Haas vs centroid controller

Sometimes life kisses you on the lips.

I have the opporunity to buy two CNC bed mills at good prices. I only can afford one.

The haas bed mill is one of these mills and edges out the other bed mill just slightly in terms of h.p., milling envelope size, table capacity etc...and other stuff but just ever so slightly. BUT, i don't know the Haas controller nor how to compare it to the centroid 400 on the other bed mill. Though a CNC beginner i am very familiar with the centroid controller which the other bed mill has. and, well, i like centroid and have played around with it before and have seen what you can do with it. The Haas controller has been demo'ed for me but i don't have enough knowledge to really make a good comparison. I guess what i am really asking is: am i going to be disappointed with the Haas controller and wished i had gotten the other mill with the centroid 400 ? I know for experienced machinists and CNC gurus this is really a dumb-assed question but it's keeping me up nights. Any opinions would be appreciated. Assume both bed mills are exactly equal, just different controllers- one with a Haas controller and the other with centroid. Which one would you pick ? And don't tell me i am comparing apples and oranges. I'm comparing granny smiths and wine saps. opinions please !

The centroid is much more powerful, period. It's easier for set-up, has more conversational capability. This is just my opinion....good luck.

We have a mill with a Centroid control, we have had it for two years now and we are still very happy with it. The control is better than the Hass control and it is easier to learn. I have never had trouble with support for the Centroid as there are several service professionals around the country and two close to use here in Atlanta Ga. The calls to there service center in Pa have always been quick to respond and even sent us a loaner tool probe while they repaired the one that we crashed. If you wind up with the Centroid insist that you buy the tool and part probe. The price is less than for the Renisaw unit and once you use them you will never want to be without one again.

I do not know what machine you are looking at but the Hass only has 12 inches of Y axis travel and for us that was just too small.

Charles

Centroid, you can program conversationaly and straight G code. Haas HP specs are peak. For instance a Haas 5HP spindle is only 5HP peak for 1 minute or so.
Centroid is made in PA. Lots of options and they have quite a few service reps around the country. Good luck.
By the way, what iron is the bedmill?

Actually, Paul, Haas is claiming 7.5 hp on their new tool room bed mill not 5.0 hp. Anyway, the mill with the m400 centroid control is called the exact v-30c which comes with a 3 hp motor and iso 30 spindle or for some more money a 5 hp. motor and a iso 40 spindle. The company is called ameritech and is a subsidiary of leadway corporation in oxnard,Ca. The centroid 400 comes standard on their machines.

Spindle Motor Max. Rating 7.5 hp 5.59 kw

This is the spec on the Haas...

Note: Max. Rating, which is normally less than 5 seconds on most of their machines if it can be obtained at all......

It's a 3 HP Baldor motor........

thanks mattei for clarifying that for me. I really did not realize that machinery companies indulged in the same horsepower bullsh***t that vacuum cleaner manufacturers shower their customers with. I should know better. Whenever, i see the word "peak" horsepower on a machine (drill press,milling machine, whatever) i try to squeeze my way behind the machine to look at the plate on the motor to get at the truth. very annoying.

Noahjlb,

Probably should include air compressor manufacturers with the vaccuum cleaner folks; in fact, it's probably even worse with air compressors.

I have owned both, and to me, the tens of thousands of Haas machines out there edge out the Centroid. That being said, the Centroid interface is much easier, particularly the probing cycles. All of the mfrs lie about the horsepower. My VF4 says 30hp; I doubt if it is more than 10. Almost no one uses a CNC mill at max horsepower. You will never see it unless you are in a heavy production shop, and then you wouldn't buy a Haas anyway!

Mark