O/T looking for a CNC mill $35K and under?

[Jimbo007]

I am looking for some feedback, i am going to be buying another CNC mill. i made the mistake of not asking around the first time and bought a Mighty machine and it has been the WORST thing i have ever done. Most of my work is alum. and some 1018 MS. I dont want to spend more that $35. Any directions on where to go? i have looked at the Haas mini mill and the Sharp. How is the Fadal? i have always heard good things but not sure on their small machines. Hurco? any others? would it be better getting a used machine? anyone have one that they want to get rid of? thanks

[MetalMarvels]

I have had good use out of my Fadal 3016L these past 3 years - but I would like to have gotten it for $35k..... You might be able to come up with a Fadal in that range - but it probably needs a fair amount of work after 5 or more years use....

[BernieT]

Used Haas or some reasonable iron with a Centroid control.

[Teh Bear without Brains kinda idiot]

Look toward First CNC company

My friend will recieve one in a couple of days and from our checking it looks good for a money . First CNC mills

HTH

[cvomooney]

check out sharp mini mill

[cadist]

Is any korean or taiwanease machine possible for you. Here in my region Feeler and Pinnacle are very famous. Also you I would like to advise you to check for Indian machines like BFW.

JMHOOC.

[Matthew]

I have a First CNC mill too. 24x12x18" travels, 8000 rpm, coolant, full enclosure, automatic lubrication system, listed at $47000 CDN at the time.

[Scott Bond]

Hi

What size is your Mighty, what are you going to do with it?

[billystein]

I have used the 20x15 fadals and I really love them. they have the box ways and seem to not wear out like the larger fadals. I realize this could change if you overload them. I was using 3 of them at my last job and found the maintainance to be less than the 4020's and much less than the 8030's. they are very accurate and don't lose that as fast as the larger machines.

[Roger Peterson]

I would say Haas mini mill, fadal mini mill, milltronics mini mill. I don't know if they will be under 35k but around 35k for sure. If you are going to do aluminum you will want it enclosed so you can blast coolant. There are quite a few "toolroom" style mills with no enclosure that are pretty cheap with toolchangers. Don't the sharps use acu-rite controls? If so do a search, these controls have been covered a few times. There are some very restrictive things about that controller that you need to be aware of.

 

 

HTH

[Jimbo007]

on my Mighty its a 40 X 20 X 20. the sharp that i am looking at has a Funuc

[ty]

You could try watching the Haas website in the pre-owned section. We bought our mill and lathe used, they were demo machines. We paid $30k for our VF2.

ty

[SWIND1]

Go to www.equip-mart.com snd request a free issue.

It is a full magazine of used machine tools, many with prices. Start comparing resale prices, this usually indicates quality to a degree.They usually have many machines listed by various dealers for under $35,000.

[Scott Bond]

Do yuo want to keep your Mighty its a 40 X 20 X 20 ?

[PE @ IHS]

Personally, I would stay away from any of the new "mini" type machines. You are greatly limited in travel, especially Z once you take your tool and vise into consideration. Toolchange times tend to be slow, and vibration will be an issue if you try to take a "real" cut.

 

You would probably be better off to buy a 2-3 year old VMC for the same price with a proper side mount toolchanger, 40 taper spindle, and a reasonably user friendly controller (read NO Cincinnati)

 

Taiwanese machines such as First, Dah Lih, Fortune and Yang seem to be decent for the money. So are most American makes like Haas and Fadal. Japanese machines are probably the best, but out of the price range you mentioned.

[rex miller]

if you ask the Fadal dealer abought a

remanufactured mill. i heard their as good as a new one. If you want a new controller tell them

you want a colar screen. You get a new one for

$500.00. the price should be around $35,000

[Don S at Barefoot CNC South]

Hi,

I would check out the Haas Toolroom mill with coolant tank and enclosure we have 2 of them allready.

Don S

[jackn]

hey peter ....hows the blue jays doing?

kinda hard to keep up with northern news from this side of the equator ..lol

anyways....jimbo...you might want to take a look at some new Daewoo machines.....cheap and nasty ....but the got some power as well...im sure they are very cheap on the north american market as they are trying to break into it

[Matthew]

One of the main reasons I didn't go with the Haas was the limited travel on the Z axis. They have 10" of Z travel, so if you take into account a vice 3-4" off the table, a part sticking out 1", and a tool with a gauge length of 4-5" (ER Collet chuck with a drill in it) then you have very little clearance height.

 

That is why we went with the First VMC, 18" of Z travel standard.

[Teh Bear without Brains kinda idiot]

+1000 to Matthew !

Same arguments here .

:sorry: Not to hijack a thread ,what to expect first two years of service and some general details and your impression of using it ,Matthew?

[Roger Peterson]

The 10" of Z travel is a definate limitation. The milltronics mini has 20" of Z travel. Since you are machining aluminum I doubt that rigidity would be much of an issue.

 

 

HTH

[Matthew]

My only problem's with this machine was some wires coming loose inside the panel, and then "tool release button" on the front came loose (not the wires, the physical button). Maybe too much vibrations, maybe I ran it a bit too hard on a couple jobs, I don't know. But I haven't had a service call since within the first few months. The only wire that came loose was to control the coolant pump. Luckily for me, the service guy lives 5 minutes down the road so I had it fixed in no time.

 

Don't leave a tool in the spindle overnight if that machine has run continuously for the day. It will stick. I broke the "tongs" that hold the tool in the umbrella tool changer. They are only plastic BTW, but I have not broke any since that first pair.

 

The VMC300 which I bought is a bare-bones machine. In order to get the cost down they disabled some functions. The first one I noticed was the 120V plug next to the RS232 port.

 

The coolant pump alarm is not hooked to the alarm page in the control. It makes a loud beeping noise to let you know and it does stop the machine, but my other machine says "Waylube Low", the first VMC does not. Little things like that.

 

Overall, the enclosure is very nicely done. The edges line up like they are supposed to. I guess I'm saying the FIT and FINISH is A+.

 

All box ways. I'm very happy with the machine for what it is doing. I have done UHMW, 1018, 4140 HT, A2, Stainless on it. I would buy another one.

 

It could do with a chip auger. Scooping chips out with a dust pan is time consuming.

 

That's all I can think of at the moment. If you have any more specific questions ask away.

 

HTH.

[billystein]

Jimbo,

There are some guys that rebuild and sell used Fadals and will give you a service agreement. They are qualified technicians and I have used their service many times. They actually offered me a rebuilt 6030 with a 1 year service agreement for about $50k. And they are local.

[Trevor Bailey]

billystein - please post that info.

[TheePres]

I have source for completely rebuilt FADALS for $25k range. E-mail me for info.