[dbuc]

Hello all,
I am trying to start a model making company and I will need a CNC machine for mold making.

I have been looking at different options and not sure if they can deliver the kind of detail I am looking for.

This is kind of the detail I will be looking to machine into an Aluminum mold, the head is 6 mm or 0.236" tall.

https://megabitzshop.com/bilder/prod...ren-Kopf-F.jpg

From the machines I have been looking most of them have a resolution of about 2~6 micron per step, but I don't know if they will create steps instead of a mirror finish.

I have an approximate capital of up to 5000€ and I am located in Ireland if that helps.

These are some of the machines I have been researching:

Taig Cmill

Roland SRM 20

Omnio CNC X4-800

Heiz High-Z S-400/T

Stepcraft 210

Eshapeoko

Pocket NC(The most promising one)

Any help will be appreciated including other machines that I might not have considered.

[armbrusterco]

The Roland SRM-20 is NOT made to machine aluminum.

The Roland MDX-540 is made to machine aluminum but is quite a bit more expensive.

I have the MDX-40A which also is NOT made to machine aluminum. Many jewelers, dental labs and artists use it to make wax models. They use the wax models to cast molds and then cast metals into the molds. The results are superb.

I think you could get excellent results using the SRM-20 with a wax model - cast mold - cast metal process.

[Tkamsker]

Hi i used an Heiz 400 t for doing molds it was Slow but worked if it is about finnish i recommend closed Loop system i Can Tell the difference at Our machines Even they Are above your Budget Look at Thojomech smart cnc leistbare cnc maschinen


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[awerby]

Most of those machines are routers, but for precise work in metals, you really need a mill. The only mill on your list is the Taig,(assuming you meant to write "Taig CNC mill".) It will do most of what you want, but for the finest details you might want to modify it with a faster spindle, since its top speed with the standard setup is 10,000 RPM, and tiny tools tend to want more spindle speed. The PocketNC is an interesting machine, but its main advantage, the 5th axis, isn't going to help you make molds, which want to have undercuts eliminated. It doesn't seem like it's really going to be rigid enough to do an outstanding job with metals, but the lost-wax method outlined above would probably work pretty well.

Even molds made on much more expensive machines than the ones you're considering normally need to be polished by hand before being put into service, to eliminate unwanted toolmarks. The step resolution, which is largely theoretical, isn't the issue; it comes down to the basic geometry of a ball-end cutter, which will always produce tiny "cusps" between passes of the tool. The smaller the tool diameter is, the closer these passes need to be spaced in order to produce a smooth surface. Eventually it takes too long to be worthwhile, and people resign themselves to a certain amount of hand work, especially for artistic pieces like the one you show.

[Bob Shaw]

I was offered a German (Swiss?) machine made by Isdel some time ago with super high resolution for £1200.

I'm not sure if they still make cnc routers but it was really small stuff. I think the work area was maybe 5" sq which is why I didn't buy it.