Training??

[parrotlady]

Hi all,

I bought a torchmate 3 table about 6 months ago.. It hasnt been set up yet because I have busy building the shop around it.. Now it is getting to set up time, and I am starting to panic because the software looks pretty intimidating, not to mention the 5000 wires to connect etc.. I called Torchmate to ask about training, and it is very expensive, but I wondered if anyone else has taken it, and if so, was it worth it? I can fly down there or they can come up here, but either way, I would probably have to sell an internal organ to pay for it.
Should I just try to learn it myself?

Thanks

April

[plain ol Bill]

April the best training you can get in my opinion is getting together with another cutter. I'm sure there is another Torchmate in your area and most people are happy to help others. Hey folks anyone know another cutter April can get together with in her area and help her??

[pony]

Hi April,
Break it all down in to small manageable projects, and complete each one without worrying too much about the bigger picture. So rather than worrying about setting up the whole machine, just concentrate on connecting the wires or mounting it to your table etc. Celebrate each step. I think you will be surprised at what you can achieve. Every new thing can look daunting at first, but really it is just a fear of the unknown. It is helpful to have moral support, and that could be an expert or equally just a good friend who may not know anything about the cutter but will be there to share the struggles and help celebrate the accomplishments.
If you can afford the training then you may get there sooner, but you'll get there with or without it.
I'm also new to this, I have a lot to learn, and a lot of mistakes to make.

My wife has a quotation on a little plaque under the bathroom mirror that reads "imagine what you could achieve if you knew you could not fail".

Good luck!

[fitzy]

Hi April
I also have a tm3 and know what your going through one thing I wished I'd done was locktight all the bolts It's a lot easier when you're putting it together over 3 yrs later but just take it one step ay a time and use the manuals on the fed that came with it they are very well written to help shed light on subjects. As for the software take it slow and use the tutorials and you'll get the hang of the designing and that last ask questions there are a lot of folks using tm that can help and check out the torchmate thread on pirate 4 x4 bill kind is on there regularly. Hope this helps.

[parrotlady]

Thanks so much guys! I have been telling myself to calm down, and that I can do it.. I try to remind myself that even getting as far as I have is something.. Just building the shop had it's issues.. We (my dad and I) cleared out a space in my barn, put groundrods in, poured concrete, built the walls, and then - WIRING! what a gong show. I ended up doing the wiring myself, (my Dad put in in the breaker panel, but I ran the lines), then we figured out that we might need more power (might being the operative word) because I have heated buildings for my animals, so it was getting sketchy.. So I had to dig a trench all the way to the house, buy a boatload of tech cable etc.. That was fun. 6 months ago I couldnt tell you the difference between 14/2 wire and a piece of string, but I sure can now! We have done it all without any contractors, and I did most of the framing and plywood and insulating myself, so for that I am proud.

The table is going to be more of an issue than if it came new in a box. Mostly because it is used, and because of the way the room is, we had to switch it all around. If we didnt do this, I would have to work on the high side and being that I am only 5'4" that gets kinda hard. Also it the torch head wouldnt have been facing me etc... So we have switched everything (still not hooked up though) and now I am afraid that when I turn on the computer, the left and right will be all wrong, which I am sure I will have to re-configure. The funny thing is (and you will all roll your eyes) is that I have never even turned one on before! I used a plasma at a shop before, and I just went in, uploaded my stuff and the shop guys usually took over from there. Dont get me wrong, I am not a girley girl, and I know how to use most power tools better than my husband, but I am still intimidated nonetheless.
To top it off, I suck at drawing things on the computer, and I am really hoping the torchmate Cad will be user friendly

Anyway, I do appreciate your words or encouragement. Torchmate will probably end up regretting that training me wasnt free, because I will just have to stalk them on the phone every single day I said as much to the tech support already, but I didnt even get a chuckle out of them so maybe this happens alot?
If push comes to shove, it would probably be cheaper for me to coerce one of you folks to come up here and teach me a thing or two.. Whaddya say? Expenses paid? Its a beautiful part of the world up here!
I will upload some pics of my shop in the pic section in case anyone wants to have a peek.
Thanks so much!

April

[ssderick]

I just got my TM up and running 3 months ago. I have called tech support 10 to 15 times some days they are always glad to help, even with what I would call dumb questions. The cad software takes some getting used to, if you get stuck don't be scared to call them. They don't call it lifetime support for nothing. I am runnning my machine about 10 hours a week now and have not called them in 2 weeks except monday when I broke my security dongle. Word of advice if you are using a laptop I put the dongle on a 12" usb cable and velcroed ti to the back of laptop out of the way so I can't break it again. $200 mistake.

Good luck
Derick

[parrotlady]

Thanks Derick! Its comforting to know that I am not the only one that stalks them on a regular basis

And Pony, I like that quotation of your wife's.. I think a person could make a DXF with that text and make a real nice decoration!

Thanks again

April