Ordered a 1340GT Lathe & PM-935TV mill today

Mine is a 935-TS that I received a several weeks back. Its almost ready to cut chips. I'm just about finished with the external VFD circuits and programming and then I need install and mount the controls. With the VFD driving the motor, I measured 22 RPM at the lowest frequency output to 5381 RPM at 60Hz and is very smooth running. Actually everything works smoothly on this machine. I also tracked the x,y and, z axis dials with a dial indicator the hand dials tracked perfectly. So far I very pleased with it having only owned a lesser bench-top import. I built the stand for it because I'm tall and the mill was a little low for me. I raised it about 6 inches. The attached photo shows the mill before I leveled it. After leveling the top jam nuts are snugged down. Also, I was able to get it level within a little less than a thousand in 12 inches -- that was very tedious to do even with two of us.

I'm looking forward to when everything is setup. I hope all goes well with your new machines too.
935stand-30.jpg

935stand-30.jpg
 
dogbone01 said:
Mine is a 935-TS that I received a several weeks back. Its almost ready to cut chips. I'm just about finished with the external VFD circuits and programming and then I need install and mount the controls. With the VFD driving the motor, I measured 22 RPM at the lowest frequency output to 5381 RPM at 60Hz and is very smooth running. Actually everything works smoothly on this machine. I also tracked the x,y and, z axis dials with a dial indicator the hand dials tracked perfectly. So far I very pleased with it having only owned a lesser bench-top import. I built the stand for it because I'm tall and the mill was a little low for me. I raised it about 6 inches. The attached photo shows the mill before I leveled it. After leveling the top jam nuts are snugged down. Also, I was able to get it level within a little less than a thousand in 12 inches -- that was very tedious to do even with two of us.

I'm looking forward to when everything is setup. I hope all goes well with your new machines too.
View attachment 92419
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Nice machine. I too raised mine due to my height and wanting to make it comfortable to stand at and work. I ended up raising mine 8.5" total and is a pleasure to stand at and operator for extended periods of time. There is no way I could have lived with it without some kind of riser.
 
Just curious, is there something that the mill base is sitting on that doesn't show in the pics, or is the machine just supported by those 4 straps?
 
marcusp323 said:
Just curious, is there something that the mill base is sitting on that doesn't show in the pics, or is the machine just supported by those 4 straps?
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It looks to me that the base is sitting on a platform or maybe some square tubing running front to rear and the straps are merely to faster down to. But I could be wrong, kind of hard to see in the picture. There is a black square under the base so maybe a rubber strip or something. Hopefully dogbone will chime in and explain/clarify.
 
I can't speak to the lathe (yet), but I think you're going to thoroughly enjoy the mill. Worth every penny in my experience.
-Ryan
 
Hi Rich,

Congratulations on the machine order!!! You will have a lot of fun with those PM machines.

I have a 935 TS set up in the basement shop; and have a 1340GT coming, hopefully later this month.
The 935 mill is a 3PH motor with VFD... works quite well!

On the 1340GT lathe and VFD: The VFD is not hard to install... just some wiring.
The factory variable speed option on the lathe is not the same as the 3PH motor and VFD... that is different.
There has been a lot of confusion on the VFD topic... the difference between the factory VS option and a 3PH motor and VFD.
Mike (Z-motorsports) or WR Miller or MKSJ (may have that wrong).... can tell you about the VFD's.
BTW: I asked Matt about installing a VFD on the 1340GT... he said no to me also.
So I am gonna have to do it... and if I can do it... :)

If it were me, I would re-consider what Z-motorsports says about a 3PH motor and VFD.
 
GA said:
Hi Rich,

Congratulations on the machine order!!! You will have a lot of fun with those PM machines.

I have a 935 TS set up in the basement shop; and have a 1340GT coming, hopefully later this month.
The 935 mill is a 3PH motor with VFD... works quite well!

On the 1340GT lathe and VFD: The VFD is not hard to install... just some wiring.
The factory variable speed option on the lathe is not the same as the 3PH motor and VFD... that is different.
There has been a lot of confusion on the VFD topic... the difference between the factory VS option and a 3PH motor and VFD.
Mike (Z-motorsports) or WR Miller or MKSJ (may have that wrong).... can tell you about the VFD's.
BTW: I asked Matt about installing a VFD on the 1340GT... he said no to me also.
So I am gonna have to do it... and if I can do it... :)

If it were me, I would re-consider what Z-motorsports says about a 3PH motor and VFD.
Click to expand...

Yes, I should have been more clear on the factory option variable speed. It is a different setup and I was told it only has a high and low range gearbox and then the VFD feature controls the speed ranges in that particular range.

I personally prefer the setup I have with the six speed gearbox and two speed ranges (equaling 12 total speeds) and then using the VFD to "tweak" the RPM between each of those particular speeds. This basically gives a full range of RPM from below 90 RPM to over 1800 RPM. I have mine setup to go 15Hz above and below 60 Hz so I would guestimate the full range as being from about 40 RPM to approx. 2200 RPM but that is merely an educated guess as I have not actually measured the RPM at the spindle.

There is nothing wrong with the single phase machine but if you are planning on doing a lot of threading with your new machine, I would strongly consider the 3-phase version and install a VFD. I didn't do a lot of threading on my previous machine because it was a pain to setup for threading so for a small threading job I merely used a die vs. single pointing but on this machine I almost go looking for things to thread because it is such a joy to thread on and is so smooth with excellent results.

Just a recommendation as it is a lot of money to spend on these machines.
 
zmotorsport has pretty much gotten it right. The stand is built from steel rectangle tubing welded up. The horizontal pieces are 2x3x1/8 and the verticals are 1x2x1/8 which hold the mill down on the base. The black squares in between are sorbathane vibration dampener but I think those may have been unnecessary. I used angle iron on the ends and the levelers are 1/2" studs on swivel bases I got from MSCDirect. I built the stand that way for greater left to right stability and to be able to lift the machine with a toe-jack for skates when I have to move it. Also, I used 3/4" threaded rod couplers welded to the verticals and 3/8" bar stock for the hold-downs. Now that the stand is built and leveled I hope to have the control box built and wired up this weekend.

btw zmotorsports -- I bought a hand held laser non contact tachometer off of ebay -- they run from ~ $10 - $25.00. I cut a square of the provided reflective tape and stuck it on the drawbar for my testing.

Jim

935stand-29.jpg

935stand-29.jpg
 
dogbone01 said:
btw zmotorsports -- I bought a hand held laser non contact tachometer off of ebay -- they run from ~ $10 - $25.00. I cut a square of the provided reflective tape and stuck it on the drawbar for my testing.

Jim
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification on the stand Jim. Nice job, I'll bet it is stable.

As far as the tachometer, I have one similar to the one you have, a non-contact that came with a length of reflective tape, I just haven't taken the time to check RPM.
 
Jim, my riser/stand is the same size as the base of the milling machine. As I was constructing it, I thought about going wider like you for stability but in my head I thought it may end up being a trip hazard so opted to stay as close as possible to the size of the mill base. However, now after having it setup, I don't think it would matter as the table size limits your movement around the mill anyways so it more than likely won't interfere or be any hazard at all.

These machines do appear narrow but most of the weight definitely is concentrated at the bottom thus making them look more unstable than they actually are. Mine doesn't move at all and I can't even shake it on my 8.5" tall base and is more narrow than yours. I'll bet yours is rock solid.
 
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