Thread: Smallest full-on CNC shop Ever?

Hello everyone, a lot of people have been asking me to post some pictures of my shop. This whole setup fits in my 650 square ft. garage. This shop has been 3 years in the making and still growing....right out the door into a bigger one within the year if orders keep coming in (finger's crossed)! Enjoy!
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...ictures006.jpg
Budget Air dryer
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...ictures005.jpg
Hardinge HTC 1970ish
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...ictures004.jpg
real mist collector are expensive, this work great!
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...ictures003.jpg
2011 Hurco VM10, My first VMC
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...ictures002.jpg
1987 Okuma LB 12 Turning Center, my diamond in the rough! This thing holds tenths all day long! Flawless turning.

Pictures by proturn - Photobucket

Looking good. Small but filled with nice equipment. The first shop I worked at had about that vintage of Okuma and she would hog tool steel all day.

How do you like the VM10? I run a VMX42 and it can piss me off at times but is overall a nice machine. I'm used to G-code and want the machine to do what I say, not what it thinks I want it to do. I ask because I would like to get a small VMC and am trying to decide between Sharp, Haas, & Hurco.

I like the VM10. It has a lot of very handy features, my favorite is tool optimization. ‪HURCO VM10 MILLING 6061 ALUMINUM 102.MOV‬‏ - YouTube
you can see how it works on these parts. It minimizes tool changes.

Sweet little cozy machine shop!

Im going to pm you about a job im thinking of sourcing out.

Awsome looks so cool keep going till it gets to be no fun!

Proturn,

Neat layout...is it bad form to ask you what you and your machines make on a daily basis.

Stuart

Neat, compact shop. I'm in the same boat for space. Couple of questions..

What do you have for power (how many amp service)? What kinda of phase converter?

What kind of compressor(screw or piston, and how big)? How do they (machines and machines and compressor) interact? Can you run multiple machines at once and also the compressor?

All the questions, because I'm about to find out...

Thanks in advance,

Brent

On mist collection:

That's a really good start to liquid recovery, and nearly exactly how we pull mist out of natural gas streams. You may get better recovery by enlarging pipe diameter on the vertical runs. The larger flow area makes for a drop in linear velocity and the liquids will fall out. Also, have you packed those same runs with anything, or are they empty pipe? We use a stainless steel mesh pad in the bottom of our scrubbers as a primary collection point.

Here's a pic of the vessels I'm referring to, see the resemblance?



Inlet nozzle on the right, outlet nozzle on top. The silver insulated piping on the bottom right of the vessel is the drain.

PS: If you want to get technical with it I can run some numbers when I get back to the office monday.

-Cole

Proturn,

That is really nice. I love that Hurco.

Is the Okuma similar to what Wrustle just purchased a while back?

Gonna have to work myself up an air dryer like that.

Great idea on the range hood mist collector, I like using equipment for purposes not intended.

JAckal

Hi All

First post...may be in the wrong area nut please help.]

I need urgent help please. I got CNC LATHE IKEGAI with fanuc controls Series 18-T

Problem is with the Z Limit switch. I had some issue with over load that i fixed by moving the mottor coupling by hand but thereafter I was getting ALM about over travel. That related to the limit switch so i moved the Z axis somewhere in the center of the machine to get access to limit switch. While doing Zero return at this stage i Pressed the limit switch manually to check it its working. It worked fine and i saw Z limit light on. But the problem now is that Z Limit is right there all the time i.e. somewhere in the middle of the machine .I think machine has registered that location into its memory thus giving me this error . Since there is no physical stop present at that location so machine gives me ALM for over travel and thats logical.

Could someone tell me how to reset the parameters for Z limit switch in System. I know the problem theoritically but could not fine the solution reading the manuals etc.

Any help would be highly appreciated ...i am badly stuck.

Awaiting replies.

Sam,

I wish I could help you, but I don't know anything about those machines.

Some guys here know a lot about CNC lathes, & some own Ikegai lathes.

If you would put this in the CNC forum at the very top of the page you will get help.

Here is a pic of the location. I put a green arrow on the CNC section :




Welcome to Practical Machinist

JAckal

Originally Posted by atomarc

Proturn,

Neat layout...is it bad form to ask you what you and your machines make on a daily basis.

Stuart

Whatever comes in the door! You can check out my website to see other pictures of past and present jobs. The Precision Edge Machine, LLC - Home - Zimmerman, MN

Matt

Originally Posted by jackal

Proturn,

That is really nice. I love that Hurco.

Is the Okuma similar to what Wrustle just purchased a while back?

Gonna have to work myself up an air dryer like that.

Great idea on the range hood mist collector, I like using equipment for purposes not intended.

JAckal

Hi, Thanks for the complements. I'm not sure about wrustle's stuff but I'm totally amazed at the consistancy of the Okuma. I can hold tenths all day long without even trying! I just did the air dryer two weeks ago, I wish I would have did it 2 years ago. My air guns were like parts washers before hooking this up. I'm able to blow parts off with air now....what a concept!
The range hood mist collector works really good too. The lathe used to fill the shop with mist and smoke. This cures that problem. My lungs might last a few years more now!

Originally Posted by Antarctica

Neat, compact shop. I'm in the same boat for space. Couple of questions..

What do you have for power (how many amp service)? What kinda of phase converter?

What kind of compressor(screw or piston, and how big)? How do they (machines and machines and compressor) interact? Can you run multiple machines at once and also the compressor?

All the questions, because I'm about to find out...

Thanks in advance,

Brent

Hi Brent, If you go to the machining thread at the top of the forums page, I just posted the "Video of Hurco VM10 milling at 275ipm" I answered that samr question there.
Matt

Sheesh that reminds me of our first 5 years we had 450sqft with a Fadal 3016, 14" swing lathe, 2 bridgeports, one horizontal cnc, a bathroom, a bandsaw, a air compressor nd shelving...we had ant trails. It never dawned on me that we needed to go bigger until a old shop owner who owned a huge screw machine shop happened to be driving by while we had a door open. I will never forget his words he said "That kid will never stand a chance". It made me realize I could putz with small potatos hoping to someday make enough to pay a decent wage or I could grow....the growing helped.

Close but no cigar!
Neat shop but we have more in just abit more than you...

See linky #2
OT: Boris has new toys
Excuse the mess- it's not usually like that (it's worse )

Thats 3x chevalier cnc's in a row (2x 850, 1x 660 with swarf conveyor). That's the length of the place, with only 10 feet on the end for mtl.
We also have a robodrill, cnc lathe, and a prototrak mill + prototrak lathe, a schaublin toolroom lathe and eagle surface grinder.
All in 850 square feet
Upstairs (small mez/offices) is inspection (with cmm) + 2x cad cam seats.

Matt,
Nice cozy setup. I know the feeling. When I first started my shop I rented a small "room" basically. I had a turning center, bridgeport, manual lathe, pedestal grinder, two roller chests, and a small saw in a 12X24 space. It was tight.

Very nice, very well though out.

I have a manual shop I use to learn with and am going to make a change over to CNC. I have a very good machinist who is helping me learn. I have taken some classes at the local Junior College and learned to stay away from HAAS. Great to learn principles on but not for me. I'd like a Kiti or a Hurco.

I Looked at a new VM10 almost $54 K bare bones. They have a promotion until the end of Sept that would allow an upgrade to their 'Classic' software package at that price. Other than that, with the options I'd need it was pushing 63K.

I could dig up that much dough but it would leave me without any other stuff in the budget. What did you do for 3PH power? What about air? Although my neighborhood is a 5 acre minimum, I still prefer to not have my neighbors subjected to a piston compressor so I want a rotary.

If you do not mind sharing with us, what was your strategy to finance what you needed for a start up?

I also am looking at a used Takisawa Lathe ('91) that's 17K with a new spindle. My mentor is extremely familiar with this manufacturer and the model.

I have a General Contractor's License and could really build on to my garage with no problems other than the cash to do so. I also have a pretty good education that gives me the opportunity to teach at the University level part-time (when the state has a budget that funds education which currently, it does not). That allows me to make payments on the equipment until my start up is sustaining them.

How many hours a week are you in your shop? Is it air conditioned?

Sorry for the lame questions I am fascinated by this example of self-reliance and planning + execution!!!

Very much appreciated that you posted a look-see.

thanks very much,

Jon

You work as much as you want to grow. Air conditioning depends on your needs, but I would recommend it. My strategy was to work two full time jobs until the business could support itself. I'll defend HAAS since I own a bunch, as do I Hardinge, and Fadal. They all work just fine. Get yourself a big rotary phase converter.

Originally Posted by psient

Very nice, very well though out.

I have a manual shop I use to learn with and am going to make a change over to CNC. I have a very good machinist who is helping me learn. I have taken some classes at the local Junior College and learned to stay away from HAAS. Great to learn principles on but not for me. I'd like a Kiti or a Hurco.

I Looked at a new VM10 almost $54 K bare bones. They have a promotion until the end of Sept that would allow an upgrade to their 'Classic' software package at that price. Other than that, with the options I'd need it was pushing 63K.

I could dig up that much dough but it would leave me without any other stuff in the budget. What did you do for 3PH power? What about air? Although my neighborhood is a 5 acre minimum, I still prefer to not have my neighbors subjected to a piston compressor so I want a rotary.

If you do not mind sharing with us, what was your strategy to finance what you needed for a start up?

I also am looking at a used Takisawa Lathe ('91) that's 17K with a new spindle. My mentor is extremely familiar with this manufacturer and the model.

I have a General Contractor's License and could really build on to my garage with no problems other than the cash to do so. I also have a pretty good education that gives me the opportunity to teach at the University level part-time (when the state has a budget that funds education which currently, it does not). That allows me to make payments on the equipment until my start up is sustaining them.

How many hours a week are you in your shop? Is it air conditioned?

Sorry for the lame questions I am fascinated by this example of self-reliance and planning + execution!!!

Very much appreciated that you posted a look-see.

thanks very much,

Jon

Hi Jon, Like many here, I worked a full time job for years. The last three years that I worked for someone I desperatly wanted to be in management. I would go above and beyond everyday but most of my ideas fell on deaf ears. I finally had enough and told myself that it was time to start something of my own. I worked all the overtime i possible could for the first year all the while shopping every Auction I could buying first all the inspection equipment and using that equipment at my place of employment because it would be certified for free as long as i used it there. That way if i bought something junk I did'nt have the added expence of proving that it was junk. I did all the finishing of the garage that year too. The second year I focused on buying equipment. I bought the Hardinge first because i knew it would be used a lot and hard to justify if i already had CNC machines to pay for. It took over a year to find a decent deal on the Okuma. I would put my max bid's on them and walk away. I would always get beat in the last two minutes of the auction because some asshole dealer had deeper pockets then me!. I finally made a decision to take the day off of work on auction days so I could stare at my computer screen for hours while trying to win a machine. The day I bought my Okuma LB12 I was accually going after two other newer ones but they got out of my price range quickly. The old green bugger was at the end of that auction and nobody bid agaist me! I guess they spent all thier money! That machine is a diamond in the rough! I can hold +/- .0002 all day long on any material I throw at it. Well now that i had a cnc it was time to heat the shop and get a phase converter to run everything. I went with a Hot dawg 75k BTU heater and a 20hp rotory phase converter from carpenter electric. I was now into the third year and started to moonlight doing any turning work i could find. four months later I bought a Hurco KM3P CNC knee mill. the Knee mill opened up a lot of opportunity. I did this for the next eight months until I was too busy to go to my day job and didnt make finacial sence either. I quit my dayjob. Two months into working for myself I quickly learned that the knee mill was costing me precious time because I was the tool changer! I sold it and put 10k cash down on the VM10. Putting that much down more than made up for the lack of business credit! The rest is history and I havent looked back since.