CNC mills with 40" travel, styles- Deckel FP6NC vs Deckel FP42NC vs console vs other?

CNC mills with 40" travel, styles- Deckel FP6NC vs Deckel FP42NC vs console vs other?

NOTE: I used a word "console" in the subject and later learned it's not really a proper name, it's just a bad translation that's often used on auction sites etc. What I meant was a bed-type milling machine. I updated the post to use the proper naming, but I can't update the subject

Hi,

I need a CNC machine that will be able to machine parts up to about 40" (not very wide, though), probably mostly in cast iron. Flattening, drilling, tapping. I don't need exceptional accuracy, I think up to 10 thou of flatness over entire travel and +/- 1.5 thou hole spacing accuracy. I guess the latter might be harder, but I think replacing a worn screw might be easier than scraping the ways.

Anyways, I currently live in Germany and there's quite a lot of old CNC machines that would fit the sizing spec, but I have no idea if any of them would have advantages. Four categories that I often see:

- "eurostyle" mill, but very big, like Deckel FP6NC, Maho 1000C or Klopp UW5 CNC. So like an oversized toolroom mill. When I look at them I'm wondering if the table has enough support
- A very original and interesting design of Deckel FP42NC, ie. a stationary table and a traveling milling machine. I guess the biggest advantage of these mills is that the weight of the job doesn't really matter much
- A more conventional style of a universal milling machine or a knee-type milling machine
- A bed-type milling machine

I'm pretty sure that any of these types will do the job, because it's nothing special. I also don't mind older Heidenhein controls, I don't expect any complicated parts. Of course having the capability to do more would be nice, but those old style of CNC controllers are obviously driving the price down, so I don't really want to spend extra money at the moment.

Is there anything I should know about these (or other) styles? Are there any big trade offs between them? The only thing I could come up with just by looking at them is that eurostyle machines seem like the table is oversized and at this size it should just be a knee-type or a bed-type milling machine. That said I think that it's easier to find a Deckel/Maho/Klopp eurostyle CNC machines than bed-type milling machines or knee-type milling machines.

What is a console milling machine?

Ive had an FP42NC with D3 control for around 7 years. Dead reliable once setup. Easy and cheap to fix stuff like spindle bearings. Also very compact for the envelope. I use mostly for larger plate work that won't fit my other machines. Probably even easier to keep running in europe. Ive got the tilt/rotate table, I recommend that if you can find one. Very handy for some jobs.

> What is a console milling machine?

Sorry, I think this is a name-copying of how they're called in Europe, I didn't know that it's not used in the US as it's often translated that way. I guess what I meant is a bed-type milling machine. I updated the first post, to fix the naming and also make a distinction between bed-type and knee-type milling machines.

I don't have experience with any of the others, but I do have an FP7NC so I can talk about that style. Yes there's a tradoff in that the heavy table hangs on the ways and causes wear, because the ballscrew is way back inside the column of the machine. I think the workpiece capacity is spec'd at 1000 lbs, the tilt/rotate table alone weighs at least 5000 lbs on mine. Mine was worn when I bought it in the manner that all Deckels wear, the Z was hanging forward slightly, and the ballscrew was dead from lack of lubrication. While it was apart for the ballscrew replacement we rescraped the turcite and put the Z back to where it should be, the wear wasn't extreme but it was noticeable.

If you don't need the 4th axis or the tilt capability, a bed mill or fixed table would give you more weight capacity. The knee on mine rocks slightly at full extension from all the weight, I don't have the gibs as tight as they could be so it moves .001 or so from one extreme to the other in X travel. I understand from posts here that the FP42NC has it's own wear issues because of the weight hanging on the movable column, but I can't speak to the truth of that.

You might also look at the SHW UF31, it's the same iron as a FP6NC with a Heidenhain control, they seem more plentiful over there than Deckels.

I like the FP7NC, I can do things on it that would otherwise take a small horizontal boring mill. Even a worn one would do your work easily, they have glass scales so even worn a bit they will locate holes to well under .001". Mine swings a 10" face mill easily like a Bridgeport swings a 1.5" shell mill.

Is this for light little things, like 3' long 4"tubes that need 1/2" holes, or great big heavy castings ? What sort of work are you talking about ?

Seems to me any old Fadal or Haas with the travel would do the job. Something like a VF-5 (50" x 26" travels) would likely give you enough room to fixture multiple parts at a time for longer unattended runtime. A 50 taper could take heavier cuts, if you have a lot of material to remove.

@Mud: Thanks for describing your experience with FP7NC. And I didn't know about SHW UF31, I can see a few of them on the auctions.

EmanuelGoldstein said:

Is this for light little things, like 3' long 4"tubes that need 1/2" holes, or great big heavy castings ? What sort of work are you talking about ?

Click to expand...

The main purpose would be to machine castings, but not necessarily very heavy, up to 200lbs.

mhajicek said:

Seems to me any old Fadal or Haas with the travel would do the job. Something like a VF-5 (50" x 26" travels) would likely give you enough room to fixture multiple parts at a time for longer unattended runtime. A 50 taper could take heavier cuts, if you have a lot of material to remove.

Click to expand...

Thanks for a suggestion, but I think this is out of my price range. I wanted to spend about 10kEUR or less. I know that Haas may be more versatile, but for now an older iron will do as well and I won't be making a bigger investment upfront. Also, if the machine needs a little bit of work a simpler milling machine will be better for me.

drogus - If you need 40" X travel an FP6NC might not work for you, my specs say the 6 travels are 33X27X24. The FP7NC and the SHW UF41 are 39X27X29. FP42NC is 46X19X14

Weird, specs I’ve seen on the internet often say 1000mm for FP6NC, which is 39.37”. Thanks for the tip, I’ll be double checking the X travel. I like Maho’s naming in that regard - Maho 1000 has 1000mm of travel and it doesn’t differ between generations as far as I know

Here's the list I have. I can't tell where this came from, it was given to me just like this.
Add at least 4000 lbs for the table on the big ones.