Ohh gol dammit am I going to regret buying a Milltronics bridgemill

[gregormarwick]

Yes around 20,000 to 24,000lbs for these machines. Prices stat in the 150K for a BR50/100 up to 350K for a BR80/200. That's extremely cheap for the size you wont find that price from anywhere. Absolutely fabricated base and columns. Their engineering will gladly do a FEA analysis to tell you what to expect. Take a 80" bridge, park it in the middle of the travel and drill the biggest hole you can. Then park it in the middle of Y axis and mill down the X axis with the biggest cutter you can at the maximum depth. I know where they don't shine its no mystery but where they had weak points in the past they have strengthened those points. Enough to allow a 40hp spindle on these which is about the maximum of a big plus 40 taper. I would never say these are going to walk all over any bridgemill that would be the overstatement of the year. But when you don't need to hog 8"s of 3/8" titanium from a 10,000lb ingot you have an incredible value. I believe they have a table max of 5000lbs evenly distributed. And pictures do not do the scale of the machine any justice. The IKO roller rails and trucks are big. On a 150 machine they have 14 trucks under that table. On our VF10 we have 4 trucks for a 120" travel 50 taper machine.

I wasn't trying to rain on anyone's parade, but your question was will I regret buying it, and my concern is that yes, you might well do.

Laurentian hit the nail on the head when he said it looks like a router. It IS a router, with an extended Z axis. For them to market it as a bridgemill is disingenuous.

In this case, having 7 trucks on each rail is simply a necessity to keep the fab'd table flat, and having only two rails on that size of a table means it's still going to be very flexible.

Again, I'm not knocking the machine at all, provided that it's price reasonably reflects what it is, and provided you're sure that what it is will be suitable for you.

 

[machtool]

Laurentian hit the nail on the head when he said it looks like a router. It IS a router, with an extended Z axis. For them to market it as a bridgemill is disingenuous.

That constuction, with the stitch welded flat bar, (so it has anough depth to recieve linear rails) Thats common in Routers / Laser.

Those pics look like the table is sitting up on something like a 8" by 4" R.H.S. Not a lot of rigidity in that.

On the other hand it is not a big issue to stretch. Ball screw sag will be the bigger issue.

Regards Phil.

 

[IAMATT]

I dont care either way Gregor those are my observations. That was not meant to be defensive at all. Having owned a Mazak bridgemill and having seen whats underneath the sheetmetal for a 50 taper these Milltronics mills are definately not just a router. It is interesting the line of questioning is like the first thing you think of when you see the pictures. At least back in the 90s it was the first thing I thought of.

I dont know why bridge mill by definition means 50 taper with boxed ways. Would you buy a 50 taper boxed way machine for 1.2million and compare it to a $300K machine with a 40 taper? I dont know about that they are in a class of their own

 

[Speedie]

That 300K range will buy you a taiwanese linear bridge machine with a 50 taper spindle and a fanuc control from KAFO. Same travels maybe a little more Z axis and it wouldnt be a light weight machine. I never understood why they get so much for so little on those bridge machine weldments. Can someone explain the $150-300,000 price on a linear way weldment?

 

[IAMATT]

Kafooo..whoo?

 

[macgyver]

I'd say that if you are content with the construction of it and are confident that it will handle your parts, go for it. I like the idea of buying local, it is very nice when you can drive to the mfg and they talk the same language as you. You are the only one that knows exactly what you want to do with it, if you don't need to throw 20k lbs on the table, then why spend the extra?

It is funny that the first thing I thought was it looked like my router as well. My Komo weighs 22,500 and is only a 5x8 machine. Not near the Z on the mill pictured and has some other features that make her a heavy girl, but is one of the beefiest routers that was on the market.

What are they doing with the ballscrew? That is going to be pretty long. I assume powered nut and gobs of tension on it? Probably a screw support or two as well?

 

[gregormarwick]

Kafooo..whoo?

Double-column - Kao Fong Machinery Co., Ltd - Kafo specializes in manufacturing vertical, horizontal, double column and various CNC turning centers.

What are they doing with the ballscrew? That is going to be pretty long. I assume powered nut and gobs of tension on it? Probably a screw support or two as well?

From the picture it certainly looks like a conventional spinning-screw/fixed nut arrangement, and from the way the bulkheads are fabricated (just a bit of channel section welded between the frame?) I just can't see how you could get much tension on it.

 

[IAMATT]

Raw taiwanese machines scare the living crap out of me. I have talked to the owners of shops that run the piss out of the Milltronics bridge mills. Both are impressed with the machines and highly recommend them. I havent heard anything bad from anyone that had ran one to date. One guy said he wished the tool changer was on the same side that the pendant was on.

 

[IAMATT]

Hurcos machine will not fit in our building. It is like 16'8" for the size. Nothing decent on the market. After all the considerations and all the specs I am still leaning towards the Milltronics BR series. We definately do not need more than 20hp.

 

[gregormarwick]

Hurcos machine will not fit in our building. It is like 16'8" for the size. Nothing decent on the market. After all the considerations and all the specs I am still leaning towards the Milltronics BR series. We definately do not need more than 20hp.

You mean it won't fit inside or can't get it through the door? Because if its the latter, the bridge is fitted in situ - the machine will roll through a fairly low door.

 

[PBMW]

Might not be the stoutest thing in the world. But....
If it runs the parts you need it to and you can keep it fed...and service is good...it's a win.
Hell....my little Haas mini just keeps makin me money and it's FAR from rigid...
If it makes money, dosen't break, it's a win.

 

[mkd]

company i work at just got a Toyoda sb316 bridge mill highly optioned with 1 degree programmable right angle head. 700k. same machine from Okuma wouldda been over 2mil i've been told.

quote:
Might not be the stoutest thing in the world. But....
If it runs the parts you need it to and you can keep it fed...and service is good...it's a win.

yup

 

[IAMATT]

Yup...makes the parts we need with ease. It is definitely an interesting approach to large capacity machining. I really do miss the rapid override knobs/buttons on all the other machines I have owned. The machine holds an amazing tolerance for a build of this type. I ate a lot of words after inspecting parts off it. It has renewed my interest in the brand

 

[bryan_machine]

So have you (IAMATT) bought one, or still engaged in Due Diligence?

 

[IAMATT]

Its been on the floor for 2 months now. Got great financing from a REAL capital financing company not that shitball called ascentium.

 

[Atomkinder]

Its been on the floor for 2 months now. Got great financing from a REAL capital financing company not that shitball called ascentium.

Can we get some videos?

I love to see what other folks on this forum are doing, if at all possible. I'd make and share some, but as we deal with a LOT of intellectual property products, I am not allowed. I can't even bring family to the shop to show them where I work, just as a matter of policy.

At any rate, I am not very familiar with large (at least to me) bridge mills and their operation, and there aren't a lot of videos of them in actual operation. Did find an ad for the Milltronics, but it's still four years old as of last month.

 

[IAMATT]

If you like facemilling and drilling then you would love to see this in action. For some reason my internet connection is like 1.5mps but upload is like .3mbps if I am lucky. It takes for fucking ever to get a youtube video. Thank but if you want a video stop by or send me a PM I will give you the address. Its a lot stouter than I gave it credit for.

 

[bryan_machine]

Glad you are happy with it. Did it require a special pad or foundation? I gather it arrived in a few months from PO to install? You get the Century controller?

 

[IAMATT]

No, bought used. 7 inch heated concrete. Those machines can be twisted like a pretzel and un twisted to level. Centurian 7 is the control, new 8200 was quoted to me at 10K. For what we do with it the 7 will work.

 

[bryan_machine]

Good to know. When you say "heated concrete" do you mean you hit the heat the floor year around, are you talking about an installation mechanism for the floor?