With that many machines, you probably don't need to use it as a 'mill' but I really like the extended Z option. One salesman described it as being "about as powerful as a TM-1 with only slightly less rigidity.

So again, it won't do big hogging but it could be used as a poor man's gantry mill (within limits).

My 'day job' employer is incredibly cheap and won't invest in any kind of technology. I keep trying to push them into a GR712. We do materials testing, 'proof of concept' models and shop-aid tooling.

Most of the parts we make are low production (under 50 pieces), loose tolerance (0.005" would be great) but repetitive or complex in shape. The sizes vary greatly and are generally aluminum or plastic. Steel would usually just be drill patterns or pattern cutting from sheet. We'll probably get one shot at a CNC mill in our entire career.

I figure we could do just about anything if we had an extended-Z axis, GR712. My friend wants a TM-2 (he doesn't think the GR is financially possible or worth the space it will consume).

With such low numbers, the GR won't make our parts that much faster. I figure the programming time would negate a good portion of the time savings on such lower numbers.

The big thing for us is that quality would go way up. Right now we lay out sheet metal features with paper patterns, tape measures and Sharpies. Profiles are laid out with a Sharpie and cut out with an abrasive wheel. The final product looks like heck and we waste a lot of time with files and sandpaper trying to make this stuff 'look good'.

Did you guys get the extended Z or the toolchanger? Are your parts metallic?