New Machine?

Warboss72

Warboss72

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Wondering which machine to buy? I do a lot of "tinkering" and building, I have everything from laser cutters to 3 d printers. Looking at a machine to make parts for robotics and weapons development, but don't want to be undersized in configuration. Thanks for any suggestions. I am a union Machinist by trade but am not sure about the Precision Matthews machines and their pros and cons.
 
Not much info to go on, but sounds like you need a mill and a lathe especially since you're already a machinist by trade. The PM machines are good machines. They aren't huge Bridgeports but have their nitch. Just get the biggest mill and lathe your budget (and/or shop space) allows.
 
coherent said:
Not much info to go on, but sounds like you need a mill and a lathe especially since you're already a machinist by trade. The PM machines are good machines. They aren't huge Bridgeports but have their nitch. Just get the biggest mill and lathe your budget (and/or shop space) allows.
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Thanks, it sounds like the support is good as well!
 
The support is excellent. I have two of PM's Taiwan machines, a 935 mill and a 1340GT lathe. Very accurate and they support my tinkering and pistolsmithing hobbies very well. :)
 
I’ll agree with the Taiwan machinery is a good fit and finish. II have a p.m. 1440 lathe if I could do half of what it’s capable of I’d be bragging.
I like the Lathe so much I am impatiently waiting on the delivery of a p.m. 1054 milling machine.

The motor on my Lathe quit after a couple months but they stood behind it no problem and even paid extra to overnight the replacement motor to me
 
zjtr10 said:
The motor on my Lathe quit after a couple months but they stood behind it no problem and even paid extra to overnight the replacement motor to me
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Parts fail, I don't care what you buy. But quality service like that more than makes up for the occasional failure IMO.

In the five years or so that I've had my machines, I've only had to call customer service for a broken part once.
 
Without any more information than "I do a lot of "tinkering" and building", then I would recommend you buy one of each of the following:
14x40 lathe
knee mill
metal cutting bandsaw

Stick with machines made in Taiwan. The quality of the materials and the machining is considerably above what you'll find coming out of mainland China. As for fit and finish, none of these machine have decent paint jobs. I consider all of this equipment as a "kit" that needs refinement - like eventually stripping back to the casting and repainting, and in many cases upgrading the quality of the fasteners.

Service at PM is as good as you'll find today, but you have to be proactive to get problems resolved - they aren't going to reach out with a survey to ask if you're happy or if you're having any issues.
 
“Service at PM is as good as you'll find today, but you have to be proactive to get problems resolved - they aren't going to reach out with a survey to ask if you're happy or if you're having any issues.”

I believe that is usual and customary. If a company sent out a questionnaire they would have to deal with people that are complaining about hairline painting defect on the bottom of the machine.

I believe they get much better feedback from groups like this. PM should also get kudos for monitoring this group and participating
 
Hi,

I am not a machinist, but have built a lot of things over my 70+ years of inventing. I made an error and replied to an old thread this morning when addressing questions about the PM 940M CNC VS. Since I spent all of that time on that replied I will post a link to it here for you. It is a heavy machine and might work for you, but it is not a knee mill. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/pm-940-diy-cnc-or-turn-key-pm-940m-cnc-vs.72218/#post-679998 I was replying because some folks have replaced the n-motion controller and Mach3 software, but mine seems to work ok.

I have no real complaints about the PM support. Matt has been very responsive for me.

I also have an old South Bend 10 heavy lathe, which I have gotten a lot of work out of, but it is now the power cross feed is in need of some TLC. Sometimes I think I should replace it with modern PM lathe, but do not really like the idea of the work of moving more heavy equipment in and out of my tight spot.

By the way, PM shows no CNC mills listed in stock at this time (never does). However, Matt will probably order up one to build for you somewhat to your spec. When you purchase a CNC he removes the power feeds (horizontal and vertical) as well as the DRO (keeps the simple Quil DRO). The spindle gear selection changes to only two speed (Hi and Low), but the 3ph motor is now driven via the variable speed VFD. Also, the little electrical box on the back gets replaced with a much larger and heavier one containing all of the VS and CNC electronics. You can see a photo of my machine via the link posted in the above URL. Also, because of all of the changes, the machine is heavier than listed. Also, if you want to power tap you might want to ask him about a different VS motor and feedback. I do not think Mach3 provides for power tapping even if the motor was not VFD driven, but since I got a 4th axis option on my machine I am hoping I can someday make power tapping work with its stepper.

I have estimated the weight of some of the parts: Vertial head with 3 phase motor ~240-260#s without tooling, X-axis table well over 150# without the stepper attached (I had it apart at the ways and when I took mine off I could not man handle it by myself, and the CNC VS electrical box ~200#s.

Good luck.

Dave
 
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