Has anyone ran one of these mills? How does it perform when cutting 303 and 304 stainless? Any issues with the controls 21iM, or the toolchanger? I just got a quote on a nice looking 2003 with low hours, and just want some info.

I guess no has ran one or owned one.

PM VMCMAN or call Methods tech department directly. Your question may have just not spark anyone's interest. These machines are 30 taper, most people wouldn't use such a machine for milling 303/304. The Methods website has a RoboDrill milling some 303, needless to say, didn't look or sound very good with a big facing holder.

The Robodrills are very good machines from everything I've heard. I haven't heard any bad stories, even old auction machines are considered good finds. Frank Mari picked up a couple a month or two ago, he was very happy, and they were 1995 vintage IIRC.

The Drill/Tap/Mill machines seem to be in fairly good shape over time, I attribute that to their intended use. If you *don't* try to use it as a hardcore VMC, you won't screw it up or be disappointed. If you use it for some light milling (less than .1 DOC) keep in mind that it may shorten the life of some of the components.

They are great machines. If you use it for parts with lots on holes and tapping and just minor machining requirements you will be happy. Lets put it this way, it is safe to assume you can run any 3/8 endmill to its full potential. You can break a 3/8 endmill and more than likely your machine will not damage its spindle or pull stud. With a 1/2 endmill you may only be able to use 50-60% of its capacity. On rare instances if you crash or let in get too old a 1/2 endmill can break your pull stud and damage your spindle. Forget about 5/8 or 3/4 endmills unless you are doing light facing and you can be positive parts will not vary or shift on you.

I own and run a Robodrill (T10B), but I haven't cut any stainless so I can't comment with experience on that. I suspect that it will do light milling in stainless just fine using smaller diameter cutters. It's only a 30 taper, and with that in mind you can be sure it will do anything you would consider reasonable for a 30 taper.

I haven't heard any horror stories on the control either. The toolchanger is a marvel in simplicity with no reliance on compressed air, and the entire mechanism is powered by the Z axis and spindle. And it's fast too. I haven't had any issues with mine other than replacing the rubber seal for the tool change spindle blow solenoid, which was an easy job with the excellent tech support from Methods.

A couple things I really appreciate:

Absolute encoders- No homing needed on startup.

Good ergonomics- The door is light with a well placed handle. The LCD screen and key pad are in a good spot. There's lots of toe room too.

I can swap any tool in the turret without powering the machine on.

Did I mention the fast, fast tool changes?

QB

thanks for the reply's, it seems I have some food for thought. Over on the Mastercam forum they talked about using HSM toolpaths. Light doc, large woc, or us large doc small woc. I do this on my Haas TM-2 with good results. I'm just curious how it would compare to my Haas, I already know its faster than my Haas (its like watching grass grow).

Greetings

It is going to nuke your TM2. Not even the same ball park. The machine has a 31i on it, not a 21i, big difference. We cut, mill, drill, tap 303 quite a bit. If your parts have allot of small pocket milling and drilling tapping, this little machine is going to make you a ton of $.

Scott

Thanks for replying Scott, I kind guessed that would be the case. I have had my eyes on one of those mills for quite sometime.