Bridgemill type recomendations?

[FTI2007]

Boss came around and said we got the ok to spend some money on machines. We have been talking about a a bridge mill  or similar machine so we can do the frames we currently farm out since we do not have the capacity to handle in house.   Looking for machine that can handle  about a 84" x 120"+.  But we are a small shop with only haas and fadal machines.  We dont need anything high precision or high speed for this machine. If haas made one I am sure that is what we would buy.  We only run one shift and it would not even be running all day alot of times since the same operator would run this and one other machine as needed.  The boss mentioned Viper   http://www.mightyviper.com      which I have never heard of.  I am just hoping someone can chime in with some info or suggestions. I think he said the vipers were around 300k and thats probably pushing our budget already so I know we are expecting alot  for not much money.   Thanks  

[RRICH]

    The only experience we have with a Viper is a VTL we bought brand new 3 years ago.  It has an 80" swing, C axis and live tooling with Fanuc controls. We don't use the live tooling because of horsepower and rigidity. Machine has plenty of turning power and smooth, .50" depth of cut no problem.

     We have a very serious issue with this machine, when we move the rail up or down it tapers no matter what we do. Cuts .030" to .050" taper in 24", we always have to spend a couple of hours to align it. Many people have tried to repair including the factory, same thing. We have a machine builder coming in this year to disassemble and rebuild the wedge lock design on the rails.

     If you look at the woodworking forum in here you'll find people talking about what they feel are good routers.

   Good luck

Russ

[FTI2007]

another one they are looking at is a   Amera-Seiki    http://www.ameraseikicnc.com/    

 

We would not be doing and heavy milling with them. Only light milling of pads and drilling holes etc.  aluminum and steel.

[gcode]

_{We purchased a Toyoda (120 x 65 x 39) about 9 months ago}

_{It came with a very heavy duty programmable right angle head.}

_{So far the machine has been rock solid... not a single minute of downtime since it came online.}

_{My only regret is we should have bought a bigger one.}

_{I have had some experience with Mighty Vipers. About the only use I can see for them is they make excellent}

_{artificial reefs.} 

[TheePres]

-1 on the Viper here also. Along same budget but much better machine is the Yama Seiki.

[civiceg]

We have a 120 x 60 x 30 Viper. 50 taper with a 6000 rpm spindle. Its been a good machine, not the fastest but it has always done what it needed to do. Viper installer knew what they were doing unlike other MTB we have been dealing with. Any real specific questions feel free to PM me, we have had it for over 4 years.

[FTI2007]

whats a ball park  number on the toyoda.  I am assuming they are out of our league but still curious.

[gcode]

whats a ball park  number on the toyoda.  I am assuming they are out of our league but still curious.

$480k  but we added on the right angle head and  a 170 station tool magazine

[Guest MTB Technical Services]

Take a look at Doosan if money is a consideration.

It's FAR better than a Mighty Viper.

Getting service for a Viper if you're not in SoCal is tough.

 

Amera-Seiki is actually a very good machine as well and also much better than Mighty Viper.

Made in Taiwan for a US company in Iowa.

http://www.ameraseikicnc.com/

 

OKUMA Bridge Mills are top notch with a price tag to go along with them.

I've been told they make more than any other machine tool builder worldwide.

There is no doubting the quality.

[YoDoug®]

Take a look at Doosan if money is a consideration.

It's FAR better than a Mighty Viper.

Getting service for a Viper if you're not in SoCal is tough.

 

Amera-Seiki is actually a very good machine as well and also much better than Mighty Viper.

Made in Taiwan for a US company in Iowa.

http://www.ameraseikicnc.com/

 

OKUMA Bridge Mills are top notch with a price tag to go along with them.

I've been told they make more than any other machine tool builder worldwide.

There is no doubting the quality.

 

Most builders average 20-30 large bridgemills per year. Okuma builds up 20 per month, maybe more now. Another thing that Okuma does is full assembly for fit and functionality at the factory. They are not fitting and finding issues on your floor. This also cuts the install time to 4-5 weeks average. 

[Joe788]

Since you're looking at the lower end, check out YCM as well. No opinion on their double column machines, but a buddy of mine has a bunch of their 40x20 verticals and loves them.

 

http://www.ycmcnc.com/english/01_products/01_list.php?cid=2&id=22

[FTI2007]

thanks for all the info guys.   Price is the biggest thing for management.

[Allan]

Quickmill http://www.quickmill.com/index.php/quickmill-products  ?