Yesterday I went to take a look at a Hitachi Seiki VA-55 II VMC. The craigslist ad listed a $2000 offer price which seemed way too low for a VMC so I had to take a look even though I'm not ready for a VMC at the moment. Before I left I did a little research on the machine and the specs are as follows:
X Travel: 41"
Y Travel: 22"
Z Travel: 22"
Table Size: 60" x 20"
Box Ways
15HP Spindle
5000 RPM
CAT 50 Taper
30 Tool ATC
Functioning 4th Axis (Don't have much information but it appears to be extremely heavy duty)
Machine Height: 11'
Width: 12'6"
Depth: 15'
Weight: 20,000lbs
Not having a lot of experience working this large mills, in person this thing is huge! Way too large for any homegamer unless you happen to have a 15' x 15' door and concrete floor capable of holding a 10 ton machine. That said I couldn't help but think this machine was a crazy bargain at $2000. I left the guy's shop wondering how I could make it work. After mulling it over I forlornly decided that I just don't have the time to deal with the machine, although I'm pretty confident a nice profit could be made with a bit of work. At the very least one could discard everything on the machine make a custom VMC with more rigidity than pretty much anything.
I'm sure this will be someone's hidden gem, but I unfortunately have to pass on it. I'd be interested in hearing what you guys think of the machine and it's worth.