Tormach 8L: Turning Aluminum, Brass, Steel, and Titanium!

Tormach 8L CNC Lathe turning aluminum 6061, brass 360, steel 4140 (pre-hardened), and titanium CP2! We'll discuss the importance of stock size when using the 3 jaw chuck versus the 5C collet and how to adjust speeds and feeds to break chips.

00:00 Intro - Pushing the Tormach 8L for Science!
00:28 Where to Start - Depths of Cut & Insert Nose Radius
01:20 Quick Change Tool Post Problem & Modification/Solution
02:05 Workholding - 3 Jaw Chuck Vs. 5C Collet
02:57 Turning Larger Diameters: Tormach 8L Power & Performance
03:26 Tooling - CCMT 2(1.5)1 Inserts & Sandvik Round Grooving Tool
04:35 Aluminum 6061 Speeds & Feeds
04:58 The Easiest Way to Break a Chip - Fusion 360 Pecking
05:28 Roughing 1" Aluminum 6061 Round Stock - The Ideal Cutting Data
05:59 Recommendations for Turning Larger Diameter Material
06:32 Smaller Diameter Steel 4140 + Speeds & Feeds
07:13 Larger Diameter Steel 4140 Speeds & Feeds
07:43 Brass 360 Speeds & Feeds
08:11 Titanium CP2 Speeds & Feeds
08:52 Outro

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[Foomanlol]

I'm so glad this machine was out of stock shortly after it came out or I may be stuck with it now now full of regret.

[robertbeatty]

Excellent video! Thank you! Thanks for covering the 8L! :)

[jamiusalaudeenolayinka]

I will love to lean how to operate CNC MACHINE you did great man

[glebgro]

"Kick my SFM" sounds funny =) All in all, Tormach 8L seems to be a nice machine for training. Lack of power pushes you to really think about feeds, speeds and tool geometry. And I really like this series of videos except they might be longer) Good luck!

[sansbury]

I have the same busted parting tool for my Grizzly 10X lathe🤣As a Tormach 1100 owner this seems to me like a machine for a school lab and not much else. In a small shop for the same cost you could get a 12X lathe and tool it up pretty nicely with DRO, QCGB, QCTP, collet closer, and knock parts out pretty fast, and be able to do a much wider range of parts. Without a bar puller or tool changer you're going to be standing in front of this machine the whole time too.

For some real fun, a while back I decided to try milling a round part on my 1100 and was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked out. Round to within a few thous, easy to put nice threads on with a thread mill, and I added a 3-jaw on a fixture plate to my setups so I can drop it in almost as fast as I can chuck it up in the lathe. Now the lathe really only gets used for the rare case I need a "pneumatic" slip fit or where it's faster to rip a basic part out by hand than to model it in CAD. Milling doesn't work for long parts either, but for those the 8L will be a glorified manual lathe too.

[markissboi]

Love Nyc CNC tech videos lots interesting videos

[RichardKinch]

My earlier comments criticizing the infeasible tool calibration of the QCTP (in the previous video demonstrating this model) got condemned. Now we have another demonstration admitting that I was right, and showing a new backstop feature to maintain the QCTP position. But that won't solve the dilemma. Those new backup stops on the QCTP are going to break the machine when a crash eventually occurs. The unbacked QCTP clamping acts as a mechanical circuit-breaker/weakest-link to avoid damage to the motion components on an overstress, but the stops defeat that. If the machine has the applied power to achieve proper MRR across the dimensional envelope, that's enough power for the machine to break itself on a motion interference fault.

Reliable chip formation requires rigidity and heavy MRR which this machine can't do except in a limited range of diameters. Most operations progress through a range of diameters and what tool/feed/speed makes good chips at one diameter will not work at other diameters. Seriously doubt that chips can be reliably controlled through the whole range of any given operation. This is a weak link that spoils the whole operation. Instead you have to have a diligent human operator attending with a pause button to stop the machine and clear out bird nests. Certainly not fire-and-forget, or lights-out.

[larrybritzman]

One really has to play with the feeds and speeds. I run a lot of stainless and alloy steel up to 32rc. I run at 400 sfm, but adjust depth of cut to no more than .01". I have to dial in the feed per rev to get the chips to break, depending on alloy. Once I have that information I write it down and it has proven to be very consistent when programming another part. I always use coolant. As far as the tool post movement, I replaced the factory screws with a quality screw, and have not had any issues. I consistently turn up to one inch diameter material from aluminum, alloy steels and stainless, each having very different feeds and speeds. I have found I generally have to adjust a little heavier feed per rev while taking a slightly less depth of cut to get chips to break. It takes patients, as with the limited horse power you're always running about at its peak horsepower, but with good quality tooling its can be done.
It's not the fastest machine, but it also doesn't a require rigger, or three phase power. It has a very small footprint, and definitely serves a niche. It's not going to run a thousand parts a day, five days a week. It can definitely open some doors for people. I have found it to be reliable, and repeatably accurate.

[nicolastefano]

Can ask you what is the part number for the sandvic grooving tool, I liked how it did the profile cut. thanks so much for your videos.

[saoudalattiyah]

Thanks for the good information, can you do the same video but with Haas st20y please.

[dubmfg]

I'd love to know the part number on that sandvik parting tool if you can spare the time, thank you!

[rayp.]

This machine should have a timing belt for the spindle drive. It can be easily modified, but come on man, build it right the first time. Thanks for doing the video.

[kwk]

It would be great to see metric conversions. Like you guys did it before :)

[abramfriesen]

Good video but Id like if some one did the speeds and feeds in milometers

[copasetic]

Cool video. Your voice is soothing Lol

[zacholshenske]

Will these be added to the proven cut recipes?

[capnthepeafarmer]

so when are you making a solid tool post??

[ipadize]

0:06 "and for your entertainment"

i see what you did there on the left side 👀

[allieddesigncollc]

Hello what is the sanvik cutoff tool part number? Thanka

[alfatech]

Thanks for the video. When you say 40 thou radial depth of cut, do you mean the diameter is being reduced by 80 thou?