[louieatienza]

This conversation turned into a proper party, lol.

I made the commitment to Haas for a brand new Super Mini Mill - 15HP, 15k RPM, CAT40, chip auger, Renishaw probes, high-flow coolant, programmable coolant nozzle, HSM, and a few other options.

As others have pointed out - this machine is quite a few steps ahead of the consumer and pro-sumer options. The original reason I wanted a SkyFire is to get through prototypes, modifications and small batches. My business is a design company so prototyping is a constant struggle. The parts are all fairly small and easily fit in a SkyFire or Tormach. As I said before though - the SkyFire could be FREE but still put me out of business if it never arrives. Specs and pricing are entirely useless if the machine does not show up.

The decision to go with Haas changes the way I will use the machine. I will still do prototyping of course, but now have the ability to crank out the majority of our production needs in-house as well. The plan is to set it up with pallets and enough tool holders to change out setups in minutes while the table is totally packed with parts. This is similar to the way I used my previous Haas machines - put as many parts on the table as possible so that it can run as long as possible while I do other things. With a 15k / 15hp spindle - it REALLY shreds aluminum fast without breaking a sweat. 1200ipm rapids and 800ipm cutting is no joke. I have run a lot of programs at 400+ipm with 3/8 - 3/4" end mills. Big metal removal rates while still having the speed to use small end mills cutting tiny features.

I hardly have to use this machine to equal the cost of outsourcing proto and production work. On top of that - I was just told that our main shop can't even talk to us for at least 2 weeks becuase they are too busy. The scheduling unknowns are deadly for a small business.

Anyway - I was hoping to go small and cheap but ended up going big and expensive (in relative terms). All carbide tools, high quality balanced tool holders, 3x Kurt 3400V's with carvesmart jaws. Just the phase converter to get 3ph power is $6k. Clearly, I am planning to make a lot of chips. If the machine has an issue - Haas literally has vans loaded with typical spares that generally have a 1 day response time. All of this cost money, but it also makes money. If I were a beginner - it would be rather scary but I don't have any learning curve on this one. I have spent 10+ years owning/operating Haas machines up to to 5 axis and have a business with existing products. Still, it could fail as a business but it won't be for lack of CNC parts.

The count down has begun.......pretty excited to have this level of power at my house. Can't beat the commute.

A great example of how one unfortunate scenario ended up making you a decision that would likely benefit you in the near future. I ordered a SVM-0 in 2013 because a client of mine wanted me to prototype more parts in metals. I was doing very well with the Garolite parts I was cutting for him on a very regular basis. After regurgitating the run-around I was getting, my client eventually sought service elsewhere, and a 2-year relationship was lost. Then 2 years later, out of nowhere I'm contacted that my machine is back in production, and it took another 4 months or so to receive. But the damage was already done, and I segued out of running jobs to doing my own prototyping and parts. It would be a dream to have a proper VMC some day... Congrats and keep us posted!