[BAMCNC.COM]

I have a need for a CNC Lathe, but am holding out for Tormach's Lathe, so until then I have thought of a temp solution, that some of us can use.

I bought MSM Mill-Turn, I have an ATC, and plenty of Tool Holders. My thoughts are to load up the ATC with raw stock, this would be the "bar feeder".

So questions before I start, lets say my part is 3/8" Titanium rod stock, and my part is 1" long. How long could I get away with for stickout to make decent parts, could I get 2 parts out of each tool holder? Meaning 20 parts total out of the ATC at one shot.

Thoughts?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

2" Stickout on 3/8" stock is going to be mighty "flexy". You might get away with it using very light cuts, but I'd try just one at a time, and see how that works first.

Regards,
Ray L.

[UniqueMachining]

Ditto with Ray L.

"Ballpark" rule of thumb says 2 to 5 times finished diameter of stock, depending on material rigidity, RPM, spindle runout, DOC,etc.
Based on that 2 parts would exceed the rule. If specs are loose and you used light cuts, might squeak by. Trade off will be increased time to cut vs. time to load stock in tool holders.

John

[Jabs1542]

Different but related question - Are you using Tormach's locked down version of Mach 3 or did you upgrade (it appears that MSM Mill-Turn does not work with Tormach's locked down Mach 3)? If you did up grade, what version are you using (I assume you find it stable)? Or are you running multiple versions of Mach 3?

My mill is barely 3 months old and I would like to maintain the warranty and support that I am getting with their locked down Mach 3, however I am very interested in MSM Mill-Turn.

Thanks for any insight - Jay

[SCzEngrgGroup]

MSM Mill-Turn works only with fairly current versions of Mach3 (within the last two years or so) - the requirements are spelled out on the Mill-Turn web page. Several features were added to Mach3, and several bugs fixed, to enable Mill-Turn, and MSM itself, to work properly.

Regards,
Ray L.

[rlockwood]

Would you use a 3/8" HSS cutter extended 2" from the collet nose? Then consider the increased point pressure that occurs with a turning tool...... And finally calculate the difference in beam deflection between HSS and Ti.. At the least, you would have a difficult time getting the "bottom" part to match the "top" one.

The other issue is usually with material utilization; you'll be wasting an awful lot of stock in each collet, where generally you could feed the bar further along. I've made use of VMC's in this way before, but ultimately it winds up rather wasteful, even when the length:diameter ratio is fine, you typically waste twice as much material in the collet as what you use sticking out. Ideally, you would then re-chuck each part the other direction (holding the first turned part) to get your second one.

Don't be afraid to outsource though; its great being in control all the time, but its often smarter to let someone with the proper equipment handle a job easily than for you to struggle with it due to improper equipment.

[BAMCNC.COM]

Well I know a guy named Rob with a CNC Lathe. :P

As for the Tormach Mach3, well.. good question, I bought the mill-turn license, but that is as far as I went, I still have alot to learn about it. So I can't answer that one, but I know other Tormach owners are doing just fine with it.