Haas VF4 with pallet changer

[Witomcio]

I need another machine . Talked to salesman today about VF4 with pallet changer.Brand new ,10k spindle, coolant thru 300 psi,geared head, tool setter and OMP40 probe,40 tools magazine.
Looking at $120-140K range.
I have 2 of those(no pallets thou) already, pretty happy with them.
Anybody has any experience with pallet changer on Haas?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[micro]

At my last indenture we had a couple of the Midaco manual style changers. They were great. I truly wish I had one on my machine now. It made setups and mid processes inspections a breeze. Plus we had one machine with 4 double jaw Chick vises whose locations were marked into the tops of the fixed jaws. I used that for production setups, and the other pallet for custom fixtures.

 

[rosie]

I was hoping some one else would have chimed in already.
I worked in a work center right next to a vf3 or 4 with a pallet changer on it.
The bosses bought an extra pallet right away for it. One was set up with 2 or 3 chick vises, another was set up with 3 kurt vises, and the last one had tapped locating holes for fixturing.

I watched the operator on my shift change out the pallets many times by himself with a fork lift. It's really a two person job with a fork lift, but I didn't like him so I let him have at it.
The pallets are hundreds of pounds each.

That machine ran almost entirely aluminum. So the machine had aluminum everywhere. It would even pack up into the clamping areas of the pallet system. Where this became a problem is there is some type of sensor under the pallet that gets chips on it from time to time. I don't remember how often they blew that area off with the air hose during a pallet change. This type of system is actually pretty staight forward, however chains are exposed so keep your hands in a safe area during a change.

Helpful hint: Remember to always flip off the push button control panel on the end that is between the pallets before you pick one off. Things bend out of shape much easier that the staigtening process.

Hope it helps a little.

Rosie

 

[NeedCNC2]

The switcher chain drive is functional, but as with Haas, it is under engineered, and does require some attention. Chips build up under the receiver. A over head crane makes the pallet change out manageable for a single operator.

Four of these vises fit nicely on the front pallet. http://www.kurtworkholding.com/workholding/versatile_lock_reverse.php

These work great on the back pallet.
http://www.kurtworkholding.com/workholding/versatile_lock.php

In the same price range take a look at this machine. Substantially more machine.
http://www.hardingeus.com/index.asp?pageID=63&prodID=30#SPECS

 

[Witomcio]

Thanks guys,
Thats what I needed to hear .Chips packing under pallets, switches etc. don't bother me much.
Most of my jobs are a lots of clamping on fixtures.
That can take up to 50% of my time, while machine is waiting.Figures in my case it would be like having two machines.For $30K extra for the machine it sounds good.My concern was how dependable are those changers, and hopefully Haas is building better quality product that few years back.
As for switching to other machines like Hardinge ,Mazak, Daewoo etc., I really like the same control on all of them.For my parts (mostly aerospace and medical ) Haas is just fine.Don't have much production runs in thousands, but quite often need first part inspection from my customer.
And machine is waiting and waiting and waiting
I figured a pallet would solve this problem.

 

[rosie]

If your last statement is true, the purchase would be a good one in my opinion. NeedCNC2 is 100% correct about the overhead crane. I tried to tell the old bosses that, but I didn't know any thing.

Just remember haas is a light duty machine and you'll be fine.

Rosie

 

[Witomcio]

Looks like $135,000 will do it.
Only 3 weeks delivery.
Is Haas slowing down a bit?

 

[SteveinAZ]

Hey, just rememeber the overhead crane chain will most likely run into the upper door support...at least it did on our old VF-2 and VF-4.