Hello All,
My company is looking to buy a router and our budget is about 150k. Used machine is OK as long as it is relatively new and low hours. We need a machine with ball screws for accuracy, and it needs to be rigid as we machine thick carbon fiber plate to tight tolerances, and the cutting forces are similar to aluminum. We basically don't cut anything else.
Currently we are using a Fadal 6030 for this work, but its long in the tooth and it would need a complete overhaul, also we would like to have a 5x10 envelop. We have been looking at fixed gantry onsrud machines. Are there any other brands we should be looking at? Is Komo on par with onsrud? We were also looking at Shopsabre IS and IS-M series, but we are concerned about rigidity with moving gantry and also it has exposed ball screws on the side which we are concerned about damaging.
Lastly, we use the height of the current mill to drill holes in the sides of large parts which we fixture vertically. So, with the new router we would either need a c-axis or a 5th axis for this purpose. If we got a c-axis we would be drilling from the side. If we got a 5th axis, most likely we would use our existing fixtures in the machine due to the height, and seldom use 5th axis features. Will 5th axis reduce our rigidity?
If anybody has experience with these machines and requirements, I'm all ears and would appreciate your input. We are a small company and this is a large purchase for us so I would like to make the best decision possible. Thanks.
My company is looking to buy a router and our budget is about 150k. Used machine is OK as long as it is relatively new and low hours. We need a machine with ball screws for accuracy, and it needs to be rigid as we machine thick carbon fiber plate to tight tolerances, and the cutting forces are similar to aluminum. We basically don't cut anything else.
Currently we are using a Fadal 6030 for this work, but its long in the tooth and it would need a complete overhaul, also we would like to have a 5x10 envelop. We have been looking at fixed gantry onsrud machines. Are there any other brands we should be looking at? Is Komo on par with onsrud? We were also looking at Shopsabre IS and IS-M series, but we are concerned about rigidity with moving gantry and also it has exposed ball screws on the side which we are concerned about damaging.
Lastly, we use the height of the current mill to drill holes in the sides of large parts which we fixture vertically. So, with the new router we would either need a c-axis or a 5th axis for this purpose. If we got a c-axis we would be drilling from the side. If we got a 5th axis, most likely we would use our existing fixtures in the machine due to the height, and seldom use 5th axis features. Will 5th axis reduce our rigidity?
If anybody has experience with these machines and requirements, I'm all ears and would appreciate your input. We are a small company and this is a large purchase for us so I would like to make the best decision possible. Thanks.