4th axis 160 vs 210

I have been considering adding a 4th to my vf2, but have a few things that aren't clear to me.

What are some real world pro's and con's to an HRT160 vs HRT210? If this thing comes on and off, the 100lb hrt160 seems a bit easier. Also, that extra inch of hrt210 Z starts making me think about the long tools.

I have been also thinking about getting one of those Stevens engineering subplates and extending it 3" or so on the right side. Any suggestions or experiences with this would be appreciated.

I have the wips tool probe, so that factors into this as well.

I do small runs of 50-100, one part in particular is a 2" x 5.5" x 7.5" pvc part that needs 7 ops on 3 axis. The longest drill needs to stick out about 6", so I'm trying to think how this could all work together.

I've ran a VF2 with the HRT210 rotary. We had to run a riser plate of some sort on most of the work we did that was not using the rotary. Do you have the programmable coolant? That adds space you need to comp for too if you want to leave the rotary on the table all the time.

ps not sure if the 50mm difference in platters equates to a 'real world' difference of 1" height as the frames might be different between the two sizes (if that makes sense)

Make a 4th out of a cardboard box and see how they fit ,,, you might have to run the super short er32 holders ,,, the 210 fits the vf2 ok but you end up throwing a lot of chips in the tool changer so you might want to watch how you program your cuts so you throw them to the right hand side and not up into the tool holders,,,, other trick is to put your lock-lines only on the left side of your cutter and flush the chips to the right side ,, I do some parts that are so bad in alum that I made a thin alum sheet metal guard that holds onto the top of the encloser with a couple of magnets,,, I just run a momentary stop in the program so I can move it before the next tool... look up the gear and brake holding size of the 160 and I think you well find the 210 is a LOT stronger unit .. I run some big parts on a 210 and it holds good even with heavy off center cutting and drilling

I have a HRT210 on a VF2 as well, it fits fine, Z clearance has been ok but if I was doing small parts using short holders, I'd have issues with PCool crashing into the HRT. I do wish I could put the HRT on the left but with the servo box hanging off the back - we'd have more issues.

I can see the need to put a riser plate under vises - I might end up doing this at some point but we will eat up a ton of Z travel in the VF2 that way.

Of course it all depends on what your running as to which fits your needs.

95% of my work fits between the 5C Indexer and HRT-160. For the other 5% I use a Riser under the HRT-160 and toss on a larger chuck with homemade adapter...I just need to go a little easier with cuts but found it works just fine.

Down side to these things is they are heavy and awkward to lift plus they take up lots of real estate. Add to that those Rubber cables only bend so many times before you need to shell out coin for new ones...not to mention the rubber used is not a great fan of coolant.
Other issue with a larger platter is you cannot work in tight to platter or chuck on small parts...so you start extending outwards and using longer reach tooling so rigidity is reduced. Can't get coolant flow in...

But if most of your work is bigger then thats your answer.

Here is what the HRT210(w/ 6" chuck) looks like in a VF2 with 2 D675's. Not sure what I would have chosen if I didn't get the rotary with the machine, I haven't had any issues with its size yet.

@JFettig Did you build that OTS riser?

In my experience, an HRT310 is rather large (too large for our purposes) on a VF3/VF4 sized machine. I would imagine an HRT210 would be similar on a VF1/VF2.

Unless you have a chance of doing larger parts, I would keep to the smaller one if you have tool clearance on your mind. Remember, you can always put a riser under a 4th axis if you mount a bigger part and/or bigger chuck. I suppose the only difference might be brake torque, and I have no input on that.

Edit: ...After reviewing the above picture I think I take back what I said! The biggest problem is the distance from the spindle to the coolant lines and accessories. The HRT210 looks much smaller than a 310, and I doubt there is a difference for where the coolant nozzles/PCool is on a VF2 vs. a VF4.

I still stand by that, unless you need a bigger chuck all the time, or a bigger through-hole capacity, I would probably stick with the 160 model. Should be marginally cheaper as well.

Today's reason to get a HRT160

I run into close top clearance with the HRC version indexer rather than the HRT. That roller-cam style is 2-1/4" taller on its motor side, with the electrical connection on top which adds more height depending on how many accessories are mounted to the spindle.
We use a 3" hexagonal tombstone which is MUCH better suited for the 160 rotary table rather than the HRC roller-cam.

I have an older machine with HRT210 (brushed drive) but our workpieces are fairly small compared to the 210 platter, and we don't have any giant fixtures that require it. So I simply use it for workpieces that can be held in a 3-jaw chuck.