[jkujawa]

Hello,

I have been searching and searching but can't really seem to make any progress on a purchase decision.

I have a small design and manufacturing company. We have 3 good domestic suppliers for our machined aluminum parts. However we often have a need to do machining in-house for fixtures, prototypes, etc.

We have a good Bridgeport manual machine w/DRO that gets frequent use. However I want something that will give us greater flexibility. I don't want to convert it to CNC.

My question - What machine would you recommend given the following:

• 3 axis w/option to add 4th
• 208 3-phase power
• Most parts will be smaller than 12" x 8" x 4"
• We cut aluminum and plastic almost exclusively
• We have VERY limited CNC knowledge on staff (but several of us are degreed engineers with good knowledge of manual machining on the Bridgeport)
• Most parts are 1-off, so 'production speed' is not critical'
• It will

be used, on average, about 4-8 hours per week (ie low use)

My "budget" is pretty wide, but if I could spend $20-$30k for a good used current machine with good tooling I can swallow that. If I have to I can go higher I can, but it would probably require that I wait until later or end of year.

Thanks very much in advance!
John

[instructor37]

Hello,

I have been searching and searching but can't really seem to make any progress on a purchase decision.

I have a small design and manufacturing company. We have 3 good domestic suppliers for our machined aluminum parts. However we often have a need to do machining in-house for fixtures, prototypes, etc.

We have a good Bridgeport manual machine w/DRO that gets frequent use. However I want something that will give us greater flexibility. I don't want to convert it to CNC.

My question - What machine would you recommend given the following:

• 3 axis w/option to add 4th
• 208 3-phase power
• Most parts will be smaller than 12" x 8" x 4"
• We cut aluminum and plastic almost exclusively
• We have VERY limited CNC knowledge on staff (but several of us are degreed engineers with good knowledge of manual machining on the Bridgeport)
• Most parts are 1-off, so 'production speed' is not critical'
• It will

be used, on average, about 4-8 hours per week (ie low use)

My "budget" is pretty wide, but if I could spend $20-$30k for a good used current machine with good tooling I can swallow that. If I have to I can go higher I can, but it would probably require that I wait until later or end of year.

Thanks very much in advance!
John

Depending on the accuracy you require, you might consider a Shopmaster VFD machine
Shoptask - Shopmaster
We have had good luck with ours. They are pretty simple and rugged and can hold 0.001-0.002" . With your budget, you could easily outfit the unit with a lot of tooling and you would have the benefit of a CNC lathe as well.

[rowbare]

A Tormach PCNC 1100 might be a good fit for you. Its work envelope is more than adequate for what you want to do and it certainly fits your budget. They have a good selection of accessories and upgrades including a power drawbar and fourth axis. They will be releasing a tool changer sometime this year, it is currently in beta testing.

Here is a link to their site: Tormach
This describes their design philosophy: Engineering Documents - PCNC 1100
Their blog showcases what people are doing with their Tormachs as well as some of the projects they have on the go: Milling Around

good luck!
bob

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

FWIW, I attended an auction last week. Personally inspected and cycled a few machines to see any obvious defects.

A Haas tool room mill went for $22+k and a Haas VMC went for $23+k. A little research might find some good used late model machines in you budget range.

Dick Z

[awerby]

The travels would accomodate the dimensions you're talking about, and its relatively high-speed spindle would enable you to cut effectively with very small endmills. It runs on 110v current, but if you're in the USA, you will have that. It's built in the USA with high-end components and will hold good tolerances.

Another one that would work is the Roland MDX 540; it's more expensive but still within your budget. Roland has put a lot of work into making it user-friendly (even if the users are not machinists), and it comes with its own easy-to-use CAM software. Available options include a 4th axis and automatic toolchanger.

I've got more info on both machines on the Production page of my site.

Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software

[jkujawa]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. We're digging a little deeper on the models suggested. We just ended up allocating the space based on the largest of the likely models (we're building out a new lab space now) so we bought a little time, but I want to get something in place before too long.

John

[Shane1234]

i think a hurco would do you nicely, with its' conversational programming, you wont need to know much about fanuc language. as for budgets, i would almost guarantee that as soon as you add another machine, you will fill up more of a workload, so think ahead.