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Robotool mill

PHDesigns

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jan 4, 2002
Location
Oklahoma, USA
Any body have any experience with one of these? Got one close by for a good price. Clean machine. Couldn't power it up, but was told it worked well, and has hardly ben used in the last couple of years. It has been home shop machine for some time.
 
Any body have any experience with one of these? Got one close by for a good price. Clean machine. Couldn't power it up, but was told it worked well, and has hardly ben used in the last couple of years. It has been home shop machine for some time.

I ran a couple for a while. They are not bad light duty machines. VERY fast. Good for drilling production work.
However, do not buy until you see it work.
A common car ad around here will say. "It was running when I parked it."
Right.
And the check's in the mail.
 
For me it would have to be a hell of a deal to buy it without seeing it run.

I'd want to listen closely to the spindle at all speed ranges, check the spindle runnout, watch and listen to the table move at various speeds, check the backlash on all axises, play with the controller some to make sure some of the buttons aren't flakey and the display works ok, etc.

Paul T.
 
these guys think you mean Fanuc Robodrill, whic is a newer small footprint enclosed VMC with really fast axis and spindle. -many of which handle milling quite well.

Robotool doesnt ring any bells to me. but a google search revealed a cnc-bridgeport (retrofit?) brand called robotool.

and that sounds more likely to be in a home shop.
 
these guys think you mean Fanuc Robodrill, whic is a newer small footprint enclosed VMC with really fast axis and spindle. -many of which handle milling quite well.

Robotool doesnt ring any bells to me. but a google search revealed a cnc-bridgeport (retrofit?) brand called robotool.

and that sounds more likely to be in a home shop.
By Jove I think you're right.
That's what I was thinking anyway.
 
We have a Robotool CVM1 with very little use on it.
It's been a dead machine since before I arrived.
I'm told the servo drives let the magic smoke out.
We do have the documentation.
It has it's own operating system.
Don't buy without seeing it run.
All the best.
 
It is a Robotool CVM-1. Basically Bridgeport size, fixed head with knee. Talked to the owner today(He is now out of state) and was told biggest trouble he had was with the brushes in the servos if the machine sat idle for a while. Price is under $2k. He bought it from an outfit that took it trade from a former employer because he knew the machine. I will be using it mostly for aluminum work.
 
RoboTool Images

For those of you who have been so fortunate as to escape contact with a RoboTool...
the party's over.
This is what it looks like. Pretty basic. Maybe fun in a home shop environment if you can keep it running. I'm told we used it for drilling 1/8" holes. Never milled with it.
...and if the images don't show please be patient, I'm a virgin (once again).
 

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The good news is it that is looks like it may be a little beefier than the typical BP retrofit CNC machine.

The bad news that you're probably totally on your own for parts, and a lot of them appear to be unique to this machine, so I'd want to make sure that mechanically its ok and the controller still runs. It it runs, 2k is not too bad a price, out here it would go for more than that.

That controller looks pretty ancient though, that would make me nervous if its not a major brand (ie Fanuc) that still has some parts and service available.

Paul T.
 
For those of you who have been so fortunate as to escape contact with a RoboTool...
the party's over.
This is what it looks like. Pretty basic. Maybe fun in a home shop environment if you can keep it running. I'm told we used it for drilling 1/8" holes. Never milled with it.
...and if the images don't show please be patient, I'm a virgin (once again).

Bingo, except this one is an off white. If I can get the price down, I would think it would be a good candidate for an upgrade, if needed, if the ball screws and all else is good.
 
Michael Moore has a Tree J325 which is actually running for sale. (so do I, but mines not for sale cheap) and they seem to me a bit nicer than the robotool.

Tree325 has cat 40 spindle. a little more modern, somewhat still supported, more common. shorter headroom for easier garage installation etc...
 
No, my J325 sold within a few days to a local friend. I mentioned that in the ad but you may have missed seeing that. I don't think that RoboTool would have fit into my garage as it looks pretty tall. It looks like it would be a nice machine for lots of people if it is in decent shape, and a control conversion could be done if the price is very low and the iron is good.

cheers,
Michael
 
It is in a residential garage now, so should fit in mine. The iron appears to be excellent. Going to wait a bit and see how low I can get it for. This guy wants it out of his garage.
 
I wouldn't buy it unless you're planning to do a complete retrofit of the control. I have an old Tree mill that is slated for retrofit. Just how soon that will happen is still yet to be determined. However, I've heard a lot of positive feedback from people that have done retrofits. One of the biggest downsides to doing a retrofit on a machine like that is that you will quickly realize the value of a toolchanger and an enclosure to contain flying chips, coolant, etc...

So, if the iron is good, and you feel like taking on a retrofit, it might be a good machine. I wouldn't offer anything more than peanuts for it, though (maybe $500-1000 tops). A machine like that isn't worth much of anything unless it's running.
 
Well, got an oportunity to look at a Boss6, actually 2 of them, here soon. Same money as the Robotool, but I know the guy that has them. One running, one for parts. Better for future retro fit, if needed, you think?
 
Well, an old knee mill like any of those are great if you want a hobby and are interested in electronics. However, if you are wanting to make chips, I'd hold out for a VMC. They are going for peanuts right now. By the time you finish a retrofit (which would be inevitable), you'd have a LOT of time into it, and you'll have spent just as much money. A friend of mine did a retrofit on a 40-taper knee mill. It goes through material pretty quickly, and he said he spends a lot of time sweeping up chips, cleaning splashed coolant, etc... The knee mills are good if you are only making occasional parts for a project here and there. But if you plan on doing any amount of machining, a VMC is certainly the way to go. Keep an eye out. I just saw a nice one (in perfect running condition) go on fleaBay for $4K.
 
It will be mostly for hobby use. I use the machines at work now if one is open, and using a vmc is definately much better. But I am putting this one in my garage and am just wanting to keep it as simple as possible for now.
 
Love my Robotool.

I purchased a CVM-1 Bridgeport in 2005 and its been running, ever since I learned to sweet talk her a little.
We use it to mill aluminum and it does a nice job on that.
I've made my money back on the 3000 investment. yea !

Saving for a new machine though.:)
Fred
 








 
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