ZulchLab projects have always involved hardware and software integration, but an increased focus on hardware design led us to bring prototype fabrication in-house. Starting in 2012 we established a prototype lab, including CNC machining, PCB fabrication, and casting in a variety of polymers. One of the more versatile tools is the Tormach PCNC 770 milling machine. It stays very busy fabricating precision parts in metal, plastic, and occasionally wood. The Tormach is precise, easy to maintain, and rock-solid reliable; a most impressive piece of equipment.
One of the first questions visitors ask is if we have a 3D printer. Not yet. Our prototypes require functional parts made from materials carefully selected according to strength, durability, thermal performance, etc. Any 3D printer in our price range today makes plastic parts with relatively low resolution and relatively poor surface finish. We need primarily metal parts with fine detail and excellent surface finish. However we do contract out for 3D fabrication when it makes sense, and these services have much better printers than we would be able to afford. Still, 3D printing is advancing rapidly and we look forward to evaluating the formlabs printer among other upcoming offerings.
The most common question specifically about the Tormach is its accuracy. That’s a bit tricky because accuracy depends on the machinist’s skills as much as the machine’s capabilities. And part quality is more than just accurate dimensions, e.g. surface finish, consistency, etc. Suffice to say that parts routinely test out to a dimensional tolerance of +/- 0.001″. With care that can be taken down to +/- 0.0005″ or less. The machine’s repeatability is excellent. Indexing and reindexing a feature often gives results within 0.0001″ on the DRO, using a Haimer 3D Sensor Analog.
You can read all about the Tormach at their website or in web forums such as Practical Machinist and CNCzone. My future posts will focus on the processes, tools, and fixtures that have helped us take full advantage of the machine. I hope you’ll find them useful.