[inthebay]

Hey guys,

We're a shop that does a lot of drilling/tapping/facing on castings that we produce, and I'm looking for some ammunition for cycle time advantage for replacing an old VF0 we have in the shop with a new DM-1. Has anyone made the switch, or would be able to give me a reliable estimate for how much faster the cycle times ended up being? Naturally this varies with the amount of tool changes and such, and I've done a rough benchmark through Mastercam's Verify with the parameters changed in the machine definition to be accurate to the two machines. But would really like to hear someone's personal experience.

I guess finding someone who can run the part and clock its cycle would work too, but that's a bit harder to do.

[Fletch_CNC]

The HFO could do a test run for you. Especially since they want to sell you one! Unless you can run it on a real machine, the estimates out of Mastercam are just estimates. I like those DM1s, though-- they are pretty quick. If I had a garage, I'd consider putting one in it!

[Geof]

Take a copy of your program to your HFO or send it to Haas in Oxnard and have them run it on each machine. You do not need tools or parts just the machining running a full cycle.

[haastec]

Take a copy of your program to your HFO or send it to Haas in Oxnard and have them run it on each machine. You do not need tools or parts just the machining running a full cycle.

+1

[mtlhe]

What did you ever find out?

[D.D.Machine]

I looked really close at buying a dm1 for just what your asking about , light milling and a lot of drilling and tapping and found out for my work at least they were not a good fit , I run a lot of alum and the chip system in them is just not up to running large amounts , the travels were small with vary little Z travel, meaning I would be changing parts non stop and fighting any taller parts ,,, I have a vf4ss and will I really like the mill even with 1/2" endmills I can realy push what they call "30HP" into the red on a lot of jobs.... If there vf4ss is what they call 30HP I would not want to see what I could do with there Dm1 spindle power it would live in the red all the time ,,,, I ordered a new VF2SS in that I wanted to stick more parts on the table and walk away to load one of the other mills, the cost of the vf2ss is the same as a DM1 but you get twice the power and twice the table area.

[Ydna]

Comparison between the DM and VFSS seems to be pretty similar other than the rapid speeds and slightly upgraded spindle.

I recently saw a DM1 at the HFO demo, the machine had an optional side-mounted chip auger similar to the ones used on the VF mills. The DM enclosure still had the dual chip augers pushing chips to the back, then the "lift auger" carried them out the side. The rear drains into the coolant tank were small enough to keep most of the chips out. It's an interesting change, I've known several places that run DTs and have to spend more time than they liked sifting chips out from the tank.

[mtlhe]

I too saw the DM-1 at HaasTech last spring. It rivaled the VF2SS on a steel part with about 6 tool changes. Cycle times were near identical, actually impressive. As D.D. notes,however, the price is that of the VF2SS. I guess if floor space and the extra grunt the VF has over the DM is not necessary, then it would be a great machine. The DM-1 is a Minimill on steroids, but at a VFSS price, tough sale.

[inthebay]

Update:

I presented the options and had our local HFO give me some figures. Lo and behold our 1990's VF2 died, and we have a new one dropping in its place in 2 weeks. I would have liked it to be a VF2ss, but my hands are quite tied.