PaulT
Stainless
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2002
- Location
- Brisbane, CA, USA
I've been planning to move up at some point from my current CNC knee mill to a Haas TM1 with the tool changer option.
Since the use is for prototyping and just small runs, I prefer an open machine, since during the prototyping process the parts come on and off the machine often for measurements and trial fits and trial usage and then revisions. On my current machine to avoid the coolant mess with the open machine I use the Trico Micro-Drop system and it works well.
But apparently the new TM1's are now only available fully enclosed to make them CE compliant. Incredibly, even the units without tool changers are fully enclosed.
CE compliance is a European standard, its not required in the US. The enclosure also adds around 3 grand to the TM1 cost.
In the past the entry level TM1 was a good deal compared to CNC knee mills which cost about the same price, with the TM1 you got a much better machine for about what a CNC knee mill costs.
Now that's not the case anymore, the TM1 price is much higher and you have to put up with working with an enclosure, which is especially insane if you bought the version without a tool changer.
What is Haas thinking with these changes? I think I sold a couple of TM1's for them by recommending them in the past to users looking for good prototyping machines, but I won't be making those recommendations anymore, and I guess I'll looking for a different brand of machine to move up to for my shop.
Paul T.
Power Technology
Since the use is for prototyping and just small runs, I prefer an open machine, since during the prototyping process the parts come on and off the machine often for measurements and trial fits and trial usage and then revisions. On my current machine to avoid the coolant mess with the open machine I use the Trico Micro-Drop system and it works well.
But apparently the new TM1's are now only available fully enclosed to make them CE compliant. Incredibly, even the units without tool changers are fully enclosed.
CE compliance is a European standard, its not required in the US. The enclosure also adds around 3 grand to the TM1 cost.
In the past the entry level TM1 was a good deal compared to CNC knee mills which cost about the same price, with the TM1 you got a much better machine for about what a CNC knee mill costs.
Now that's not the case anymore, the TM1 price is much higher and you have to put up with working with an enclosure, which is especially insane if you bought the version without a tool changer.
What is Haas thinking with these changes? I think I sold a couple of TM1's for them by recommending them in the past to users looking for good prototyping machines, but I won't be making those recommendations anymore, and I guess I'll looking for a different brand of machine to move up to for my shop.
Paul T.
Power Technology
