Definitive Guide to Tormach Hacks, Upgrades, Modifications, and Accessories

Last modified: July 16, 2024

Tormach PCNC 1100 Series 3 CNC milling machine with computer equipment.

Tormach: The CNC World's Equivalent to Chevy Small Blocks...

In the hobby and entry-level CNC machine world, Tormach's mills are ubiquitous. They may not be the highest performance machines out there-but they are a tremendous value and so they're like the Chevy Small Blocks in the engine world. It's not the same as a Ferrari V12, but you can keep one running cheap and build it up to be amazingly powerful. And like the Chevy Small Blocks, there are hot rodding options galore for the Tormachs.

This article is a compendium of the hacks, modifications, and upgrades I've been able to find out on the Internet for Tormach's machines. They include both DIY articles by various Tormach owners as well as commercial products from a variety of sources you can purchase to upgrade your Tormach. If you own a Tormach machine yourself, this list may be helpful if you choose to improve one of these already very good machines.

For those who are loath to modify a machine, I can only suggest that Hot Rodding is not for everyone, and any change you make is made at your own risk.  Some modifications are probably even dangerous to the operator and the machine. Yet, I think it's a shame not to take a shot at some minor modifications at least, for we are machinists, and machinists are the masters of their machines.  If anyone should be modifying them, it surely must be us.

Yes, by all means, wait until you've run your warranty out.  Perhaps start with some of the many fine modifications and updates Tormach sells which will not void your warranty.   Add a tool changer or a powered drawbar.  Upgrade the coolant system in some way.  But when you're done with all that, explore the possibilities that are available.

If you come across a good item for this series that I've missed, drop me a note via email ([email protected]), and I'll see about adding to this list. I want to keep the list to Tormach-specific items, so even though there's a lot of cool tooling and accessories for CNC's out there, this article is only about items specifically designed for the Tormachs.

Tormach Factory UpgradesA Tormach ATC machine tool with the brand name "TORMACH TOOLING SYSTEM" displayed.

Tormach Automatic Tool Changer...

Tormach themselves are constantly improving the machines. My PCNC 1100 is a "Series Three". So far, Tormach has a great track record of making it fairly economical to keep older machines upgraded to the latest factory spec. That shows a tremendous commitment to the installed base and it's not something every company will do.

In addition, there is a tremendous line of factory bolt-on accessories such as the powered drawbar, 4th Axis, and Automatic Tool Changer I've pictured above.

I'm not going to spend time documenting all the Tormach Factory Upgrades that are available, but I do recommend that if you're looking to improve your Tormach, you start by seeing whether Tormach themselves have an upgrade for the area you're interested in. If they do, you can be sure it is well made and well engineered.

Just check the Tormach web site for details of what's available in the way of upgrades.

Tormach OEM Upgrades

These companies design and sell upgrades and accessories for Tormachs.

Santa Cruz Electronics: TTS Racking System and More

John Bower's Santa Cruz Electronics is the local stocking dealer for Tormach. He's practically right down the street from CNCCookbook so John and I get together pretty often. Being an avid tinkerer and machinist, John makes a fair number of interesting gizmos for Tormachs. For example, he makes the nice anodized ER Collet wrenches that Tormach sells on their site.

Lately he is readying a batch of very cool upgrades and he has promised I will get to test the prototypes. There's more news coming soon on this, but I couldn't resist teasing you a bit up front.

"The Rack"

I love John's TTS Racking systems. I brought some crude drawings of an early concept for this to lunch and John took the idea and built an absolutely gorgeous product. It totally organizes all your TTS holders right on the machine and makes them super convenient to access and use. He also has a bench top version, as well as a line of accessories to go with The Rack.

We did a full review of the racking system on the CNCCookbook blog.

Automated tool changer The Rack for CNC machines in machining environment.

SCE's Enclosure-mounted TTS Holder rack is awesome!Computer monitor displaying a grid pattern with blue and red squares.

You could install more TTS storage on the right hand side or this nifty touch screen and keyboard setup...

Coolant Nozzle Upgrade

John's also coming out with this sweet multi-nozzle upgrade to the Tormach flood coolant system:

Blue and orange industrial coolant nozzle on machinery.

Flexible coolant delivery system attached to a large white machine with three curved nozzles.

Installation is very sanitary and compatible with the stock system. Looks sharp and works great!

Stay tuned for more details on The Rack, coolant upgrade, and other SCE Tormach accessories coming soon!

Tosa Tool's Tooling Plates, and More

Tormach 8mm T-Slot fixture plate for machining and metal fabrication.

Modular Fixturing with a Tooling Plate...

Dan Bye's Tosa Tool makes some great enhancements for Tormach. My favorite is his line of Modular Fixturing and Tooling Plates. Having a Tooling Plate can make set up much faster and easier as you can just drop fixtures onto the plate and be assured they will register accurately to the same position as when you last used them with very tight tolerances. For more on Modular Fixturing, see our Total Guide to CNC Milling Machine Workholding.

Mandala Rosework's Stepper Relocation Kit for 4th Axis

CNC stepper motor with visible components.

Mandala's kit helps you get your 4th axis over to the right side of the table where it can't interfere with tool changer operation.

Millfast Products: Electronic Accessories Such as Joysticks for TormachBlack joystick control with 'MILLEAST Products' logo, two circular buttons labeled 'FAST' and 'SLOW', and a central button.

Fancy a Joystick instead of Tormach's default Jog Shuttle? Millfast has got you covered!

They have a variety of cool accessories including, joysticks, remote e-stops, and more. I purchased the little gizmo that lets you keep both a probe and an electronic toolsetter connected at the same time. Works great!

DIY Tormach Upgrades and Accessories

Row of drill bits attached to a metal bracket.

Nice TTS rack bolted to control cabinet...

Collet nuts with engraved numbers.

Engrave a serial number on your toolholders to refer to in the tool table...

Labeled toolholders are handy for all sorts of things.  If engraving them is not your fancy, try stick on labels:

A close-up photo of a calibration tool with a black top and silver base featuring the number "7".

This label was done with a Dymo XTL 300 Industrial Label Maker Kit.  The labels are supposed to be pretty darned coolant-proof.  You can get one for less than $300 from Amazon.

Make the Tormach ATC More Reliable

This was suggested by Joseph Gerads and Wade Wendorf over on the Tormach Facebook Group:

The one that I did, with Joe's help, was to drill and tap a larger hole in the part of the ATC that attaches to the stepper motor. The allen head screws in there are too small for the rotation of the ATC loaded with tools. Joe drilled and tapped it larger for me (it was hardened) and we put a bigger setscrew in there.

The other that Joe did but I did not do was put a larger magnet for the sensor to do location.

Lever Operated Drawbar for Tormachs

Industrial machine with TORMACH box and various components

Industrial machine with motor, gears, and control panel.

Plans available from SDM Fabricating...

Inexpensive Wine-Rack-Style Toolchanger

High price of a factory toolchanger got you down?

Well, if you have a powered drawbar, this wine rack-style changer could be just the ticket:



It's easy to build as most of the motion is just programmed using g-code macros.  This design holds 4 tools, but depending on your machine and fixtures, you could have more than one row for more tools.  3 rows would get you 12 tools, which is pretty darned good.

Possible further mods might be a lid to keep the chips off that swings out of the way when the spindle gets near.  I could see a chip umbrealla that's totally lever operated with a lever that the spindle pushes as it moves into position.

The more ambitious could build a circular carousel just like the factory changer to hold more tools.  Mount it the same way instead of using a retractable arm and build the stepper that rotates the carousel so it could be plugged into the Tormach's 4th Axis port.  Now you've got a lot more tools available and a very cheap toolchanger.  Need to use your 4th axis?  Unmount the carousel and drop a wine-rack type in its place.

Here's another pic from a different angle:

Metalworking machine spindle with tool mounts and cylindrical attachment.

Saw this one on the Tormach Facebook Group and it was done by Jason Hughes and Clifford Baeseman.

Full Arduino-Based Toolchanger Project

Very well done. I especially like the diagonal approach of the ATC to the spindle, which is similar to many industrical VMC designs. It gets the ATC as far out of being in the way as possible when not doing a tool change.

Enclosure Projects

A large metal enclosure with a glass door and transparent access.

Tormach's CNC Machine enclosures are extremely well made, they work well, and I feel they're an excellent value. But that's not saying they're cheap. There are a number of folks out in the world who've built their own enclosures:Large metal enclosure with glass panels made of aluminum or metallic material.

- University of Iowa's Grok Labs Enclosure. The little box at top left provides clearance for a robotic arm (STRobotics) they'll be interfacing to the Tormach. The enclosure uses 80/20 extrusions and the article says the raw materials cost about $1800.

Coolant Upgrades

Coolant can be the lifeblood of your CNC system (along with way oil), and upgrading the Tormach coolant system is especially helpful if you're trying to use the machine for production and the chips keep piling up. These mods are also known to improve surface finish (see John Grimsmo's filter video where he shows finish issues on his knives that a filter cleared up) and tool life.

A variety of upgrades are possible. The stock coolant reservoir can run dry pretty easily, so increasing reservoir capacity is common. Putting in a bigger coolant pump, adding more and better nozzles, check valves, washdown systems, and a variety of other possibilities are available.

Water filtration system mounted on wall with gauges, valves, and pipes in front of a metal sheet with www.torntech.com logo.

John Grimsmo adapted a household water filter to clean up his coolant...

Coolant nozzles on a metalwork machine, showcasing intricate design.

Close-up of a machine's cooling system with PVC pipes, blue hoses, and orange fittings.

Chris Anglin's video on why he needed such a high flow coolant system on his Tormach...

Black Everbilt submersible pump with red cord, installed in white box on light wood floor.

A close-up of a cylindrical metal slinger with a smooth surface and no markings.

Diagram of oil removal process using a tramp oil skimmer.Powerful Tramp Oil Skimmer is easy to build and does the job...

Spindle and Motor Upgrade Mods

Motor Fan Balancing

A number of folks have reported improved surface finish as well as quieter operation by either balancing the motor fan or removing it and using an electrical fan. Your motor does need a fan of some sort to stay cool, so if you undertake one of these modifications, make sure your motor doesn't overheat!

Two eccentric-shaped metal rings on a light gray background.

Eccentric rings so you can balance the rotating assembly...

Rigid Tapping

Rigid Tapping on a Tormach? Heck yeah! You'll need to mount an encoder to the spindle, and you'll need to be running PathPilot, but it's totally doable as this CNCZone thread demonstrates.

Spindle Speed Increases

Auxilliary High Speed Spindle

Small cutters and engraving especially can really benefit from much higher spindle speeds than the Tormachs allow. A time-honored way to solve this problem is to mount an auxilliary high speed spindle alongside the machine's main spindle. Here are articles about how to do that.

CNC spindle with precise mechanics.

Horizontal boring mill spindle with detailed view.

Kontraptionist High Speed Spindle: Mounting a 24,000 rpm spindle to the Tormach.

Power Upgrades

A large metal machine with various components and cables, set against a dark background.- Adding a 5 HP motor to a Tormach PCNC 1100. Great thread! It's a long read with a lot of naysayers but the conversion looks quite successful in the end.

Workholding Hacks, Mods, and Upgrades

A hand grasping a handle connected to a metal device on top of a machine with various components and wires.

G-Made CNC's Pneumatic Collet Closer...

Red Grippa Bar Puller on industrial metal plate with USA logo.- G-Made Bar Puller to go with the pneumatic collet closer. This is a two-part series with the second part giving final details of how to control it all with g-code.

Path Pilot for Non-Tormachs (aka Modifying Path Pilot)

This is a useful wiki describing how to get Path Pilot to work with non-Tormachs. How is that helpful to Tormach users?

Well, let's suppose you've decided you want to upgrade your Tormach's rapids motion, perhaps by adding servo motors. You're going to be faced with modifying Path Pilot to make all that work. This resource could be a big help to you in doing that.

Here's a tutorial with more similar information on the LinuxCNC forums.

Other Hacks, Mods, and Updates

Close-up view of a Rigidity Plate's metal construction with bolts, slots, and holes.

White metal plate with black screws and hose, set against a light-colored background.

Wireless Probe Modification

This is a very cool mod by David Loomes on the Tormach Facebook group.

Machining parts and tools on a wooden workbench.

Probe disassembled...

Mechanical components: cylindrical object, curved metal piece, rectangular block.

3D printed clip on enclosure for wireless electronics...

Black plastic cylinders with small openings and holes, bundled with wires and brass connectors.

Enclosure clipped on and probe contact leads fed through...

Black cylindrical object with green circuit board and gold pins on dark gray surface.

Probe PC Board reinstalled, Adafruit transmitter module installed, and probe PC board back in probe...

Black cylindrical metal/plastic object with red-blue component attached, situated on gray surface.

Battery pack is underneath...

Black cylindrical machine tool with silver tip and small cube-shaped object.

Ready to probe!

More info:

Radical Hacks: Custom CNC Machines

Tormachs are great general-purpose CNC machines, but they're also great platforms for creating highly automated processes.  I'm gathering good examples here.

1 Million Parts on a Tormach:  The Ringinator

People say you just can't use Tormachs for large runs of parts, but they're overlooking the possibility of automating a Tormach way beyond what could be done with a VMC. They're cheap, reliable, and easy to work on and modify, so why not?

Here's a gent that converted a Tormach into a custom jump ring manufacturing machine for body piercing market:

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