MILL OR LATHE PROGRAMMING

[HEAVY METAL]

I don't have much experience on a lathe .All my experience is on mills. What is the forums opinion on which is harder to program a lathe or mill and which is harder to run

 

Heavy

[Harryman]

I'd say a mill is tougher because of more axes and operations.

[Noel]

I'd have to say it depends on the enginears and how imposible they make the part to build.There are easy and hard jobs for both mill and lathe.

 

 

Noel

[mayday]

not to highjack but,

 

you need to reverce post your monkey Heavy

 

is it just me or is he going backwards

[randy]

lathe is easy most programs can be done in 2d mills can be alot more challanging

[Philcott]

Heavy

 

Except for the 5 axis stuff I don't see one as being much tougher than the other. They both have their operations that can give you trouble but with experience and ingenuity can be conquered. I do mostly lathe work now, but have spent years on mills as well. I have been told by mill guys that the lathes are more difficult and lathe guys have told me mills are more difficult. I think it boils down to what you are familiar with. It is knowing machining principals and being able to know the process required to make the part that is the challenge.

 

May day,

 

The monkey is swinging to another drummer.

 

Phil

[Keith Graydon]

What Phil said ^^^^

[McRae]

With a Mill, The accuracy of the finished part is for the most part - Tool Dependant. On a Lathe, the program and the process of operations have a much greater influence on the finished component. I would suggest that a Lathe is a much more difficult machine to program and a MillTurn is the next and an Integrex 5ax is the HolyGrail of All. (Right Chris...)

[Jean-Simon]

+1 Phil, maybe lathe can seem easier to program on the screen but there's so much things to consider like tool position in turret (to make sure they won't crash the part) + you work closer from the chuck so you always ON THE EDGE. Finally I think it's all about being use to it.

 

Just my .02

 

 

Simon

[chris m]

quote:

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(Right Chris...)

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Integrex?!? What's an Integrex?!?

 

Integrex - Latin for unbelieveably expensive, petulant, boat anchor

 

Simon +1 on the tool clearance issues, we deal with that all of the time. I also find that I often need to be more creative on the lathe with tooling because of the limited amount of tools available in the machine.

 

Milling geometry is more complicated and difficult, no doubt, but the actual programming is often not super tough with 2-1/2, 3ax stuff.

 

C

[Tim Johnson]

A crash is usually louder on a lathe than a mill.

[Code_Breaker]

quote:

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is it just me or is he going backwards

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Looks backward to me also . . .

 

quote:

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The monkey is swinging to another drummer

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Where's the music . . .

 

Code_Breaker

[jspangler]

Hi

I'm in the same boat, and have heard that Lathes are easier to run, but I just got one here, and it's got me nervous!

 

At least the MC lathe software looks simple, once you get into it.

 

John

 

PS The monkey is swinging so FAST he just appears to be moving backwards, right?

[HEAVY METAL]

We have two okuma cnc lathes at the shop I work at. I would like to get a shot at programming them. We have a seat of the mc lathe but know one is using it. The owners son is head of the lathe dept and the operators know more than him.They do all the programming out at the control. They won't let anybody learn the lathe package because they don't to make the bosses son look bad. I have played around with the lathe package a little but mill is ny dept. Seems like it would take awhile to just learn all the insert geo. Well got to go for a bit. Lunch time

see ya Heavy

[jrykrl]

Both have their quirks.

+1 working close to the chuck, and then there's a long part that has to be supported on both sides!

3D milling, also a different animal. How to hold it when there's no flat side.,..

Jus Ramblin'

Jer

[chris m]

Hey Heavy, what do you have for Okuma lathes?

 

We have 4 Cadet LNC-8s with 5020L control, 4 Captain L370s with E100L, and an LT-15M with U100L

 

All are awesome machines

 

The programming is a bit different on the surface from a lathe with a Fanuc or Fanuc clone but the machines are fantastic to work with after you get used to it.

 

Lathe 9.1 is really a nice program and the MPLOKUMA post off of the new CD is really good except:

 

1) Retract reference points don't post after canned cycles. This is true for ALL lathe posts as far as I know. CNC Software knows this and has a fix available that works well.

 

2) The Misc Ops are not supported at all. As far as I know this is true for ALL lathe posts except MPLFAN. This is easy enough to fix by copying the entire section from MPLFAN and doing a few other small mods.

 

If you have any questions about the machines or the controls feel free to email me and I'll try to help you out

 

C

[HEAVY METAL]

Hey Chris

We have LB15(older) and a cadet L1420(newer)

[chris m]

OK, well the controls are pretty similar across the last 10 years or so; if you need anything lemme know

 

C

[HEAVY METAL]

Thanks Chris

[crazy^millman]

Well Crazy Guy is going to pop in here. I have ran boths and done 5 axis as well as Swiss Screw Machining with Live tooling pre Cam Programs if you don't include Mazatrol or the one Okuma has on their Controls. I find both to have their own changllegs and to be honest think the lathe is an easier machine to teach to people and run than a mill. I use to make anything from Bone Screwdrivers to SS sleeves with a .18 wall thinkness 11" long and hold .0005 all day long. I have made mill parts that should have been done on a lathe and they where 10 times harder than making them on the lathe cause we didnt or dont have a CNC lathe at this place or places I have worked.

 

It is a good point that it is all realtive to your experience. Me personally I would be learning lathe any and every chance I could. I am sorry to say but there are no promises about jobs any more. The more you know the more you can do and the easier it is to find a job. I would apporach with the son as a I would like to learn this for me and not to do your job just something i think is cool and something I would like to know. I would then bust my arse learning and knowing everything I can. This was how I learned the Wire EDM and my owner was the one running it and he gave the machines to me after 1 month.

 

The insert geomentry is the easy part dont let that hold you back. The hard part is thinking about order of operations for complicated parts on a lathe that require mill work afterwards. I look at it this way anyone can make a taper threaded stud but can anyone make the same stud with the same start point realative to a hex that is machined on the same part between to machines. The trick there would be to make the Hex frist. Then use 3 flat jaws to hold the Hex then make the threads from there. That seem simple but if you have never done it is it really that simple.

[P_Scott]

Heavy,

 

Mastercam Lathe consists of simpler toolpaths. Mill has more complex toolpaths but the tooling is much simpler. There are more tools and libraries in Lathe. Choosing a tool is easier than making one. That's the toughest thing in Lathe, making tools that aren't included in the libraries. Fortunately there are lots of tools included in a library. There are even manufacturer specific libraries in Mcam Lathe. Custom tools are the hardest thing to do with Lathe.

 

Mill has much more toolpath options. At least the part stays still while the tool spins and moves around it. A past colleague of mine used to say "It's unnatural for the part to spin while the tool stays still." That is a foreign concept to us "millmen". To those who "turn", it's second nature. I think after all is said and done, the differences between milling and turning tend to balance out. Programming with Mastercam definitely makes them both easy. HTH