spooky
Aluminum
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2010
- Location
- West Virginia, USA
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
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