Recommendations on OmniTurn-esque Type CNC Gang Lathe

Hey All,

I have been using my OmniTurn attachment converted Hardinge DV-59 lathe for about a year now. It has proved to be an excellent machine for what I do which is mostly small screws, pins, spacers, antique gun parts, etc. There are things I really like about the OT platform. The size/weight is perfect for my small machine shop. It is robust for it's size and can hog when you need to, and has no problems keeping tols in the 3 tenths range all day long in softer materials.

In the very near future I want to add a new or newer machine of similar size and capability to the shop. The obvious choice would be an OT GT75. Starting price is around 37K.

There are a few things however that I'd like to have (and likely a few things I don't even know exist) on a new machine, that my current OT can't do.

-Auto homing - It'd be nice to push a button to home like my mill does. I have to locate the slide on the OT first to a particular point and then home. Small thing, but time consuming.
-CNC "proofing" software - I'm sure there is a better term for this. The OT has a "verify" feature, but it isn't very robust. It would be nice to have a better solution
-Conversational Programming - Some type of conversational functionality would be very helpful. Maybe some canned features
-Tool offset setting - Maybe I'm getting too far out of the roll of these lathes, but I do spend a lot of time setting tools. A probing feature would be great.
-16C spindle - I have come up against the limits of my 5C spindle on a few jobs. It would be nice to be able to feed bars up to 1.5 inches or so. **not strictly necessary as this may take me out of the "small" form factor type machine**
-Limit switches - Limit switches on the two axes would also be nice.


So, do any of you use a lathe similar to the OT platform? If so, do you like it? Does it have any of the features listed above?

Any thoughts on other features that may be handy? Or experiences to share?

Thank you in advance

Chris E.
EELLC

Talk to the guys in Oregon about the 16c back in mid 90's they had/ made one it used 3/4" centerline tooling instead of 5/8s if I remember. they only did a few or they were testing it. it was for an attachent using a hardinge 16c spindle and base. there was some talk when they made there own machines about he 16c but I think they scrapped it due to not being enough interest.
The motors and everything was the same if I recall.

the newer fanuc control has canned cycles from what I read.

that old cnc proofing sucked but it worked, in all honesty its not different than hass has on the 2000-2008 mills. still had to enlarge the part with keys and move the window.

Yeah, they said they had a few 16C attachments left and when they were gone, they were gone. I really don't want to do a conversion myself though. I'm not really up for a project, so much as just want to buy a machine.

Interesting on the fanuc. Are they using that on the GT75's? I'll have to look into that.

Thank you!

CE

Hi Chris E:
I was thinking about recommending a SNK Prodigy like mine but then you said you want usable conversational on the control, and mine ain't that!
Haas made a Minlathe to go with their Minimill years ago, and those who have them seem to love them.
Specifically I recall a poster here named Seymour Dumore has (or had) one and said some very good things about it.
It had some clever design features to get lots of tools on without a huge X axis slide and was a nice solid machine.
I don't know if Haas had conversational lathe controls back in the day.
I also believe it was a 5C spindle.

Cheers

Marcus
www.implant-mechanix.com
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

I have seen a few OT retrofits on 16C Hardinges for sale. They seem to bring less money that the 5C ones right now. As far as i know all the 16C used 1/2 inch tooling. Even if you got one that is ragged out a kit to refresh the ways and screws will cost about $4k. I have the last retrofit machine sold by OmniTurn. Still have not completed it. It is on an HXL and it used a different distance to the motor than the CHNCs so I have to pull it all apart and drill and tap holes in the motor mounts.

On the homing my employees came up with a fast way 20 years ago. Before you turn it off GO HOME then press 7 and jog each axis to .1 and hit the emergency stop button, wait a minute and turn off the power. Next morning power up and home, easy peasy. We had one girl that would preposition the slides in rapid (3) before homing, too hard on my nerves.

That SNK looks interesting. I'd never heard of them. Other than the lack of usable conversational control is there anything you do/don't specifically like about it?

Thanks!

Fred, I had taken to moving the slide to the last inch of travel before shut down. But that was just doing what I was eventually do anyhow. Lol. I like the idea of homing and then jogging off by .1, I just may try that one.

Sometimes my machine will really JUMP in both axes when powering down, is that what hitting e-stop and waiting a minute is for? If so, I guess it really isn't a time saver so much as convenience the next morning.

spooky said:

Fred, I had taken to moving the slide to the last inch of travel before shut down. But that was just doing what I was eventually do anyhow. Lol. I like the idea of homing and then jogging off by .1, I just may try that one.

Sometimes my machine will really JUMP in both axes when powering down, is that what hitting e-stop and waiting a minute is for? If so, I guess it really isn't a time saver so much as convenience the next morning.

Click to expand...

Yes always hit e stop 1st then wait about 30+ seconds and power down.
Do exactly what Fred says home it before shut down, move z - .1 x -.1.
its in the org manual and has been since they started selling them way back when.

Taiwan Takisawa offers gang style lathes. NEX-105K is 1" bar capacity and the larger 106K has 1.7" bar capacity. 16C would go nice on that one. You can find them on the used market as well. No affiliation, Just seemed like they might be of interest.

Taiwan Takisawa Ltd, Co.

spooky said:

Fred, I had taken to moving the slide to the last inch of travel before shut down. But that was just doing what I was eventually do anyhow. Lol. I like the idea of homing and then jogging off by .1, I just may try that one.

Sometimes my machine will really JUMP in both axes when powering down, is that what hitting e-stop and waiting a minute is for? If so, I guess it really isn't a time saver so much as convenience the next morning.

Click to expand...

The OT on the Tsugami takes about 30 secs. The control on the AHC likes to be off a minute before powering down.
We sometimes loose power and the slides jump. Each has a back up power supply to keep that from happening. This prevents broken tools while running. Handy in a bad storm you can unplug the machine and wait the lightning out, then plug it in and run when past.

BROTHERFRANK said:

Taiwan Takisawa offers gang style lathes. NEX-105K is 1" bar capacity and the larger 106K has 1.7" bar capacity. 16C would go nice on that one. You can find them on the used market as well. No affiliation, Just seemed like they might be of interest.

Taiwan Takisawa Ltd, Co.

Click to expand...

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I'm looking for more info on this lathe and who sells them in Canada.

Update: thanks to BrotherFrank, I did some digging and found the rep for my area.

Toyoda is selling these direct in the US it seems, they have someone working for them in Ontario.