Goldorak - You hit it on the head. We are between 25-32 parts per edge now. We are probably lucky. We bid the job correctly at this tool life. It was concerning when the inserts recommended by tech support were not lasting more than 4-10 parts.

There is info on what speed/feed to run tools in various materials but not an approximate tool life if they are ran at those speeds. At least nothing I am aware of. Does anyone know of any? Thanks everyone.

I appreciate the suggestions:

We are getting better tool life at a feed of .008 than we did at .004.

JLW - I will look into Seco, Thanks

Newbeeee - I don't have a 1.5 mm cut off tool to try.

C^Millman - I don't have a C axis lathe unfortunately

mkd - I have been unable to locate a cermet or ceramic parting off option

civiceg - The insert has  a .01 wear flat (after about 10-15 parts) on the front edge of the insert. Small amount of wear on the sides

We are struggling to part off Monel K 500 and l am looking for suggestions. I have worked with our Iscar rep and tech support but only getting about 4-10 parts per insert edge. The material had an OD of 2" and an ID of 1.06 and a part length of .15. Inserts we have tried are TAGN2J IC808 and TAGN2C IC808. Speed has been in the 70-90 sfm and feed of .002-.008. Does anyone have other first hand recommendations for this material? Other Brands of parting tools or grades? We have 2500 parts to wrestle with. Thanks.

I have a customer that is requesting shoulder washers with .010 wall. This seems too thin for G10 fiberglass and would crack or chip. Anyone have any experience machining to this thickness? From a best practice point of view, is there a minimum thickness to machine to on fiberglass or phenolics? Thanks.

Thank You all for your comments. The Y axis wedge on the Okuma is something I'm not familiar with so I appreciate your comments. Has anyone had experience with the Mitsubishi Control? My experience was on a Wire EDM 15 years ago but not since or ever on a lathe. Thanks again!

We are looking at possibly replacing a 1998 Hardinge Super Precision T-42 with Big Bore option, live tooling and sub-spindle. We have received quotes on a Hardinge Conquest T-51 that has sub spindle, live tooling and a Y Axis and Mitsubishi M720V control. A while ago we received a quote for an Okuma LB3000EX-II/800-MYW with similar features. I am being told the Y axis on the Okuma functions differently but I'm not sure if one is better over the other.  We have 2 Hardinge Conquest lathes from the 1998 vintage and an Okuma Genos 250 that is 2 yrs old.  Has anyone had experience with these? Pro? Con? Thanks for you comments.

Purchasing has been approached by this company and they would like me to look into their product. We are using Helical Solutions mostly. Promotions come and go but is this worth looking into? I don't see this listed on the forum when searched. Thanks.

Thank You everyone for your comments. I had never heard of the abrasive from a water jet process being embedded into the surface but needed to hear from the experts. Once again.....I am impressed with the level of help this form provides! Much appreciated!

We plan to have some larger parts precut on a water jet and leave about .10 on the surface and finish off on our machining center. Has anyone had problems finish machining parts that have been rough cut by a water jet? Any problems with abrasive being embedded in the material and chewing up cutters? Thanks for any comments!

Not sure if this belongs in this forum but....we are seeking someone to design fixture(s) and program parts for an Okuma MB-4000H Horizontal Machining Center. This is a new machine and we have more work than we can handle. Need someone experienced but could be on our site or on a contract basis. We have around 10-15 different part numbers to bring online. Contact [email protected]  Thank You

Thanks Newbeeee. My bad. I appreciate the help.....and the humor!! Honestly! I have learned soooo much on this forum that I don't want to overlook anything!!

RaiderX...Thank for the tip!

Newbeeee.......That is interesting. I wasn't thinking of a 1/8" ball mill as a very versatile tool. What comes to my mind (now) as possibilities are small surfacing, chamfer, possibly spot drilling. Are there others?

It's unanimous. It looks like I was over-thinking this.

Thanks everyone!!

When organizing tools within a horizontal, does it make any sense to (initially anyway) organize by diameters? Or by reach? Is there strategies I should be thinking about now as we are just starting down this journey?

Thanks.

Thanks for the input everyone. The goal is to get a steady stream of complete assemblies each week rather than a large number of parts for a few part numbers. So it is planned that each tombstone face will likely have a different part number. Some faces will actually have multiple part numbers.

Sticky - Could you elaborate on your experience with 6 sided tombstones? I also appreciate your comment on the aluminum tombstone.

Crazy - I have spent some time with the applications dept but there seemed to be a lack of familiarity with these types of questions. They know the machine, but I believe there is a greater breadth and depth on this forum for practical, real world considerations. It also gives me additional questions to ask them as well.

Foghorn - I have followed the advice of you (and others) on this forum and we did pop for a 30" pad for this machine. It's our first horizontal and I wanted do it right. We are transitioning from Haas VMC's....and it will be interesting I'm sure.

We are receiving a new Okuma MB-4000H in about a month. This is our first horizontal and need to select a few tombstones. We will start off with just 2 pallets and an additional 4 pallet pool will show up in about 4-5 months. Almost all our work will be aluminum on this machine and planning to build replaceable fixture plates to mount on each face located on common tooling pin locations and bolted to the face of the tombstone. So questions:

Is it a "best practice" to buy tombstones without holes and plan to add the tool pins and tapped holes on the machine?

Is it best to stay with cast iron for something like this or go with the aluminum to save wear and tear on the machine?

Tombstone supplier recommendations?

Initially I'm looking at a 4 sided pallet for mid sized parts and a 6 sided pallet for our smaller parts.

Thanks for any and all input!

Thank You all for your comments. I thought this approach might be a lot of thunder and a lot of lightning, but no rain!

I appreciate it.

Not sure I'm in the correct forum here. I recently received an email soliciting "requests for quote" from them to do machining work. Anybody have SUCCESSFUL experience with this type of bidding process? I'm skeptical about this and I'm interested to hear of pros and cons. Thanks for any comments.

Another good option

http://www.seastrom-mfg.com/

Thanks for the input. I will look at Vektek.

Chris, how do you feel about the Mini Vices for something like this? Have you used them?

Input is appreciated!

I'm looking to build some fixtures that will include hydraulic actuated cylinders to pull below wedge clamps similar to Mitee-Bite or Mini Vice. Has anyone built this type of fixture and can offer any recommendations on small diameter pull type hydraulic cylinders? Thanks for any suggestions.

Clamp Example.PDF

K2csq7: We are in Idaho. Rep is in Utah

K2csq7: I have asked for a quote from our Mazak rep which is about 3.5 hrs away. It has been about a month but no response. I really appreciate the comments from everyone.

Thank You everyone! I will look into Doosan. Not familiar with them but I appreciate the recommendation!!

I am looking for a CNC Lathe recommendation to run small parts (1.75" dia and under) on materials that range from nylon to stainless in quantities of 100-1000 day after day. These parts are not complicated. Think Spacers or washers and have tolerances of ±.005 (±.002 as the tightest). We have been using an older Mazak Quick Turn 8 but we would like to replace it before she takes her last gasp. Any recommendations are appreciated.