Hi William:
I have a soft spot in my heart for two machines.
The first is a Makino. (I can't quote you a model number but they have a high precision offering or used to anyway...get one of those!!)
I can't say why from any personal experience; but from all I've heard they're extremely well engineered and well built machines that are deadly accurate and very pleasant to use because they're so well thought out.
The few people I know who've run them have never had anything bad to say about them.
I have seen them mentioned in Modern Machine Shop, Micro Machining and other publications wherever projects with extraordinary requirements for precision are being showcased.
Brian Pfluger who posts to this forum from time to time is a Makino guy; he's the one you should ask about their offerings and which might suit you best.
The other machine I really like is a linear motor Sodick.
A mold shop just around the corner from us has one and it is one sweet machine especially for poor flushing situations where the ram speed is a major factor in pulse flushing effectively and you can't or don't want to riddle your trodes with flushing holes.
I'm envious as Hell over that machine, but I can't justify the coin so I play with my little Hansvedt and dream!!.
I believe the Makino is a better choice than the Sodick though, if outrageous precision is your primary driver for the purchase. (The Makino is built like a tank compared to the Sodick and it's probably twice the price)
Having said all that; pretty much any high end sinker is going to be awfully accurate as far as the motion control platform is concerned.
They're all well made , they all have good generators, they can all do tenths work.
What distinguishes the accurately processed job from the "not quite" accurately processed job is overwhelmingly the fussiness of your process consistency and the attention to detail that implies.
One of the best resources around to sort out the processing problems, are the applications guys for the machine tool builders; if you're serious about a new machine to solve a gnarly processing problem, you can ask them to provide a turn key solution for you and the good ones will rise to the challenge.
Be aware it won't be cheap, but it will be effective if you define your problem unambiguously and actually spend what it takes to follow their advice...ALL of it, not just the machine purchase.
So I'd pound on Brian's door...I'm sure he'd be delighted to help find a solution for you.
Cheers
Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
www.vancouverwireedm.com
On a totally unrelated note; how are you making out with the evil subgate problem you posted about recently?
Is this current inquiry related to that thread?
MC