Steve Dunthorne is a somewhat frustrated ‘weekend engineer’ with a small lathe and an old manual milling machine in his garage, whose day job doesn’t reflect his passion for making mechanical things. A chance discussion with a colleague culminated in him ordering a brand-new CNC (Computerised Numerical Control) mill from the USA. The machine is a Tormach® 770MX, a model aimed unashamedly at the high end of the hobbyist market, and certainly attracting the attention of small independent manufacturing start-ups, particularly in the United States.
This book records Steve's journey of getting to grips with assembling all the components and learning how to operate the machine. It is purposely not an instruction manual – the manufacturer has already seen to that need. It is more a chronological log of all processes undertaken by the author, from choosing the right machine through to getting it to make parts. Taking the not insignificant leap from manual machining to CNC manufacturing in the domestic environment has a steep learning curve and this book is intended to assist others going through the experience, with many top tips (having been gleaned from learning the hard way) shared throughout.
Although other books may cover technical and theoretical elements relating to the machine, the author was not able to find any material from a more practical hands-on viewpoint – and therefore chose to write this book in order to help other hobbyists on a similar journey.