Purchasing New CNC

[dan240]

Hello All,

I am looking to purchase a CNC Mill for our R&D facility. We would like at least a 4 axis Mill with something around a 12" working area. We machine all sorts of materials from stainless to plastics. The machine is not planned to be used for production, mostly one-off's.

We use Solidworks around here so it would need software that is well matched.

I only have about a $50k budget which would need to include a good majority of the tooling.

I've included a link to a new machine I was browsing. It looks like its about ~$20k. It would probably be suitable but seems a little undersized/underpowered. It would probably fine, but my budget would allow for something bigger/better maybe even with a 5th axis...(?)

http://www.tormach.com/Product_PCNC_packages_deluxe.html

Some options and advice would be greatly appreciated. Maybe a used Haas....

Best,
Dan

 

[saberblue]

There are a lot of good "low milage" used machines on the market at the moment -- you might get a lot more for your $ that way. Most used machines come with the tooling package while new machines the tooling package is an extra cost option. Some of the builders have repo machines so you might want to try that route as well.


A.R. "Andy" Nelson
Engineering Consultant
anelson@arnengineering.com

 

[Compositepro]

What is the advantage of CNC for one-offs versus a manual mill?

 

[petman]

Compositepro,

It is usually difficult, if not impossible, to machine a 3D shape using a manual mill.

 

[saberblue]

I used them to do all sorts of testing and could repeat certain moves with great precision reducing the variables in the testing

A.R. "Andy" Nelson
Engineering Consultant
anelson@arnengineering.com

 

[ornerynorsk]

The mill you provided a link to is little more than a toy, and I believe it is only 3 axis. As was suggested previously, the market is ripe with good used machinery at reasonable prices, yours for the picking! It is the software that will set you back, plan in the 10 to 20K $ range, depending on how fancy you wish to have.

 

[tripleZ]

Check a couple of the machine auction sites. American Axle was just liquidating literally buildings of machinery from their Detroit plant. They're not the only ones doing this. The market has a ton of surplus, even in specialized machinery. Same goes for inspection equipment and the like.

 

[unclesyd]

I second the used/reconditioned approach as you can get more bang for your buck. Just remember you can do a little job with a big machine, but not a big job on a little machine. Also remember that the first job you are given will be at least 125% of the machine's capacity.

 

[dicer]

The best machines will be Matsuura, Morie seiki, Okuma.
There are good deals on new machines like Hyundai Kia which seems a good bang for the buck machine, and Haas is okay with a good easy user friendly control.
And agree with the good used machines too. With new you get some support though.

 

[billetcnc]

You've "only" got a $50k budget and your looking at machines that ornerynorsk correctly referred to as a toy? Defo check out the dedicated machine tool auction sites for second hand. If limited on space Haas and I believe others produce mini mills that would meet your requirements.

 

[robs68charger]

I do some side work for my friends designing parts. We actually bought the Tormach. It was and is my first experience with doing CNC machining. It is pretty good, but has its draw backs. It won't machine as fast as the "big dogs", does not have a pallet, and has a smaller table then other machines. It is true what they say about buying a used machine. A used good machine is very reasonable now and can even be used for small productions if need be. Looking back now I wish we would have hunted more for a good used machine. Who knows maybe when we get more money we will.