I am looking at buying a low cost cnc mill. I have thought about some of the knee mills from southwestern industries & the others. I am just not sure if I want to get a new machine used machine.
$17,000
* Factory-integrated package.
* Two-axis CNC, three-axis DRO.
* Easy to use - train in the morning, make parts in the afternoon.
* All the essential CNC functions
* Quality knee mill iron, precision CP 7207 spindle bearings and a chromed hardened and ground quill.
* Precision ballscrews in the table and saddle.
TRAK KE EMX Machine Specifications
* ProtoTRAK Control model -EMX
* Table Size-50" X 10"
* Table Travel -31"
* Saddle Travel-15.5"
* Knee Travel:-13.5"
* Ram Travel-21"
* Maximum Quill Travel-5"
* Quill Diameter-3.375"
* Spindle Taper-R8
* Spindle Speed Range -70-4200 RPM
* Head Tilt-45° forward and back, 90° left and right
* Quill feeds per rev-0.0015”, 0.003”, 0.006”
* Spindle Motor- vari-speed-3 HP
* Power Requirement Control-110V; 1P; 8A
* Power Requirements Machine -220/440V; 3P; 8.5/4.3A
* Maximum Weight on Table-850 lbs
* Machine Weight:-2820 lbs
* Machine dims: l x w x h-71" x 59" x 87"
* Maximum rapid feed-100 IPM
* Way surface type-Dovetail: X, Y, Z
* Precision 7207 CP4 Spindle bearings
* Chrome hardened and ground quill
* Slide ways are Turcite coated
* Wide way surfaces are hardened and ground
Available Options/Accessories
* Remote Stop/Go Switch
* Power drawbar
* Halogen work lamp
* Chip pan
* Knee power feed
* Coolant pump
* Table guard
* Vise
* USB memory stick
* Auto lube pump
* Spray coolant
The Trak machines seem to have good conversational software but I already know CAD CAM and can program with G-code. So really any machine that reads g-code would work for me.
I found some information on a off brand knee mill or bed mill that costs $2000 less than the trak mill but I am not sure if it's worth the money.
Here are some pictures:
Some Specs:
Linear guide ways
Precision ball screws
Work Table: 10” x 42”
Table T-Slots (5)15mm
2HP 6,000 VFD Spindle
ER-32 Collet
Travel X 22” Y10” Z18”
Rapid Traverse
Stepper 250 IPM
Servo 650 IPM*
Machine Foot Print 48”R-L, 34” F-B, 7'Tall
Shipping Weight 2,365 lbs
Power Requirements 220 VAC/3/60
Single phase *
Integrated 17” Touch Scree 150G HDD Dual Core 1.8 CUPs
CD/DVD Player (5) USB Ports Speakers Ball mouse Ethernet Keyboard
Cycle start, Feed hold, Emergency Stop, Reset, System enable Misc, operation
Lubrication system
Customized Mach 3 CNC Controller Interface
EIA ( Standard G-M Code Programming)
Work offsets, Tool length Offsets, Cutter Compensation
G01 G02 G03 Linear interpolation , CW, CCW Helical interpolation
G04 Dwell, 3D Plane Select G17,G18, G19Inch / Millimeter
G28 Reference Home G31 Probing G40-42 Tool Compensation
G54 Height Offsets G50 Scale factor reset G53 Machine Coordinates
G61 High Speed Machining,G64 Exact stop, G68 Coordinate system rotation G90 G91 ABS INC
M98 / M99 Sub Routines
When I looked at the southwestern machines and alike. They seemed to have a little more travel, and "industrial" controls.
This off brand machine has a mach 3 touch screen. Which looks cool but is it practical? Is mach 3 just as good as an acu-right or Trak controller or a like?
The power requirements I can work with, and the fact that is a smaller more compact unit is appealing to me. But how good of a machine is it?
How can you tell by specs or pictures if the machine is worth it's salt?
I keep going back and forth on buying a used machine. But I am worried about buying someone's red headed step child if you know what I mean.
If I do get an older controller / machine the memory and parts? limited or hard to get?
Any recommendations you might have would be very helpful.