MetalManiac
Plastic
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2017
so i basically need a machine for mostly drill tap but definitely could put milling ability to work. i know little about cad/cam conversational programming/gcode, but am pretty computer savvy (I can hack my way thru autocad and have done so to generate 2d submittal drawings etc. havent had cad training since college in the 90s). I build my own computers and am the guy people call to fix stuff when things go wrong
Thing is i need a big table. looking at a Vf3 or Vf4.
spent some time on the phone with haas application engineer today after lurking the forums for a few days. I see people complaining about lack of haas support for machines older than about 2008. the haas rep said that he would advise 2007 or newer (gen 16 software?) or more ideally 2010 or newer (gen 18 software). said that "nextgen" really isnt standard yet and that the previous software gen (coldfire?) is what i would be learning if i went to a local community college for a course, and that it was "conversational" enough for quick learning
im sure if i got one of these newer machines i could be turning out basic parts within a week. That said i see older machines from the 90s with 10k spindles, TSC, chip auger, probes,etc, really nicely equipped,or well maintained machines that are clean and super cheap, but they have that darned monochrome screen that scares the heck out of me. i dont want to get into something obsolete that will take me an extra month to get up and running. also i dont want to spend an inordinate amount of time doing setup for each part.
Ideally id like to have something like this:
Used Haas VF-4 SS CNC Vertical Machining Center 5x2 Mill | eBay
(which seems like a great deal, most like that are closer to 50K)
but its hard to overlook the value of something like this:
1994 HAAS VF-4 VERTICAL MACHINING CENTER RUNS GOOD | eBay
Advice? I can fix anything but time is money and i dont want to be chasing obsolete parts or having excessive downtime. That said this wont be a 24/7 production machines more like 100 parts a week or so, and again lots of drill/tap service
Maybe a compromise, the 2004-2006 units look pretty modern, but im unsure how usable the software is on those. this would be in my budget and is well equipped with probe and tsc:
HAAS 25 VF-3 VMC 4 x 2, 2HP, CHIP AUGER, COOL THRU, 16 MB, REDUCED!
the other takeaway from my conversation with haas was that i should look for the followig options which are basically non-upgradable:
spindle speed
thru spindle cooling
tool changer
chip auger
anything else i would need (probing, coolant upgrades, drilltap unlock, etc) can be added. but i dont want to be dropping $10K+ to change out an entire interface. i want to learn machining, not learn mill maintenance
thanks in advance!
Thing is i need a big table. looking at a Vf3 or Vf4.
spent some time on the phone with haas application engineer today after lurking the forums for a few days. I see people complaining about lack of haas support for machines older than about 2008. the haas rep said that he would advise 2007 or newer (gen 16 software?) or more ideally 2010 or newer (gen 18 software). said that "nextgen" really isnt standard yet and that the previous software gen (coldfire?) is what i would be learning if i went to a local community college for a course, and that it was "conversational" enough for quick learning
im sure if i got one of these newer machines i could be turning out basic parts within a week. That said i see older machines from the 90s with 10k spindles, TSC, chip auger, probes,etc, really nicely equipped,or well maintained machines that are clean and super cheap, but they have that darned monochrome screen that scares the heck out of me. i dont want to get into something obsolete that will take me an extra month to get up and running. also i dont want to spend an inordinate amount of time doing setup for each part.
Ideally id like to have something like this:
Used Haas VF-4 SS CNC Vertical Machining Center 5x2 Mill | eBay
(which seems like a great deal, most like that are closer to 50K)
but its hard to overlook the value of something like this:
1994 HAAS VF-4 VERTICAL MACHINING CENTER RUNS GOOD | eBay
Advice? I can fix anything but time is money and i dont want to be chasing obsolete parts or having excessive downtime. That said this wont be a 24/7 production machines more like 100 parts a week or so, and again lots of drill/tap service
Maybe a compromise, the 2004-2006 units look pretty modern, but im unsure how usable the software is on those. this would be in my budget and is well equipped with probe and tsc:
HAAS 25 VF-3 VMC 4 x 2, 2HP, CHIP AUGER, COOL THRU, 16 MB, REDUCED!
the other takeaway from my conversation with haas was that i should look for the followig options which are basically non-upgradable:
spindle speed
thru spindle cooling
tool changer
chip auger
anything else i would need (probing, coolant upgrades, drilltap unlock, etc) can be added. but i dont want to be dropping $10K+ to change out an entire interface. i want to learn machining, not learn mill maintenance
thanks in advance!
