CNC Gears and CAM

[apples000]

Originally Posted by Andy A.

The Y and X axis motion control and screw design are essentially identical except for length. You should see the same performance in both, so obviously, this isn't up to spec. The shaft coupler can tolerate some misalignment but there shouldn't be much. Was the Y axis motor removed during installation (I had to pull mine off to fit through a tight door)? If so, I vaguely recall there being some wiggle room in the motor mount screws that might account for the misalignment.

There are a litany of other things that could cause poor performance in one axis- bearing preload and gib adjustments being the two big items. The manual covers checking and adjusting those. A call to Tormach would probably be a good idea.



What were the parameters of your cut? Using the 3 flute 3/8ths cutter you mentioned before, and making some broad assumptions, the limiting factor in your cut should be spindle speed. A full WOC roughing pass at .080 DOC could run at 5100 RPM, and better than 70ipm and you'd only be loaded to about .5hp. Gwizard suggests a deeper depth of cut but, depending on your priorities and tool, ~40 ipm is in the ballpark.

What kind of tool holder are you using? I've had very positive results using TTS style holders of all types. If you're using a set screw holder you must make sure that your tool has a flat on the shank for the screw to set on. Not all tools do and a setscrew will not adequately hold a round shank. For those you must use a collet; either in the R8 spindle or in a ER collet TTS holder.

I wasn't actually there when the cut happened, but I'm assuming they did what you said, and used a set screw where there wasn't a flat. We'll be getting in touch with Tormach soon to try to fix the issue with the y axis.