Tormach 440 + microARC 4 machines a dodecahedron

The new 4th axis for the Tormach 440 arrived yesterday, so I just had to put it to the test.
My machine is controlled by Mach3, and the modelling and CAM are done by Fusion 360. You can download the model - complete with CAM - from xoomspeed.com/C...

[@amitfernandes4367]

Very cool, ordered mine yesterday and I can not wait to dive into 4th axis in fusion. Looks like autodesk is working hard in adding and upgrading 4th and 5th axis toolpaths. Perfect timing. Thanks for the demo David!

[@daleksw]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@georgeyoung291]

Superb David. Absolutely superb! I am so impressed by how the machining is done. Very clever.

[@daleksw]

Glad you like it George. I've got to find something to do with my time at the moment. Working out how to do that kept me occupied for a fair while... Now if only I could find someone who just needed a lot of little dodecahedrons!

[@langaramakerspace]

Wondering why I can not rotate the views properly in your fusion file. Almost impossible to get to a side view. The Gimbal as well as the Space mouse are not working correctly.

[@OneMinuteWorkbench]

Nice job!

[@AsitShouldBe]

wonderful job freind!

[@LastBastionLabs]

Outstanding!

[@watchere]

David i been looking through your videos and didnt find any on your enclosure? Any details on the build? Thanks!

[@daleksw]

There's nothing in any of the videos, but the enclosure's just made from 30x30 aluminium profile with 6mm polycarbonate windows. The joints are all done with Bosch Rexroth corner cubes which are expensive but give a very rigid frame. I also used standard glazing stirp to mount the windows into the extrusion's slots. The whole thing is screwed to the standard chip tray with the usual t-nut + bolt arrangement.

[@watchere]

@@daleksw Thanks David

[@hudmut]

Quite like how you did that Id very much like to all so see how you programmed it. I'm another Tormach owner in the UK

[@daleksw]

A couple of people have asked how it was done, so I might see if I can put together a video on how the CAM works. I think everyone will get a surprise at how simple it really is.

[@langaramakerspace]

@@daleksw that would be fantastic! I am lost with the 4th axis options, cannot figure out how you programmed it. Hints?

[@ScotY808]

Awesome...love it!

[@murrayedington]

Hi David - what are you doing for 4th axis CAM now that it's part of Fusion extensions? Are you coughing up the required £200/month or going elsewhere? My newly finished 4th axis is now sitting on the shelf....

[@daleksw]

No, I'm certainly not paying £200/month! This part is all 3+1 machining and as far as I can see, still works exactly as it always did. The only things I don't have access to are 'Steep & Shallow' , 'Hole recognition' and 'Rotary' toolpaths. Unless there's something odd about my licence, swarf, flow and multi axis contour are still there. Is it working differently for other people?

[@murrayedington]

@@daleksw ah, so you are getting the wrapped / indexed toolpaths. The "rotary" is presumably the simultaneous 4th axis which allows true rotary surfaces. Never got excited about steep and shallow or swarf, as they were always going to be extensions and you can achieve the same S&S effect with 2 paths. And I can live without hole recognition. The explanation from AD of what was in and what was out was as clear as mud, so it's useful to hear from someone who knows.

[@daleksw]

@@murrayedington Yes, AD managed to confuse everyone about what they were doing. As far as I can work out, nothing that was ever in the standard commercial licence has been removed. It's all still there. 5-axis simultaneous paths can be generated by swarf, flow and multi-axis profile. There's also an ability to restrict flow to only 4 axes, but I haven't tried it yet. What has been changed is the hobby/start up licence. WCS probing has gone from that and I think the simultaneous 4 and 5 axis toolpaths have gone too, but I'm not sure. The rotary toolpath is a bit of a special case. Whilst it was in beta, all the licences could see it via the preview options. It was however always stated in the preview description that that toolpath would be going into manufacturing extensions once it came out of beta. Again, nothing was changed here.

[@Goodfolkproductions]

Hey I have recently purchased a tormach 440 with 4th axis and my post processor is putting out negative z values when the A axis is to turn 180 degrees out do you think you could help me out with this please sir??

[@daleksw]

no problem. you can e-mail me details at [e-mail]

[@plan_b_racing5326]

Thanks for sharing! Great videos! Would you mind sharing how much it cost to buy the 4th axis and have it shipped to the UK? Also would love to know more about your wireless prob? Thanks, keep the videos coming!

[@daleksw]

Glad you liked the video. Info on the probe is at shop.xoomspeed.com/collections/frontpage/products/wireless-probe-kit Tormach are happy for you to arrange your own shipping if you want, or they can ship via DHL. That cost $150 for a small wooden crate weighing ~20kg. Ordered Thursday evening and arrived Monday lunchtime. If you go through their online shop, you end up asking for a quote for international shipping and then you order/pay against that quote.

[@plan_b_racing5326]

Thank you, that’s great.

[@dwalden74]

Nice video. 👍🏼. Can the MicroArc hold square stock, or just cylinders?

[@daleksw]

Glad you liked it. Tormach supply the 3" 3-jaw chuck in the video and also an er40 collet chuck, so only round as supplied from the factory. I made my own backplate and mounted a 2" self-centring vise which is a great alternative for square and rectangular stock. Search eBay for 'EROWA CNC Self-centering vise'. It's pretty solid and easy enough to mount.

[@dwalden74]

David Loomes Great thank you. 👍🏼

[@jac7788]

David Loomes Do you have any pictures you can share of the mounting plate?

[@daleksw]

The eBay adds for the vise typically have a drawing of the mounting requirement. Here's what I did though. a360.co/3cpmCVu

[@SELG88]

dude i thought tormachs were controlled by path pilot?

[@daleksw]

Most of them are and that one is too nowadays. 440s like mine are built around an MX3660 stepper controller which has a 25 pin d-type to connect to the computer. Hence Mach 3 and an ethernet smooth stepper can be configured pretty easily to do the job. PathPilot is much prettier to look at than Mach3, but most of the functionality is very similar. The biggest problem for me with Mach3 was the G38 straight probe which is truly awful and very buggy. Probing operations are much smoother and faster in PathPilot. The CAM for this model, going via a PathPilot post-processor works identically on either system.

[@SELG88]

@@daleksw awesome, never expected your reply. thanks

[@CAULEYJR]

Is there anyway you would share the f3d file?

[@daleksw]

I've added a link to the description

[@CAULEYJR]

@@daleksw hey, I clicked the link. that folder is a zip file I have no clue what the contents are in it.