Hey guys,
I would appreciate some help and advice on which brands of 5-axis CNC's represent the best value for money while remaining rigid at all points in the machining envelope without being pathetically slow.
So far i have whittled the list down to Anderson, Thermwood, iCAM, C.R. Onsrude and Northwood machinery. they all produce the size of 5-axis i am looking for (y=1500mm, x=3100 or 6000mm and z=1000 to 1200mm). However, i have never worked with 5-axis machines before and have only worked with our SCM Record 125, prior to that i was a student at uni. I want a liquid cooled spindle (not fussed if the bearings are ceramic or not), 12 tool auto changer, automatic tool length sensor, aluminium matrix vacuum work table and ideally a programmable control so i can get it to track machine usage, maintenance intervals, and tool life etc..
Please find attached more detailed specs and some questions i have sent out to the various suppliers i have found so far.
Am i missing out any vital things to take account of? Since no one in this company has had experience with 5-axis machines before either, i am relying on my research and logic.
We intend to use the machine to cut 3d furniture, MDF molds and formers, moldings, hand rails, fiberglass trimming, aluminum tooling for vac forming and trimming of those parts, and just about anything else we can throw at it once we come up with it!! ;-) We also want to do some 3D nesting as well. Effectively we intend to push it as hard as we have pushed our 3-axis.
I look forward to hearing all of your responses, they will be well received.
p.s: it would also be nice if you could tell me which brand of software you would use to program the machine and why.