Hello all,
I'm looking for whatever advise you could offer to someone entering the world of HMCs. My company is currently quoting either an Okuma MB8000H, or Mazak HCN 8800. Whichever builder they go with, we are buying a "turn-key" solution for one job in particular for this machine, as a start. This would include all tooling, programming, full-production run test of the part immediately upon installation of the machine.
That being the case, the learning curve would be somewhat lessened, as were essentially buying a machine completely ready to make this part from the get-go, and then over time, begin re-programming/planning current jobs for this machine.
My first question, which of these two machines would you choose? My second question, what are the skills, mentality, changes I need to implement as someone coming from the VMC mindset to HMC?
A little bit more information. I have about 6 years experience programming/setup/operating VMCs. We are currently using MasterCam X7 for programming and Inventor for solid modeling. Our company would fall closer to the Job shop side of the spectrum between Job/Production shops. We are production, but quantities are very low, parts may only repeat 3-4 times a year. A typical run maybe 1-10 parts, some as complex as 7 operations (with verticals).
Thanks!
I'm looking for whatever advise you could offer to someone entering the world of HMCs. My company is currently quoting either an Okuma MB8000H, or Mazak HCN 8800. Whichever builder they go with, we are buying a "turn-key" solution for one job in particular for this machine, as a start. This would include all tooling, programming, full-production run test of the part immediately upon installation of the machine.
That being the case, the learning curve would be somewhat lessened, as were essentially buying a machine completely ready to make this part from the get-go, and then over time, begin re-programming/planning current jobs for this machine.
My first question, which of these two machines would you choose? My second question, what are the skills, mentality, changes I need to implement as someone coming from the VMC mindset to HMC?
A little bit more information. I have about 6 years experience programming/setup/operating VMCs. We are currently using MasterCam X7 for programming and Inventor for solid modeling. Our company would fall closer to the Job shop side of the spectrum between Job/Production shops. We are production, but quantities are very low, parts may only repeat 3-4 times a year. A typical run maybe 1-10 parts, some as complex as 7 operations (with verticals).
Thanks!
