Hi Chris. Thanks mate, it's good to see how all us Aussies can support and promote each other on RU-vid. I need to get my arse in to gear and come up to visit and film you someday. Cheers, Aaron.
Looking good man! Bet you can assign that probe to some other offset in the tool table so you don't loose a pocket in the holder. Mines set to 999 or something like that, really only matters for Z.
Hey Luke, oh it's my pleasure mate. Thank you for allowing me back of house access to XM2, and for being a such good sport with my amateur filming. Many RU-vidrs have been waiting to your return so it will be great to see you back at it. Your new Optimill is awesome, I'm so happy and excited for you. Cheers bud, Aaron.
Thanks Ben yeah I am pretty stoked with it! you're right I can do that but I am not sure how to go about calling up the tool (if I assigned it to T99 for example) , pretty sure it will alarm because any tool out of T1 to T10 isn't in the ATC. Will have to find a a way to do it! cheers
Hey buddy how are you? How's the desktop USB lights going? Hey, when I was in San Francisco at the Gallery your lights featured up stairs in the staff office. I took a photo for you too. Cheers, Aaron.
Another ripper vid Azza. Great to see Luke enjoying his well earned new machine. Sad that he'll be parting with the little machine that started it all, Lindsay Fox kept his first truck! - All the best!
Dang!!! That key way on the jaws is an awesome idea!!!! Since I'm making my own, as well, I think I just might have to give that a try. I probably won't be getting any carvesmarts until I get better vises. Great vid Aaron! I saw what you did there with making him walk through the door more than once! ;)
G'day Mike. Thanks you I'm glad you liked it. Yes those slide on soft jaws are a great idea. He also pocketed the rear of them so they mount over the vice for better repeatability. Had to laugh, as Luke didn't know I was going to stick him on camera. I arranged to pop over to check out his mill and next thing you know I had all my camera gear out filming. Yeah the door shot was over 2 takes, I'm sure he was glad to get rid of me when I left ha ha ha.
I've thought about doing the pocket, but I have a tendency to flip the jaws.....but I guess I could do it for the keyed jaws, since I wouldn't be able to flip those very easily. You both did a great job. :)
Yes I think Luke saw that idea from another cnc machinist on Instagram, but don't quote me on it. Luke is a very smart cookie for a young bloke. Unfortunately I've lost too many brain cells over the years lol. Thank you for the continual support Mike. I do appreciate it ;-)
Another great Vid Aaron. I hate what is happening here! This morning I watched your video on the dirty air. I have purposely been avoiding all things CNC since I sold me tormach. I hoped that I could reach the point where I felt i was "over" CNC. In fact I thought I was there. But as it turns out, it is now 7 hours after I watched your dirty air Video, and I have watched 6 CNC related videos. Half were yours Aaron(always good stuff). I'm in trouble....!!
G'day Peter. Yours was the first Tormach that I had ever seen in the country. You made some really nice parts over time too. I bet you miss your machine these days? To be honest, I'm still happy with my little Skyfire CNC and it works faultlessly 95% of the tmie. But they (SF) need to fix things with their models and improve the Quality Control and customer support. Oh, if you looking into another CNC mill we need to talk, as I've got something to tell you. Cheers, Aaron.
Nice machine! I tossed up getting one of these but ended up with my Tormach, mainly because I don't have 3 phase power. I'm happy with the Tormach but there's probably more bang for buck in the Optimum machine for Australian buyers to be honest. A bit more power, 10K spindle and servo drives for about the same price when equivalent options are included.
Hey buddy, oh yes it's a very nice machine. I think the price of the Optimill is around $35K Aud. It's a much bigger machine than the PCNC1100, which I think is around $40K. I was very surprised when seeing it up close. It's super rigid, well finished and it is whisper quiet when running. Cheers, Aaron.
The PCNC1100 isn't $40K? Is that how much it would cost with the all the various "features" (read: what should be standard on the machine) by the time it is brought to Australia? I totaled up a bunch of stuff, and my rough quote even with the 4th Axis was only $20K. I didn't look at shipping though, bit I'm assuming/hoping that would be not that much extra, since I'm only on the East Coast.
gredangeo hey mate, when you do a side by side comparison (fully spec’d) it’s not far off that sort of money. A PCNC770 was going to cost a Victorian school over $30K. He bought the F80 instead for mid $30K. Saw the quote with my own eyes. I’m talking Australian dollars, not US dollars. Keep in mind that $1 aud is only worth approximately $0.75 cents
The F80 looks world's better than a Tormach. But given my location, the better deal is a Haas Minimill. That price hovers near $30K and Shipping is cheaper. The spindle is also 5.6KW, which should better. But it's a Haas though. I think you can only make an reliable assumption of reducing their stated numbers by 40% to get any sense of actual torque ability. Thanks for the reply. Cheers. :)
gredangeo you’re welcome anytime. Hey nothing wrong with the HAAS, I’ve got 2 of them at school SMM2 & ST10. Good reliable machines and both very capable. Probably the easiest controller to use on the market too 😊
Hi Peter and thanks for watching. Luke is like a pig in mud at the moment mate. I've never seen him this happy with a huge smile on his dial. The XM2 guys and gals know how to have a happy work / life balance that is for sure. Hope you're well Peter? Cheers, Aaron.
Love the tours and seeing what's going on in Australia. CruddCNC! Luke sounded familiar, and has been busy :) What's was the tool to the left of the probe (3:13)? Looks like some sort of mixer paddle.
Hey Kent, that is a 3D printed fan which I intend on using to do a final pass with over the part(s) to remove chips and coolant after machining. Saves a bit of time having to stick the air nozzle in there!
Hey Kent great to hear from you buddy. You've probably watched or seen Luke on one of his previous RU-vid videos (cruddbucket, cruddcnc, or XM2aerial). He's had a RU-vid presence for a very long time. His 3D blow down fan worked a treat too. Cheers Aaron.
Thanks for watching Jeff. Luke's so happy with his new machine and his smile and enthusiasm is definitely infectious LOL. Industrial controller is the only way to go Jeff ;-)
Hey Aaron, I was only asking about the industrial controller is that Luke is moving straight from Mach 3, so I was interested to hear how the transition went. Luke is obviously a smart cookie, but it must be quite a step up. Considering that the mill costs less than a Tormach (purchased from the Australian importer) it looks like an impressive bit of kit. Looking forward to some more Crudd videos!!!
Hi Aaron love your channel. I'm your next door neighbor here in Auckland NZ, just wanna know how your skyfire are holding up. Reallt considering buying one
Kia ora Irwin. Welcome to my channel and thank you for watching. I've actually got a couple of good mates over in NZ by the name of Scott, Gavin, and Matthew from CADPro. I also recently met Brett from Vertigo Technologies. They're a new CNC router business out of Westport NZ. Yes the SkyfireCNC is still going strong. I love that little machine and I still think it was great bang for buck. Cheers Aaron.
Hi Josh. The F80 is a bigger machine than my machine (SVM1). I'm unsure of table size and travel dimensions between the two. The F80 is a 3 phase 415vac machine and it has bigger and heavier castings. I think the F80 might actually use the Rong-Fu S8 castings, but don't quote me on it. At the end of the day the F80 was approx $10-12K more than mine, but it does have the Siemens controller and support from the importer here in Australia. Cheers, Aaron.
Hey Matt, yes I agree with you. His new Optimill is little beauty. It's a good size machine and very rigid too. I can say Luke has grin on his face from ear to ear mate. Super excited and happy for him and XM2. Cheers, Azza
There is one for sale at a German dealer. They are €35.000 or over USD 45.000. That is HAAS teritory, isn't it? Funny thing though, I cant find any info on the Optimum homepage, only a new an larger VMC called the F150. Nothing in their 2017/18 catalog either.
Ha ha ha, no buddy I actually used to have the exact same one. I sold mine and bought the Skyfire machine soon after. I don't think I would ever go down the home / converted CNC route ever again. Any news on your machine? Cheers, Aaron.
Hello and thanks for watching. This machine belongs to the team at XM2 Aerial. Pop on over to their and Luke's channel (cruddcnc) as he has also done some videos using this machine. Cheers, Aaron.
