I purchased a PCNC 440, and the manual oiler does not work. I pull the charger handle and hold it for a few seconds, but when I release it, it immediately goes all the way back in without pushing any fluid. I took it apart to clean it and look for anything that may be broken. I can’t find anything wrong with it, but Tormach doesn’t provide any detailed diagrams of what parts are in it or how it works. I did contact support, but they said they can’t help with it and to purchase a new one. I’m hoping someone here might have some additional insight before I spend $100+ on another one. I can see one check valve on the top that does work, but I don’t see one on the bottom part. I’m not sure if there should be one or not for it.
You might need new o-rings. I had bad o-rings on one and it acted exactly as you describe.
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Thanks. I thought of that as well and replaced the big one that screws into the side, but I also noticed that the plug doesn’t screw in straight. It’s not cross threaded, but it acts that way. I will try testing the plug to see if it draws any air in. Do you know if there is a check valve on the bottom part where it pulls fluid in from the reservoir? That is the only thing I can think of that could be a problem.
Are you sure it’s not sending oil though? Don’t just assume it’s not because it goes back quickly. My machines manual oiler returns fairly quick, but if I reach around and finger the ways I always come back with oily fingertips.
I removed it from the machine and tried pulling and releasing with it just having the short tube coming out of the top. Nothing came out even after multiple pulls, holds, and releases. I’ve got the problem down to either the check ball on the bottom side not working, or the large screw on the side not sealing properly. I went ahead and ordered a new one since I can’t fix either of those two problems without new parts, which Tormach does not sell separately. Once I get the new one, I’ll compare it to this one and see if I can figure out exactly what’s wrong. Who knows, maybe it’s missing something that I may have already. I do wish Tormach provided more information on the machines and parts. Exploded diagrams with part names and numbers would be ideal. I have that for many of the machines I buy.
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I’m curious to hear what you discover.
FWIW we do offer exploded views of the machines with part numbers in the back of the user manual. We don’t have individual parts listed for the oiler because that is a component much the same as the alternator on your car.
Thank you and understood. I prefer to think of it more like a carburetor that you can swap individual parts in, but if Tormach doesn’t offer them, it doesn’t matter.
Thank you for pointing out the manual for the diagram. That will come in handy. On mine, the machine table (PN 35810) has some surface rust. When I inquired whether I could purchase a replacement, I was told Tormach does not sell individual parts for the 440. I was able to get enough of the rust off to make it useable, but it is disappointing to know I am out of luck for most things. I have looked through the Tormach sales site and do see a few things, like the spindle. I do find it interesting you can purchase the gib screw but not a replacement gib. I’ve been able to purchase that for other mills I’ve used.
I’m wondering what causes needing to replace a gib screw. And hoping I never have to do it.
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Duane,
In the case regarding the rust on your table I did confirm that “replacing the table is not an option that is available” but taking that to mean “Tormach does not sell individual parts for the 440” is quite the stretch. The table/saddle/column specifically are parts that must be scraped to fit each other; that takes a significant amount of time and expertise to do properly, the large weight/size of them would have significant shipping/storage costs, and the infrequent need of them means that there’d be a significant cost attached to those parts and it’s just not economically feasible for us to have them available. Just a ballpark number, but I doubt that many people would be interested in paying $2000 for a replacement column when that represents 30-40% of the machine cost.
We stock many parts of the machine that are not listed on the website and will continue to do so, including gib blanks, always ask if something isn’t listed on the website. Many customers have expressed frustration at navigating through our website so we have pared down some of the individual parts listings; the long, long term plan is to have an exploded view right on the website that part numbers can be referenced to rather than individual pages for a part.
Thank you,
Norman
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The oiler is a hydraulic system but it has a lot of air in it. One bad seal in the piston can keep it from priming. My moneys on the pull handle shaft seal. Which would also let whatever breached that seal get into the cylinder, probably damaging that one also.
Thank you for the clarification. The response I had gotten from the salesperson did not lead me to believe there was any option to get anything that wasn’t already listed on the store. I’ll keep that in mind for the future. As far as my particular case, I only paid $1000 for my 440 with everything from a local makerspace, including about $5k in accessories. It would cost me about $20k for the equivalent new all included. Pretty much a steal, but that also meant that I got it in as-is condition. That does give me some room to replace anything that needs it without going over the value of a working used one. It wasn’t cared for and does require some TLC to get it back in shape. I’m hoping I won’t need to buy anything else for it, but I still have more work to do before being sure.
I did replace the pull handle shaft seal with a new one. I’m still not 100% it’s not the problem as when I screw the plug back in, it goes in very crooked. I think it seals as there’s no bubbles or anything when I test it for leaks. My bet is the bottom check valve. I can hear it rattling when I shake it, but I’m not sure if that is normal or not. The new one will confirm that suspicion.
This is something I wish all machine manufacturers did. It would also be great they could make the website for all the information available.
What I mean is make it and once it works, lock it and the supporting data so that it works for at least 10 years.
Constant updating and changing links ends up as a site that is broken thus useless. I know it’s a battle but in 10 years when the 440 isn’t being made any more it’s not going to help anyone if the page for the table geometry links to nothing. Information that took thousands of hours to put online is wasted time if the link to that information doesn’t work.
A nice simple archive link at the bottom of a website is efficient for producers and consumers.
Just toss it.
EBay really needs a service where you can list something like this and then since it probably won’t sell you just put it in a box and when someone wants it in 10 years they send you an email and if you still have it eBay connects you to the person that wants it.
There’s a free billion dollar idea.