Hello, like the title suggests. Just wondering if an older machine is worth diving into. Possibly a retrofit kit may be offered also??
Hello, like the title suggests. Just wondering if an older machine is worth diving into. Possibly a retrofit kit may be offered also??
Hi diyengineer,
An old friend told me "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go." I apply that idea to several things.
May I ask what kind of milling machine it is?
If the machine is tight and functions well it may be worth it. Do you like fixing things that go wrong yourself? I do not ask that in a sarcastic tone, but a lot of us LIKE to work on projects and ideas.
My shop currently has a mix of new and old machines. Fanuc has a warranty program that we have even added our 1980's machinery to. They came out an fixed a servo motor fan on the warranty, and it has saved us many times. It is, in my opinion, very reasonable. A machine is a couple thousand per year. Plus we found a tech here in Oregon, to work on our machines. When I can I am going try and get the warranty on my personal machine. It will cover the servos, boards, etc...
On the downside, I am currently working on a 1984 VMC Fanuc 3M. The machine is really clean, and fortunately I have the manuals for the control. But, finding other bits and pieces of information I need can be a challenge. On the upside I am learning a lot. It is the same with a STAR Lathe with a Fanuc 3T. We have manuals, but there are a lot of little questions.
This is just my personal experience. I really like the HAAS' we have. But the Star lathe is an interesting challenge.
Parts for the 6M are probabally getting very thin now, plus machine wear is a consideration, things that often go overlooked on this machine is servo and spindle maintenance, especially if the brushes are not changed with a preventative maintenance program.
Another that often happens when purchasing older machines they do not come with parameters etc, and if not saved and stored, the M/C is dead in the water if they are lost in the future..
Al.
CNC, Mechatronics Integration and Custom Machine Design
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Albert E.
Funny thing, so the machine I was looking at wasn't doing a tool change. Told them to figure it out and I'll come see it. I follow up, and sure enough now the machine won't even boot up and is dead. I do have a fanuc 3L controller on an old lathe. I'll have to download the parameters.