So I've recently been given the oppurtunity to purchase a Haas 1993 VFO (I think it's a 93) mill, one with the plastic enclosure, for 4500 (bought new by current owner). It, along with a phase converter, and some tool holders, would put me right in my budget for making production parts. Unfortunately I can't afford more machine right now. I know this machine is in good working order as I've been using it for the past year. The major complaint I've had is the lack of memory. I believe it has less than 1 MB. Right now I just load a program through the RS-232 USB adapter and all is good, as most of the programs I have been running on it are small, usually just light milling, lots of drilling. If i purchase this for myself I will be running some larger files through it but I'd be just fine with the DNC drip feed option since that's about the only route I can go.
The only real question I have, since I've never drip fed anything before, is that if I run DNC software through a spare computer, will I be able to run production parts like that? My concern is that once it hits the M30, I'll have to manually reload the program from the DNC software again. That's great for one-offs, but not for production which is what I'd be using it for. Is my concern legitimate or will the DNC software or machine know to reload it. I would like to just load another part and hit cycle start when it hits M30 but if I have to reload the program every time, I'll probably pass on this machine. I have a way to get it moved for free, along with a proper sized/type of phase converter for cheap. The only thing thing that slows me down from buying it, besides its age, is the memory.