Lathe for manual and CNC turning

Inigo71 · Feb 16, 2021

I work in a product design company where we have a small workshop. We are based in the south of europe and we are in the process of replacing our old lathe. We want a small top bench lathe that can be used manually or with CNC as we draw lots of parts using solid works and want to machine the prototypes from the computer. We mainly produce prototypes in non ferrous materials like aluminium or plastic. We want a good machine and we are considering german brands like Wabeco, but we haven’t find other quality brands that can be purchased in europe. Does any one have any suggestions, maybe old models?
How is Wabeco quality? We also considered emco, but they are either manual or CNC.
Thanks in advance for all your help.

DanielG · Feb 16, 2021

Schaublin does some combo manual/CNC machines.

Weiler as well, but they are physically bigger machines.

HuFlungDung · Feb 17, 2021

I wouldn't take a combo machine if it was given to me. Get one of each, its a lot handier. There is plenty of simple tasks you can do on a manual lathe that are a PITA to even find a reference point for starting on a cnc. I can set up and face a part flat without knowing a damn thing about its size or how far it is from the tool home. A machine that is a real cnc won't really have manual control things like a quick change gearbox, and shiftable headstock or a leadscrew to thread with. And no, jog mode is not a good substitute for anything except setup. Machining in jog mode is a PITA because you have to stand there and hold a button in or crank a pulse generator. Actually becomes physically painful to carry on for long.

Disabling one system to use the other mode is something you'd grow to hate. Like having one of those damn 3 in one lathe/mill/drill things: sounds good but totally useless when you have to tear down one setup to do something in the other and then set back up in the other mode again. Efficiency is the name of the game.

DanielG · Feb 17, 2021

HuFlungDung said:
I wouldn't take a combo machine if it was given to me. Get one of each, its a lot handier. There is plenty of simple tasks you can do on a manual lathe that are a PITA to even find a reference point for starting on a cnc. I can set up and face a part flat without knowing a damn thing about its size or how far it is from the tool home. A machine that is a real cnc won't really have manual control things like a quick change gearbox, and shiftable headstock or a leadscrew to thread with. And no, jog mode is not a good substitute for anything except setup. Machining in jog mode is a PITA because you have to stand there and hold a button in or crank a pulse generator. Actually becomes physically painful to carry on for long.

Disabling one system to use the other mode is something you'd grow to hate. Like having one of those damn 3 in one lathe/mill/drill things: sounds good but totally useless when you have to tear down one setup to do something in the other and then set back up in the other mode again. Efficiency is the name of the game.

I use a prototrak mill fairly extensively and have used their lathes a bit and I would disagree. In manual mode you turn the handles and the machine moves. The ability to use both modes is great. For example, if I'm doing a few parts with a CNC I'd need to have some way to consistently hold the blank in the same place axially. With a combo machine, I can eyeball the location of the facing cut, face it (either by cranking the handle or by having it feed in at a constant ipr). Then I can hit Z0 and cycle start and have it do some weird curved stuff.

As far as cranking a pulse generator, the handles are basically the same handles you'd have on a manual machine. They are no harder to crank and you have one for each axis, no jog buttons or axis select switches necessary.

Switching between modes is trivial, push Mode then DRO and you're in manual mode.

For the OP, the Schaublin is going to be a bit different of a control, probably better. There are some severe weaknesses on the CNC side of the machine I have.

HuFlungDung · Feb 17, 2021

I have power feed on all my manual lathes. It is literally easier to program the move at feedrate on a cnc than it is to crank a handle, hour after hour. Hence, if you need a cnc, then get a cnc and use it that way. A half-ass marriage of both is frustrating and asking for trouble. Plus, the guy who runs it will have to run it a lot so he gets good with it.

Just randomly parking your tool somewhere and then hitting the Go button is likely to create a mishap that would be avoided if the thing was run 100% programmed.

I've run cnc mills and lathes in jog mode, and it is nothing but a PITA and a crash waiting to happen. Jog mode is for setting up, not machining in particular. Yeah, I might run a facemill across a slab, but that's about it, and it ain't pretty when you hand crank it

Inigo71 · Feb 27, 2021

Thankyou all for all the info. I think we are heading for a full CNC lathe and keep our existing manual. Maybe a small Emco concept turn 60 second hand. We are just going to produce non ferrous parts, I think it should be enough..
Thanks again for the advise

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Lathe for manual and CNC turning

Inigo71

Plastic

DanielG

Stainless

HuFlungDung

Diamond