EDIT: removed the link to a competitor’s site/announcement
Hopefully a YouTube video will be acceptable to all involved:
while still allowing for discussion.
The landscape is ever increasing for the gap between hobby and industrial machining 
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Interesting, looks to have quite a bit of steel in the frame, unlike the Triumph 
From experience, I think he’d be better off pulling out the engine and just replacing it with one of the stepper motors though.
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Just a question: Are people posting on Thingaverse equivalent OR do automakers provide CAD files of parts so that one can create replica parts like this?
My experience of sites like thingiverse is that they are quite varied in contributor and quality of model, I’ve not seen much from an OEM.
There are a growing number of vendors putting plant such as UPS systems, cooling units etc. on BIM objects - Free to download! Revit families & BIM content | BIMobject so that customers can put their gear into building designs.
As for that Triumph cam cover, small chance, British Leyland / Rover didn’t use computers much and went bust anyway, you’d probably have to find another owner and borrow the part for scanning or ask TriumphTune to sell you one for an outrageous sum.
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You have to buy and mix bags of concrete for this machine base to complete it yourself btw.
For steel…it seems ok. Videos and surface finish indicate chatter.
For aluminum, especially with small details or tools, it’s gonna be slow. 100ipm max and 8krpm.
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I noticed the chatter marks. I think Youtube’s compression hides it pretty well.
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That’s fairly well concealed on their website, simpler version of epoxy granite?
OTOH, at least they sell the bottom half of the machine, unlike certain others
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I also just saw that it uses a lead screw for the Z instead of a ball screw which seems odd.
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am i crazy or is this making cuts that i don’t think a Tormach can even make? on their youtube channel I saw 6 mrr machining aluminum and 2 mrr in steel which seems like big numbers for a machine like this. the limited z envelope makes this machine too limited for me (i’d rather have a Grizzly G0704 conversion), but you cant deny the cuts this thing is making. also i’m seeing pretty decent surface finishes on these parts…certainly good enough for a garage mill i’d say. i also think the price point is a little bit of a gotcha. sure the machine starts at 3995 but to really be ready to cut you’re probably closer to 6k.
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Assembly service is offered when “building” your package (additional cost).
“Fully Assembled, Aligned, and Ready for Work”
Didn’t seem like the videos were really showing off finishing but more on maxing throughput/roughing - to point to being questionably a bit too much 
In this price range, always gonna be compromises each having pros 'n cons different to one another, with their spindle section I think they are trying to complement more towards ferrous metals than non.
They go into detail about their spindle section just have to minus marketing spin.
Yeah a little disappointing, they mention spindle weight will minimize backlash 
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What an odd machine. Powerful spindle, marketed at people who need to make stuff semi-professionally, yet no ATC, not even as an option.
It’s an interesting comparison to the HDM though. The base model is similar to the HDM, even a similar price. Where this machine really shines though is in all the extra accessories like enclosure, flood coolant and touchscreens.
Tormach spindles top out at 1.5kW, while this machine has a 2.5kW variant. I’m guessing that’s what they’re using to show off MRR, as MRR is proportional to spindle power.
However there’s a gotcha there: Tormach only makes 110V machines, while the 2.5kW variant of this machine requires 220V AC. The machine also comes in a 110V variant which is limited to 1.5kW just like a Tormach.
3995 is a promotional launch price. The retail price will be 4995, much closer to a Shapeoko HDM.
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Even if the figures and cutting is dubious, I found the website quite informative and straight forward to find bits and bobs.
Compared to this confusing journey, at least:
which leads to a page with this title:
and this content:
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Looks like a great machine and certainly a strong candidate in the world of entry level cnc’s. Just for comparison, bantam tools charges $5k for their flimsy underpowered toy. 
While this one will be more expensive with all the add-ons, it’s still so much more of machine.
The only thing I don’t understand is the z-axis lead screw and a choice of limit switches. Other than that, looks very solid and well thought out. Wish they offered broader selection of spindle options though. Also, the idea of using concrete to add mass, even if you have to pour it yourself, is brilliant.
There’s a guy in the ‘home built cnc machines’ group on Facebook who built his router out of concrete and the surface finish in aluminum is absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t expect anything less from this machine with the right choice of toolpaths. If shapeoko, with its all-aluminum frame, can produce beautiful parts, this will too.
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Look, it’s hipster Vince
I imagine, back in the day with limited competition, it was easier to pull this off. Website still showing outdated projects from first model, 883 non-pro.
Ok…wow.
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I am honestly pretty interested in watching where this goes, the examples seem to show a CNC between the HDM and a 770 or 1100 Tormach… the Z height is an issue IMHO though for a lot of parts… But interesting
The bigger Tormach, 1100’s are 220v machines. My brother has one. The smaller ones are 110v.
Thanks,
Jeffery
I put down a deposit on one of these 2 minutes after the launch and we’re in the 300’s as far as orders go so they clearly found the market they wanted.
Given that our Langmuir plasma table has paid for itself probably 5x times now (even with the upgrades) and our Shapeoko Pro has done at least 3x it seemed like a good ‘entry level’ machine to do what we need to do and get to the point where it will buy a bigger machine later. Currently have a manual Ex-Cel-O mill that we keep pretty busy.
It’s not a pro level machine by any means but it’s 1/10th the cost of a HAAS with the same size capabilities but it’s not 1/10th the quality if you don’t mind slower work times on it. Watched a video yesterday where they did a few tickets and measured with an average of .0008" variance which is not bad at all for a $7k machine fully loaded.
We’re not a production shop and we’re not going to be cranking out hundreds of widgets with it. So far my only issue with it is I won’t get my hands on it until at least mid-November.
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They made this machine very competitive because it can do fairly heavy steel cutting and has most of the upgrades and accessories already developed and ready to be added to an order at an affordable price point.
Customers don’t have to wait and hope various future accessories are in the works and have to pay for shipping each time as they trickle out one by one should they have the budget.
We just got done building a mostly dry cut / MQL enclosure for my HDM and it was a costly and time consuming project. Although I couldn’t use the Mr-1 with it’s enclosure due to me having to be able to drive my wheelchair under it to reach the work area it’s still a great option for it’s users. Also the PROBE have I mentioned the PROBE!!! Like I said in another post I hope C3d comes out with a 3d probe some time soon. The probing feature is sooooo nice and I would kill to have CM supported probing on my HDM.
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