newtonsapple
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- May 16, 2017
I am looking for options for cnc lathes suited for small diameter bar work. Most of the work I am looking to do is producing small volumes my own product. The primary parts are all custom configurations(1-3 pcs the same) within the a "family". This involves 440 or 17-4 stainless, turned OD (.125"-.5"), .375"-2" long, couple OD grooves, blind hole drilled 80% of the length (.025"-.30" ID) and a .010" smaller through hole. On the ones with really small drilled holes, the through hole may need to come from back after flipping or handing off the part to a sub spindle. Sometimes there will be bored profile in the id.
The priority is on minimizing operator setup and attendance time over cycle time. The goal is to be able to program and tool up 3-4 different parts and walk away once we are comfortable with running this family of parts. This way we can work on the next setup. Ideally I will figure out a set of tools that will work for most of these and can leave the turret full or maybe just swap some drills. I would be happy to leave the same .5" bar in the machine and just turn it down when needed.
The reason for bringing this low volume operation in house is to reduce lead times to a day or two. These parts will go on to get EDM'd details. This lathe may be used to produce electrodes in a similar manner, but I am still working out the requirements of what we will run for electrodes and if running graphite on this machine would be viable given our small volumes. Tolerances on electrodes would be a few tenths. I think i could come up with reasonably effective vacuum fixturing, but long term, things would be a mess. We will also produce other parts for our own use as it makes sense, but those aren't a strong reason for bringing this equipment in.
As far as machines I am thinking small slant bed turret lathe, collet chuck, sub spindle for pulling stock or maybe a bar feeder, tool eye, 5000+ rpm. For the small drills I might need some more rpm, those might need to be a live tool or in an air spindle. I would like to stay below $50K, so I am looking used.
This Hardinge seemed to tick a number of boxes, and seemed to be a decent deal, but sold while I was investigating the logistics: Hardinge T42SP super-precision CNC lathe w/ bar feed
Besides Hardinge, what should I be looking for? This will be my first CNC machine, point me in the right direction if I am out of line.
The priority is on minimizing operator setup and attendance time over cycle time. The goal is to be able to program and tool up 3-4 different parts and walk away once we are comfortable with running this family of parts. This way we can work on the next setup. Ideally I will figure out a set of tools that will work for most of these and can leave the turret full or maybe just swap some drills. I would be happy to leave the same .5" bar in the machine and just turn it down when needed.
The reason for bringing this low volume operation in house is to reduce lead times to a day or two. These parts will go on to get EDM'd details. This lathe may be used to produce electrodes in a similar manner, but I am still working out the requirements of what we will run for electrodes and if running graphite on this machine would be viable given our small volumes. Tolerances on electrodes would be a few tenths. I think i could come up with reasonably effective vacuum fixturing, but long term, things would be a mess. We will also produce other parts for our own use as it makes sense, but those aren't a strong reason for bringing this equipment in.
As far as machines I am thinking small slant bed turret lathe, collet chuck, sub spindle for pulling stock or maybe a bar feeder, tool eye, 5000+ rpm. For the small drills I might need some more rpm, those might need to be a live tool or in an air spindle. I would like to stay below $50K, so I am looking used.
This Hardinge seemed to tick a number of boxes, and seemed to be a decent deal, but sold while I was investigating the logistics: Hardinge T42SP super-precision CNC lathe w/ bar feed
Besides Hardinge, what should I be looking for? This will be my first CNC machine, point me in the right direction if I am out of line.