MC LATHE

[jeff]

Our company is thinking about buying MC Lathe.

does anyone know any pros and cons versus the controls that already have conversation like the Okuma and Yasnac controls?

how versatile is mc lathe?

any input would be appreciated.

[PE @ IHS]

I can give you a pretty balanced view, since I spent years programming manually and am quite aware of the pros and cons of manual vs. CAM.

Despite what some of the diehard CAM lovers will tell you, it is important to know and understand manual programming. You are more "in tune" with a machine if you can program it manually.

 

However from a financial standpoint, CAM wins every time. Manual programming a FANUC lathe is quite easy and far more versatile than a FANUC mill. Despite all the canned cycles, macros and conversational controls available, there is no way that you can program a lathe as easily or as accurately as you do with CAM. The flexibility offered by CAM is enormous, and you no longer have to do any math calculations.

 

I am far from being a Mastercam expert, but I really like what I have seen so far in Mastercam Lathe. Lathe Entry is actually a great package for 2 axis machines, saving you $$ and still giving you tons of functionality. The grooving, part-off, as well as all other standard ops are clearly defined and easy to understand.

 

The new features in V9 such as tailstock, steady rest definition and the part flip featuer are quite handy, as is the improved stock and chuck setup.

 

Definitely a great tool!

 

Peter Eigler

[Trevor Bailey]

I could not agree more with Peter. I beleive that it is a must to have hands on training with any machine control before going to CAM. I really think that everyone should start on manuals, especially engineers. But thats another issue!?!?!

 

You will be very happy with MC Lathe. It has become very robust.

 

Enjoy,

[kccadcam]

. I really think that everyone should start on manuals, especially engineers.

 

LOL, I'll second that motion!!!

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

quote:

---

Despite what some of the diehard CAM lovers will tell you, it is important to know and understand manual programming. You are more "in tune" with a machine if you can program it manually.

---

I could not agree more. It is SOOOOOOOOOO important to understand the fundamentals because it allows you to piece the puzzle together in a more effective manner.

 

As for the Engineer crack, let's bring it to a vote!!!

 

CAM wins hands down every time in productivity, efficiency, and accuracy, and traceability, etc..... Lathe Entry is an Outstanding Value for what you get if you have a 2 Axis Lathe. And if you already have a seat of mill and bundle it with the seat of mill, it becaomes a "No Brainer". I taught myself how to use the Lathe Package in V8, V7 and V6 was VERY difficult to use but now it's a breeze.

 

JM2C for what it's worth.

[Chips Ahoy]

PROGRAM WITH CONVERSATIONAL SOFTWARE AT THE MACHINE? A BIG NO FROM ME. KEEP THAT MACHINE RUNNING AND SPITTING OUT PARTS AND PROGRAM OFF LINE. THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE MONEY IS TO KEEP THOSE MACHINES RUNNING. I WOULD HOPE OTHERS AGREE???

[kccadcam]

I totally agree Rick, keeping the spindles running is where the profit is. I like Mike Lynch's philosophy in "Maximizing CNC Utilization"

 

http://www.cncci.com/

 

Contents of book:

 

CNC machine time is expensive. And competition demands that you do everything in your power to stay ahead of the pack. Often the only difference between profit and loss is your company’s ability to do something a little faster or better than someone else. Here's a book that will help you take full advantage of all your CNC machines can do!

 

It's divided into eight sections:

 

Basic premises

Review of basics

Advanced implications of basic features

Advanced CNC features, functions, and concepts

Parametric programming

Setup time reduction

Cycle time reduction

Spindle probe programming

 

The more you can do off-line the better--programming, verification, tool presetting, etc.

Also, the machine operators can be setting up another machine if you run into long runtimes.

But the main thing is keep those spindles moving!

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Let's see, $50,000 on up for a CNC Lathe, pretty expensive CAM System if you ask me. For a few grand, you'll get maximization of your spindle time so you can make your payments.

[Kenneth Potter]

James has it right on the money.....Keep those spindal running!

 

Standing at the control punching in NC text is great practice but IT TIES UP THE MACHINE RUN TIME!..

 

Time for me to crack a cold one

 

[ 06-08-2002, 04:54 AM: Message edited by: Kenneth Potter ]

[jeff]

I totally agree with keeping the spindles turning as much as possible.

I have been programming cnc lathes for almost 15 years, and cnc mills for about 6.

And i also agree on the fact that people need to learn manually before jumping to the cad/cad part of it.

they should require at least 2-3 years of hands-on before anyone can become an engineeer!

 

Thanks all for the input!

[chris m]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I have to agree with the other guys about programming at the machine; no way! We run everything from Yasnac 2000G's with a bouncing-ball (no CRT, yuck!) to Fanuc 18T to Mazak Fusion MT to the newest Okuma (E100L) and none of them make any money while they sit still. The Fanuc and the Okuma have nice shop-floor programming capabilities, but unless you have no one in the office who can program, off-line is the way to go. The animation in the machine can work to your advantage (in machine-lock with the dry-run on, of course) to catch errors, but programming on the floor is slow and prone to distraction (not like I've tried it...).

 

C