[j3dprints]

Hi all, after reading and watching a few owner testomonials on the internet (particularly Haas's page) I'm looking at purchasing a BF20LV mill in Australia. I am just getting into machining and this will be my first mill.

Are they accurate machines in terms of table flatness, spindle runout, and other important parameters? I approached a vendor here and his response was "specify what you need and we'll find a machine in the warehouse to match those specs". But as a newbie I'm unsure of what to ask for. I could ask for absolutely zero runout and a table flatter than a grade a surface plate but I realise that's ridiculous. On the flipside, I'm not sure what's reasonable.

Could any veterans/owners give me a list of things I should ask for in the particular BF20 I'm getting, in terms of specs and perhaps other common problems to look out for? Thanks.

[arizonavideo]

You will get a out of the box mill from a re seller.

Most the time all is OK but you may need to work on the fit of the Gib strips, sand out some high spots on the ways and adjust and grease the preload on the spindle bearings if they are too tight.

Most tables are +- .003" and spindle runout is under .002" which is fine.

They come with a spec sheet which I bet have nothing to do with the mill you receive.

[j3dprints]

You will get a out of the box mill from a re seller.

Most the time all is OK but you may need to work on the fit of the Gib strips, sand out some high spots on the ways and adjust and grease the preload on the spindle bearings if they are too tight.

Most tables are +- .003" and spindle runout is under .002" which is fine.

They come with a spec sheet which I bet have nothing to do with the mill you receive.

Thanks for the advice.

As I said, the head salesman has offered to get one of his staff to go over a machine, I will ask that he just ensures it matches at least these specs. You mean the table is out by a total of 0.006" from its highest to lowest point, correct?

The brochure does say though that it has ""Tapered roller bearing · Excellent concentricity ≤ 0.015 mm measured at the sleeve spindle"., which seems better than 0.002" if it's the same measurement?

Another person I asked said to ensure you can at least "work to 0.005 inch".

They look like nice machines for the price. The BF16 looks a little small and light for milling steel, which was the other model I was considering.

[arizonavideo]

They are nice mills for the price. How close you can get a part is really more your skill than the mill. The mill will have flex and if CNC be out of tram and some backlash in some way. Planing a bunch of parts that need .0001" to fit is not a real good idea. Staying inside a .005" window for a 5" part is not too hard.

The main thing is the ways and they will need a bit of work most the time.

[lcvette]

If the Danes guy said they'd find you a machine to fit your request, request the moon and get the best unit they have. .002" on spindle is excessive. So is .006" on the table. Mine was much better then that and we a random ship. Think it was .0015" end to end and 0.0002 front to back which is great. Never any away from asking for the best if offered the opportunity. I would request the dovetails be inspected to be sure there are no right side on X and Z particularly. Make sure that there is no so in the table with the gibs adjusted for no tight spots!

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[jmosley]

I have a bf20 and a tormach 770. I installed a dros pro DRO on the bf20 that was about $1200.. I couldn't really get accurate results without it because of the poor handle controls and backlash. I do like the bf20 for simple operations in wood plastic and aluminum in addition to having a cnc- sometimes the manual machine is just faster, I wish I had gone for the wider travel in x.. I have been able to do some work in stainless on it with smaller windmills but compared to the tormach I can tell its way too light and under powered


Other issues is that the drawbar was not threaded very well, the tapered collets are a little difficult to find in the United States, the lock downs in the y are always in the way of x travel (I replaced them, you can't get the spindle all the way down to the table without using the drill press function but those handles are always in the way and hitting the table ; and my bf20 sticks a lot at the top of the z travel. The readout on the control for the motor went out in the first 3 months (easy swap-out). I still do like the machine though.

[j3dprints]

Icvette: Thanks, I will ask for a max 0.0015" end to end and 0.0002" front to back difference in height. This would mean max 0.04mm and 0.005mm max tolerances for these dimensions respectively.

What do you mean about 'no right side on X and Z particularly?'. I am not sure how to interpret this.
Also "no so in the table"? Do you mean no slop?

Again thanks for your replies.

Jmosley I think the BF20 represents a 'sweet spot' in price/performance here in Aus but I could be wrong. I think a Tormach would set me back at least 5x the price so its out of the question. Currently the BF20 is $1590, but for $2200 I am tempted to get the next model up with 220mm on the Y, as opposed to 175mm which the BF20 has.

[jmosley]

It's nice to have a little more width because you can have a vise mounted on one side and still use the table a bit on the right. The dro is so important because you can return to the same position.. imagine drilling four holes, then counter sink accurately. Before the dro I had to switch the tool 8 times and had to run through all kinds of tricks to get consistent depth. After the dro I could do all holes, then come back for the countersinking.


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[j3dprints]

I've done some more reading and some people who went for a G0704 have regretted not going for a Rung Fu 45. I started searching for one then realised the model in the same dealership in my part of the world may be a clone? - M123 | HM-46 Mill Drill - Geared & Tilting Head | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au It didn't look as nicely finished as the Optimum, but now I'm really unsure of the best choice. There's also a slightly larger optimum M652 | MH-28V Mill Drill - Geared & Tilting Head | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au that looks like a BF20 upgrade. Hrmrmrm.. On the upside he agreed to try to match the specs I listed here, just said email em through when I'd decided on a model.

[atomarc]

Just a wee bit curious on this. Is a salesman actually going to go out into a warehouse, dig through a bunch of machines hunting for one with only a .0002 deviation on one axis! That's real customer service....?

Stuart