[ttjarrett]

Hi All,

I’m thinking about buying a CNC Mill and have been looking at the X4. Can anyone please tell me what machining accuracy I could realistically expect to get using a Syil machine?

I know there are a large number of variables involved, but would +/- 0.1mm to +/-0.05mm tolerances on parts just be silly?

Toby

[DMF_TomB]

most machining tolerances have more to do with the machinist. smaller machines flex more but if you take rough cuts followed by smaller finishing cuts this will help with holding tolerances.
........ in general bigger machines have bigger motors because the machine is strong enough to work with the higher horsepower.
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smaller machines are better for smaller parts. i use a small Sherline mill to work with small parts on a bench that i can sit down at. i have a headband magnifier to see small details and have most of the tools i need are on the bench next to the machine.
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do you plan to stand working on the machine? or sit down next to a bench.

[groundhog719]

The X4 manual states "Machining precision 0.02mm".

I'm very new to CNC and don't see that accuracy happening on a daily basis. In my inexperienced opinion +/- 0.1mm is reasonable to expect.

+/- 0.05mm can probably be done consistently by a better machinist than me.

[ttjarrett]

TomB, I plan on welding a stand for the machine so I will be standing up when I use it. I would like to keep my bench clean of any rogue coolant, etc. Besides, I sit down at work all day so I probably should stand up for a while at home

I hear what you are saying about flex contributing to machining error. I'm also worried about the cheaper machines not being completely flat/parallel/perpendicular where they have to be. This might be something that I can fix however.

Groundhog, +/- 0.05mm sounds promising. Have you tested your machine's build accuracy for flatness/parallelism, etc?