Jim_Lou
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2012
- Location
- Belleville, Illinois
There are a couple of current threads about Bridgeport's accuracy, stiffness and so on. I have a couple questions about them but didn't want to hijack another thread. So:
If one needs to do work that would be otherwise done on a Bridgeport, on what machine should it be done? By that I mean making one or two parts in a shop that can't justify the cost or space of anything bigger, stronger, faster, more powerful . . .
It seems that a knee mill is a good machine for doing a lot of things because of its versatility. Is there something better for that kind of work than a knee mill, or is it just Bridgeport that so many are dumping on?
Does the Series 2 Bridgeport have the same limitations as a Series 1?
As background, my business is mostly designing and making one-off items - assembly machines, test equipment, prototypes, replacement parts and modifications to existing machinery. Most of what I make I also have designed, so I design with the limitations of my equipment in mind, although a few times I have sent work out to a CNC shop. Most of what I make is not very price-sensitive. Being a one-man operation, the majority of my time is not running machines; it's dealing with customers, designing, bookkeeping and working with other tools in the shop. My knee mill isn't a Bridgeport, it's a PAL, made in England and, I think, somewhat stiffer than a Bridgeport Series 1, although it's about the same size.
Edit: The last job I sent out to a CNC shop was paid for directly by my customer who is (was?) a friend of the shop's owner. For the price I would have gladly spent two days on the PAL turning cranks on multiple setups.
If one needs to do work that would be otherwise done on a Bridgeport, on what machine should it be done? By that I mean making one or two parts in a shop that can't justify the cost or space of anything bigger, stronger, faster, more powerful . . .
It seems that a knee mill is a good machine for doing a lot of things because of its versatility. Is there something better for that kind of work than a knee mill, or is it just Bridgeport that so many are dumping on?
Does the Series 2 Bridgeport have the same limitations as a Series 1?
As background, my business is mostly designing and making one-off items - assembly machines, test equipment, prototypes, replacement parts and modifications to existing machinery. Most of what I make I also have designed, so I design with the limitations of my equipment in mind, although a few times I have sent work out to a CNC shop. Most of what I make is not very price-sensitive. Being a one-man operation, the majority of my time is not running machines; it's dealing with customers, designing, bookkeeping and working with other tools in the shop. My knee mill isn't a Bridgeport, it's a PAL, made in England and, I think, somewhat stiffer than a Bridgeport Series 1, although it's about the same size.
Edit: The last job I sent out to a CNC shop was paid for directly by my customer who is (was?) a friend of the shop's owner. For the price I would have gladly spent two days on the PAL turning cranks on multiple setups.