Hello.

We come from a mostly older manual Bridgeport shop with the exception of a CNC lathe. We want to get into CNC milling. We had a Haas sales rep out last week and he quoted out a VF3-YT-50 (50 taper) mill. The numbers just aren't favorable for a new machine nor their demo unit. Dad firmly wanted to buy new but now realizes that the money just isn't their to do that. Over the past week I have found some used models, most of which are 40 taper.

The cost between 40 & 50 taper is pretty substantial. I need some honest opinions here form people that have experience with both. Dad shop works primarily with stainless steel for food and dairy industry. Pumps and valves. Would a 40 taper machine be adequate enough for almost all SS machining. I'm worried about the life and rigidity of the spindle. I think he'd be fine with running slower feed rates if it meant keeping the cost down on the machine.

The machine we're interested in is a 2011 VF3-SSYT. Will this stand up to the job or will the nearest Haas technician be making frequent trips to repair it?


Really appreciate the help.

Thanks.