[jbo]

Hi all

We are looking at a super minimill2 for a project in alum
The parts are a small alum case that will require a lot of ball nose finishing on the outside
Due to the qtys and the price constrants with this job we need a very fast machine and thought that the mini mill might suit
For the finishing we would be using a 40000rpm air spindal and the haas high speed machining feature
My concerns are with rigidty and surface finish, i currently have 3 other machining centres but none of these have the block processing speed we are looking for.
The minimill fits The size requirement and budget aspects of the job but will it be up to the task in terms of rigidity and relabilty
I would welcome any comments or suggestions thanks in advance
Jbo

[Pondo]

The limitations I've had with 3D surfacing in Haas machines has not been with the spindle speed, it's been with the accuracy and surface finish at high feed rates. I was cutting only plastic and aluminum on them. At over 200 IPM they have a tendency to round off corners and give surface imperfections. If you tighten up the tolerance settings in the controller you end up getting an erratic cut as it hesitates to follow sharper areas and speeds up for smoother areas. Up to 200 IPM it cuts just fine. This is on a 2004 VF-3 and a 2007 Minimill though, and the new Super Minimill II may be a lot better. The older (1996-2000) VF-0 and VF-3's+4's struggled at over 150 IPM and VF-4's from 1993-1994 had a hard time over 100 IPM.
Rigidity for cutting aluminum and reliability have never been a concern with the Haas machines.
A couple considerations to get faster toolpaths are to post them in arc segments Vs. line segments, machine slower curves separately from corners and tapered sections, and to use bull nose mills instead of ball nose mills whenever possible.

Hope this helps.

[txcncman]

Hi all

We are looking at a super minimill2 for a project in alum
The parts are a small alum case that will require a lot of ball nose finishing on the outside
Due to the qtys and the price constrants with this job we need a very fast machine and thought that the mini mill might suit
For the finishing we would be using a 40000rpm air spindal and the haas high speed machining feature
My concerns are with rigidty and surface finish, i currently have 3 other machining centres but none of these have the block processing speed we are looking for.
The minimill fits The size requirement and budget aspects of the job but will it be up to the task in terms of rigidity and relabilty
I would welcome any comments or suggestions thanks in advance
Jbo

It does not sound like this is a job for any one single machine. Faster is not always better, even on very high dollar machines. Sound like you need to look into other manufacturing options before making a final decision.

[haastec]

The minimill fits The size requirement and budget aspects of the job but will it be up to the task in terms of rigidity and relabilty

Sometimes budget and rigidity do not go hand in hand.

I am not saying that the MM2 can or cannot do what you are asking but depending on what you find out, you may have to decide what is more important; budget, speed, rigidity, etc and make a decision from there.

You might give a call or email the Haas factory applications department (Oxnard, CA) and give them more details about what you are looking to accomplish and how. They might be able to give you some of the answers you are looking for.

Good luck!

[KenFoulks]

This is from Gerard, in the Haas Factory Applications Department:

I think the machine would be good for his project, I don’t see any issues with rigidity or reliability, but we can’t be sure without seeing the part, the best thing would be to contact his local dealer who can meet with him and look at the print and or part and discuss exactly what he needs.