PM932 PDF Mill ordered last week

[Ray C]

It's nice to hear you folks are happy with the machines and they're surviving the shipping process. Transportation: that's where most of the headaches arise... If it makes any difference to know this, I hardly get any calls for setup or post sales issues on these machines. -Just a few normal questions and the never-ending request for tips and tricks...

One thing I'd like to pass along to any future owners... going forward, I'm strongly recommending the 4" vise vs the 5". I've recommend it to all previous clients but some opted for the 5" and now, folks are reporting some regret. All is good, the 5" is still useable but managing the table space and positioning of the rear jaw is not desirable. For those who have the 5" vise, I'm in the process of designing an adapter plate to make it more versatile. The drawings will be given-away free.

And just to let folks know, there currently is no factory variable speed option for the 932.

FWIW, when you have power table feed, you can get away with fixed speeds a little easier because, you just set the spindle speed to the nearest appropriate value then, tweak the table speed to find a smooth, chatterless feedrate. This technique is hard to do with hand operation of the crank because our humanly unsteadiness causes the bit to engage and disengage due to unevenness of the table travel. Variable table speed fixes that problem. If variable spindle is an absolute must, there is a separate 3 phase motor and VFD that can be purchased outright and installed yourself later on. The motor is the same RPM as the stock motor so, overall spindle speeds don't change.

BTW, the PM45CNC product platform is doing well. I get an awful lot of questions about CAD/CAM stuff but, the number of technical issues related to initial setup (now that we've created a new user guide) is nil.

... Thanks for your patience with the supply issues and enjoy your equipment. -Be safe...

Ray

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for the information Ray.

I just read the WeirdBeard and JoeHatz are receiving or have received their 932 mills. Did another shipment just show up? I have sent an email to Matt inquiring about mine but have not heard back from him yet. When I placed my order for mill and lathe on March 17th he said he had two 932PDF's left.

Also, do you know if the 1340GT's are on schedule for delivery around the first of May? I spoke to Matt on March 7th when I got my original quote and he mentioned he should have the shipment in 8 weeks.

Thanks.

Mike.

 

[WeirdBeard]

Thanks for the information Ray.

I just read the WeirdBeard and JoeHatz are receiving or have received their 932 mills. Did another shipment just show up? I have sent an email to Matt inquiring about mine but have not heard back from him yet. When I placed my order for mill and lathe on March 17th he said he had two 932PDF's left.

Also, do you know if the 1340GT's are on schedule for delivery around the first of May? I spoke to Matt on March 7th when I got my original quote and he mentioned he should have the shipment in 8 weeks.

Thanks.

Mike.

Mike,
I ordered mine waaay back in February and wasn't able to take delivery until this week. When I ordered mine Matt mentioned they weren't expecting anymore until May or June I think. Not sure if that's changed since then...

But it did show up today!! The shipping company gave me a 10am-5pm window. So it showed up at 4:30, of course. Everything held up well during shipping. I'll take a few more pics tomorrow as I set it up on the mobile base and unpack the rest. I just ran outta time today.

 

[Ray C]

Hi All...

The machines people are receiving now are from the last batch PM received in late Jan or Feb. FWIW, most machines sell-out to the tune of 50-80% before they arrive in PA. Usually, we don't know the exact quantity of what machines are coming until the broker sends us the tracking number and Customs papers. The quantity of a particular model could vary between 15 to 40 and we usually receive 2 to 4 types of units in a shipment.

It would be nice if we could get a more uniform supply but, I'm sure you realize, it's not cheap to arrange cargo transport over the ocean. Also brokers can get better pricing for multiple container orders and, multiple containers are less likely to get lost along the way.

I happen to know the next batch of 932s and 1440 B-series are arriving in the 3rd and 4th week of May (respectively). The 1340GT's come from Taiwan and they should be arriving at roughly the same time but, the last time I asked Matt about this, I didn't specifically inquire about the Taiwanese shipments.

Currently, we have a handful of PM1236 units and two 1440 ELBs. The 1440 ELBs went from 10 to 2 in a few days.

Matt is trying to get all new sales channeled through me as, he's busy working on some surprises for you guys...

Ray

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks Ray for the follow up.

I am still waiting to hear back from Matt to find out if he locked me into one of those 932's that he had left when I placed my order back on the 17th of March, then ship it with the 1340GT which he figured would be around the first May.

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,
I ordered mine waaay back in February and wasn't able to take delivery until this week. When I ordered mine Matt mentioned they weren't expecting anymore until May or June I think. Not sure if that's changed since then...

But it did show up today!! The shipping company gave me a 10am-5pm window. So it showed up at 4:30, of course. Everything held up well during shipping. I'll take a few more pics tomorrow as I set it up on the mobile base and unpack the rest. I just ran outta time today.

Looks great. I am anxious to see pictures of it all set up and making chips. As well as we expect a full and complete review of the machine.:bitingnails: Not to put any pressure on you but we will be "patiently" waiting.

Mike.

 

[WeirdBeard]

I got it up on the mobile base I made, but my not so freakish height (6'2") has caused a small problem. I wanted the table height to be up alittle higher, as has been mentioned on these machines, but my base plus the stand and "drip pan" equals more height than my engine hoist has the ability to do. I can't put on the "drip pan" so it's going without for now, since I'm not running any automatic lubricating system. I'm sure I'll figure out how to get the extra lift needed at some point (as always, any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated) but for now this is how it'll sit. I'll need to grab some shorter bolts though. While I've been slowly savoring opening up the various boxes and looking at things, doing the "what the heck is this for?" My wife has suddenly found a few things for me to take care of around here. Since she's been very cool about my latest purchase (it's an investment, honey) I'll take care of those first before I can go out and play. Can't figure out why my pics are sideways...

 

[Leagle]

This may be too late to do you any good, but regarding your question about what a DRO can do for you, go on YouTube and search for Easson DRO. There is a series of videos from DRO Pros which explains every facet of what the DRO can do for you.

 

[drs23]

I got it up on the mobile base I made, but my not so freakish height (6'2") has caused a small problem. I wanted the table height to be up alittle higher, as has been mentioned on these machines, but my base plus the stand and "drip pan" equals more height than my engine hoist has the ability to do. I can't put on the "drip pan" so it's going without for now, since I'm not running any automatic lubricating system. I'm sure I'll figure out how to get the extra lift needed at some point (as always, any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated) but for now this is how it'll sit. I'll need to grab some shorter bolts though. While I've been slowly savoring opening up the various boxes and looking at things, doing the "what the heck is this for?" My wife has suddenly found a few things for me to take care of around here. Since she's been very cool about my latest purchase (it's an investment, honey) I'll take care of those first before I can go out and play. Can't figure out why my pics are sideways...

Here ya go:







Yeah, that gave me a crick-N-the neck. )