
If you haven't already, check out Tormachs paper on the 1100's design decisions. I think they make a credible case for the machines size and capabilities, and it's nice to see a company publish this kind of in depth stuff.
http://www.tormach.com/engineering_pcnc1100.html