[Hedgehog892]

Hi I'm new to the whole CNC world, and have some designs that I need to have made out of aluminium or stainless stainless steel.
I'm a designer by trade, but no engineer, and have all the designs on Autocad files, not solidworks

Some components are small- 10mm x 20 mm turned steel- so a lathe needed

Others are a bit more complex- milling component cases with multiple axis, but nothing too fancy
These are about 120 x 60x 25 mm
The finish on the items has to be high, very precise, and the machinery reliable and durable.... and of course the software to go with it etc.

Can anyone make any recommendations of what to get as am, well, a total newbie!!
With this I am prepared to pay a bit more to get quality machinery, but , as ever on a budget- prepared to spend £1-2k
Once set up the machines would get a lot of use most days, so musn't be fragile!

Something benchtop would be about right

All advice and thoughts welcome!

[wizard]

I don't think you budget is even remotely realistic. Especially if that is for both machines, you will need to move the decimal point over by one and maybe multiply by two. That would be for conversions of manual machines or if you get lucky the purchase of used production equipment. For example pricing look at Tormachs web site.

[COMachineist]

Hi
I second Wizard's reply You money is way out of the ball park.
Now I will guess your just not up to speed on costs so I say for Turn key CNC milling I would go with a Tormach. For a lathe unless you want a CNC lathe I would go with a Clausing, South Bend, or Hardinge lathe they will do just about any thing you need.
Good Luck
CH

[691175002]

What do you mean by "precise" and "multiple axis".

If you want extreme accuracy in stainless with 4 or 5 axes, you are looking at 150,000$+ minimum. And then you have to learn how to use the machine without breaking anything.

[rbjem]

Are your parts 4 axis or do they need 5 axis? Big difference in price here.

Also don't forget the price of the multiaxis CAM software. This is big bucks too. Figure $6k (usd) and up to get started.

Why don't you contract out the party's initially. Then save up money as you sell the parts to buy a machine? Or you could get a loan...



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[Arich0908]

You can get a used machine or a benchtop for your money. Considering your ready to spend 5k usd ( considering your out of the usa and thats 2000 pounds). Ive seen allot of people get creative using benchtops as lathes and such. You wont get a turn key. You would have to build it your self .
I would get the biggest machine you could and go from there g0704 sx3/4 RF45 type what ever fits. As far as software there lots options. Bobcad is decent I have heard and could be had cheap as 500$.

[mmoe]

If you were machining aluminum only, you might find a pair of small machines for that budget (software probably brings it above that amount). Machining Stainless is a whole different ball of wax when it comes to what kind of machine you'll need. Particularly if they will "get a lot of use most days". Realistically, for that kind of machine you probably need to spend closer to $10k (US) for the pair, and that would be the budget end of the spectrum.

Depending on what you're doing, Bobcad probably will be the most economical software given that you are talking about both lathe and mill work. With Bobcad, you can get them both in one application, so learning the software will be a little bit easier than if you had to get two different software packages. I'm assuming that by "multiaxis" you just mean 2 1/2d machining (3d machining from the the top only). If you need to rotate the part but can use an "indexed" toolpath, you'll spend a little more on the software. If you need full 4 axis rotational toolpaths, you'll spend nearly as much on the software as the machinery. True continuous 4 axis software generally pushes $10k by itself (US again). You could expect to get Bobcad Mill Standard and Lathe as a set for around $800-$1000 (US), maybe half again to double that for 4 axis rotary and much much more for full 4th axis. Deskproto provides 4 axis machining as well, but still close to $2000 (US) IIRC and you wouldn't have the lathe side of things included. Obviously, a 4 axis machine will also cost quite a lot more as well.