Fehlmann Picomax 56 TOP

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

Here are some pictures of the Picomax 56. If there is anything I have missed I am willing to post others.

If my memory serves me I got the machine with the following options: 30 tool ATC, TS440 Touchprobe, TT140 tool measuring system, Coolant gun, Air gun, TOP system, etc.

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

bryan_machine · Aug 14, 2014

What is the "TOP" system? Is that a quill lever on the side of the cabinet? And why did you acquire this machine rather than one of the more common ones?

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

bryan_machine said:
What is the "TOP" system? Is that a quill lever on the side of the cabinet? And why did you acquire this machine rather than one of the more common ones?

Bryan, the TOP system stands for "Touch or Program". Without it you do not get the X, Y and Z controls and the additional programming of the Heidenhain 620 control. The quill lever on the side is the Z axis control. You can do very quick drilling, tapping, facing, etc features without having to start up a program. Personally I do not see a huge benefit in the additional program features as I am used to doing the regular program but I can see how it can be an advantage to some.

Not sure what machines you are referring to with "more common ones". But I will say that this unit is rather unique in that I do not know that there is any machine out there that has the features of the P56, the 12,000 rpm spangle, the ATC, the 8000 lb mass and the quality in such a small footprint. I looked around from the US to Europe and Japan - there is nothing. This had to get into my home workshop. So all in all I was rather pleased that Fehlmann produce this machine. If you know of something comparable I would love to know about it.

helterskelter · Aug 14, 2014

Can I drill the first hole in the table?

. Nice machine!

Milacron · Aug 14, 2014

Nice...except the photos are too small for proper drooling. A little surprising they don't have programmable positioning coolant nozzles as standard issue.

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

Milacron said:
Nice...except the photos are too small for proper drooling. A little surprising they don't have programmable positioning coolant nozzles as standard issue.

I am not sure how to post pics of higher resolution. I see others seem to manage but I have not seen the feature that does anything but clickable thumbnails.

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

I played a little with the settings and that will hopefully allow higher res.

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

Tool change bar

30 Tool ATC

View in from the ATC - brushes are still to be installed

Spindle motor is built into spindle

Coolant gun is optional - very useful feature

Chris Harris · Aug 14, 2014

Optional keyboard on Heidenhain 620 slides in and out

Must say that I do like the Heidenhain control. Easy to use.

Small footprint - not much bigger than my Bridgeport

CBlair · Aug 14, 2014

Nice looking setup, thanks for sharing. Being the first owner of a machine that is pretty rare we are all interested in how it works for you. Be nice to hear how things are going 6 months from now. A real shame about the litigation concerns...there are a fair number of very nice machines made in Japan that are not available in this country for the same reasons. I just heard from Amada about one of their lasers that Japan will not ship to the US for some of the same reasons. Kind of sucks really. Thanks again for sharing, great photos.

Charles

SIP6A · Aug 15, 2014

Chris,
Very nice piece of Swiss machinery. Thanks for sharing.

bryan_machine · Aug 15, 2014

Chris - you answered pretty completely. I suppose some of the robodrills etc. might be that size, but don't have the HH control. Trak has a really small 2nd op mill which seems kind of limited. The haas office mill doesn't have that kind of tool capacity. So yes, it might well be a unique niche.

Interesting having what look like X,Y,Z handwheels or levers rather than the MPG+selector found on an iTNC 530. Do let us know how you like those.

Charles - by litigation you mean the fear of liability suits? Does this have something to do with the Fehlman? Or just a general comment on products we don't see because (it is claimed, plausibly) that liability issues are over the top in the US?

My DMG is set up so you'd have to go to great lengths to injur yourself, the Fehlmann looks the same.

Milacron · Aug 15, 2014

Very nice. For my purposes I'd still prefer the P54, but with more production in mind or complex parts that require many different tools I can see the P56 would be a dream. Bet you had a "should I get the Orange or the Chick vise ?" thought session and Chick won out

That garish Miller stool clashes with the ambiance however....maybe something like this would je ne sais quoi... ....http://previewcf.turbosquid.com/Pre...e04ee7b7-6b67-42e1-a725-2015e7427636Large.jpg

sneebot · Aug 15, 2014

Super nice looking machine.

I'm curious if it has glass scales? What sort of axis drives does it have? What did Fehlmann offer as service options should some problem occur?

Are all the Fehlmann machines 30 taper?

Chris Harris · Aug 15, 2014

bryan_machine said:
Chris - you answered pretty completely. I suppose some of the robodrills etc. might be that size, but don't have the HH control. Trak has a really small 2nd op mill which seems kind of limited. The haas office mill doesn't have that kind of tool capacity. So yes, it might well be a unique niche.

Interesting having what look like X,Y,Z handwheels or levers rather than the MPG+selector found on an iTNC 530. Do let us know how you like those.

Charles - by litigation you mean the fear of liability suits? Does this have something to do with the Fehlman? Or just a general comment on products we don't see because (it is claimed, plausibly) that liability issues are over the top in the US?

My DMG is set up so you'd have to go to great lengths to injur yourself, the Fehlmann looks the same.

I like the manual wheels but the Y axis moves in the opposite direction to what I would expect. One turns it counter clockwise for Y+. One can attach an HR410 (or similar) remote control but I decided not to do that. One very nice benefit with the manuals hand wheels is that one does not get confused as to whether you have selected the correct axis and potentially put the spindle into the work.

The litigation issue came up with Kunzmann. They are a German company and the only company left that makes a Deckel-style milling machine. I ordered and paid a deposit on an MC600 and close to delivery they got cold feet and the chairman cancelled the order. It would have been a great machine at a very reasonable price (around $150k all told) BUT I would not have had the ATC or the high-speed spindle. I think this was serendipitous.

Fehlmann were also concerned about the US situation and litigation but not enough to reject the order. So with the first unit on shore, hopefully there will be more to follow. It is truly a beautiful machine.

I also enjoyed having the Swiss technician over here to commission the machine. He was a very seasoned machinist and knew the machine very well. He is used to installed their huge Versa machines with 400 ATC's, 5 axis and so on so this was a walk in the park for him. I am not a machinist so I learned a lot.

Chris Harris · Aug 15, 2014

Milacron said:
Very nice. For my purposes I'd still prefer the P54, but with more production in mind or complex parts that require many different tools I can see the P56 would be a dream. Bet you had a "should I get the Orange or the Chick vise ?" thought session and Chick won out

That garish Miller stool clashes with the ambiance however....maybe something like this would je ne sais quoi... ....http://previewcf.turbosquid.com/Pre...e04ee7b7-6b67-42e1-a725-2015e7427636Large.jpg

I will have to look into the stool - looks more expensive than the milling machine.

I did not consider Orange as I had never heard of them. But moving from Kurt to Chick I can say that I will never go back. The Chick is amazing. I can switch the jaws out and lock them down and they repeat to with 0.001mm! I don't know how they do it. They have dowel pins where the jaws lock down but this is still a feat.

Milacron · Aug 15, 2014

Chris Harris said:
It would have been a great machine at a very reasonable price (around $150k all told) BUT I would not have had the ATC or the high-speed spindle. I think this was serendipitous.

But you would have had angle and horizontal spindle capability, no. 40 spindle...plus a real quill (on vertical anyway) Still, I can relate to doing without the Deckel style versatility when the machine itself it just so much nicer. (in my case the Makino KE55, in your case, this Fehlmann beauty)

Chris Harris · Aug 15, 2014

sneebot said:
Super nice looking machine.

I'm curious if it has glass scales? What sort of axis drives does it have? What did Fehlmann offer as service options should some problem occur?

Are all the Fehlmann machine 30 taper?

It is a SK30 taper. I was a little concerned about this in the beginning but seeing the quality of the cuts even under load my concerns have evaporated. Some of the milled surfaces are as thought they have been ground.

The Fehlmann machines come in a variety of tapers. SK40, 50, HSK and so on. The Picomax 56 is the baby in the CNC range.

The unit has Heidenhain linear feedback in all axis. The drives are all Heidenhain.

Fehlmann sent their top tech across to commission the machine (at a fee). If at any time I need them to work on the unit I can fly someone across. It is not much more expensive than getting someone from the US to visit insofar as travel but the daily rate will be higher at around $1,500.

Fehlmann Picomax 56 TOP

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