Tormach AF-50 bandsaw

Tormach announced the AF-50 in April 2017, two years later I don’t see it available yet, nor pricing.

Where are you digger doug when we need you

Ot1 said:

Tormach announced the AF-50 in April 2017, two years later I don’t see it available yet, nor pricing.

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If it is anything like their mickey mouse mills why do you care?

Yeah thats clearly based on the dirt common Chinese saws that they have just added there own auto feed too. As having used one of those saws, IMHO i would look for something better.

That said, im sure the tormach automation would be very good, just IMHO thats the last saw you would ever want to hang that off!

To be fair its the bigger 7" version of the common import saw (not the junky "hobby guys will buy anything" 6 x 4) the name brand versions of which tend to be pretty adequate quality for lower end jobs. It also looks to be a bit better than the ones we see over here. Probably starts as a more industrial rated version normally only seen in China. Given the number of mom'n pop shops in China I'd be unsurprised to discover that there are properly made version for such folk. Heck even the horrid 6 x 4 could be made acceptable for low quantity work if they machined the castings properly and made the other parts properly so they actually fit.

Googling finds a year (ish) old test report on a Beta version of the Tormach on an "unmentionable" web site. Guy seemed impressed with how well it worked :-
"Food for thought. I do a lot of fabrication in my shop, welding assemblies, custom builds. I have found I use automatic feed for even 1 or 2 parts. The scale is that accurate, no tape measure needed."

If this is correct and the price not silly, say £3,000 equivalent, it could certainly do a decent job for the right sort of business. Probably more fab shop, like the tester, than machine shop tho'. Some thing like that would do me just fine as a one man guy doing onesie - fewsie stuff if I weren't already zoning down into retirement mode (65 in July, yay) where the shop is more occupational therapy and extra cash than serious work. Don't want to even think about the number of hours I've spent futzing about measuring the cut so auto set would be just wonderful.

Way too slow for serious size shops but speed is relative. Heck I almost never have to wait for the Rapidor to finish.

Clive

Clive603 said:

To be fair its the bigger 7" version of the common import saw (not the junky "hobby guys will buy anything" 6 x 4) the name brand versions of which tend to be pretty adequate quality for lower end jobs. It also looks to be a bit better than the ones we see over here. Probably starts as a more industrial rated version normally only seen in China. Given the number of mom'n pop shops in China I'd be unsurprised to discover that there are properly made version for such folk. Heck even the horrid 6 x 4 could be made acceptable for low quantity work if they machined the castings properly and made the other parts properly so they actually fit.

Googling finds a year (ish) old test report on a Beta version of the Tormach on an "unmentionable" web site. Guy seemed impressed with how well it worked :-
"Food for thought. I do a lot of fabrication in my shop, welding assemblies, custom builds. I have found I use automatic feed for even 1 or 2 parts. The scale is that accurate, no tape measure needed."

If this is correct and the price not silly, say £3,000 equivalent, it could certainly do a decent job for the right sort of business. Probably more fab shop, like the tester, than machine shop tho'. Some thing like that would do me just fine as a one man guy doing onesie - fewsie stuff if I weren't already zoning down into retirement mode (65 in July, yay) where the shop is more occupational therapy and extra cash than serious work. Don't want to even think about the number of hours I've spent futzing about measuring the cut so auto set would be just wonderful.

Way too slow for serious size shops but speed is relative. Heck I almost never have to wait for the Rapidor to finish.

Clive

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So ?

Then why doesn't the OP ask at that website ?

Well i wouldnt buy one without seeing it in action. Two years now, Maybe they fired the project leader and forgot about it.

moonlight machine said:

If it is anything like their mickey mouse mills why do you care?

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Maybe the MX mill wont be Mickey Mouse

Ot1 said:

Tormach announced the AF-50 in April 2017, two years later I don’t see it available yet, nor pricing.

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It's a Tormach, never in a million years would I buy any of their products for anything but a home hobby shop, even then I'd have to be hard up for a machine.

Ot1 said:

Maybe the MX mill wont be Mickey Mouse

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It will be.

digger doug said:

So ?

Then why doesn't the OP ask at that website ?

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Still Waiting to hear back

..........

Mtndew said:

It's a Tormach, never in a million years would I buy any of their products for anything but a home hobby shop, even then I'd have to be hard up for a machine.

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I dont have any experience with Tormach, but there are youtube videos of people using tormach machines that are happy enough with them. I think its alot about what people can afford and if they are capable of installing a used machine that maybe beyond their ability in the scope of space and electricity or maybe they dont want to assume the risk of buying a worn out machine that it looser than a new tormach.

Which tomach machine do you have experience with that makes you despise those machines?

If like anything Tormach does you might be better off with a Smith or Victor.

I am digging this up because I got an email stating they are now for sale, $5,500 for the saw alone. I am really thinking of getting one as it would be perfect for my needs, as long as it works. What I cut up is 1/2" square to 3" square aluminum 1" to 10" long. I have 1,000 lbs comming soon that I have to cut into 6,000 parts so now would be a good time to upgrade my sawing, which is a 10" miter saw at the moment. I don't have the room for anything bigger so a real used one is not an option.

Are there other auto saws available that are not any larger?

I seriously doubt you will find anything smaller in an auto. I can think of a lot of ways to spend $5500 and that saw isn't one of them. By the time you include infeed and outfeed tables the bare saw is a small part of the overall footprint.

You can bundle your material and make pretty quick work of even 6000 pieces with a good cold saw.

If the geometry permits, I like to machine small parts in strips of 5 or 6 parts, then separate them in a decking operation. That cuts the sawing down a lot.

No outfeed table needed for the parts I would cut and the infeed will be removable, I already have most of it. The 6000 parts take about 7 hours to cut up and put away, and yes I bundle them. Most of my parts I have to cut up into individual pieces, but the parts I am currently making are 6 bars at a time making 6 parts from each bar, 2 ops total.

Right now I don't have a way to cut steel, unless I can part them off in the lathe. I need to cut up a couple hundred pieces of 1/2" square x 1.1" long steel and have no way to do it so I have to get something. Keep in mind I have a 15' x 20' shop with 2 drill/tap mills and an engine lathe so space is at a real premium. I know it's not a real auto saw but it really fits my needs quite well, as long as it works.

might not be auto feed but my roll in saw is nice and likely cutts better then that one

lr harner said:

might not be auto feed but my roll in saw is nice and likely cutts better then that one

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What does that have to do with an automatic saw? You walk away from your roll in and come back to 1 piece. You set up the auto and come back to 5-10-15 pieces, or a whole bar cut. A BIG difference!

your right. I just dont normaly walk away from my tools for long amounts of time and can bundle parts to be cut and with a depth stop easy to set up next cut. the saw mentioned is not what many would call a hi production saw i posted cause maybe a USA made saw and a minute of time to reset next cut would be a contender for semi low volume jobbing