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Is my thinking right or wrong

Shawn_Laughlin

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 28, 2019
I’ve been trying to decide on what machine to buy and as I think about it more and more I have more and more questions.

I’m trying to decide between a vf3ssyt or 4ss and possibly vm3 but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Whichever machine i get is going to have a hrt310 Mounted on table permanently so my question regards table size vs inches of travel vs lost work area due to size of 4th axis.

The 3yt has a 54” long table but since it only has 40” of travel you have an area to bolt the axis down while losing a few inches of usable travel.

Now the 4 has a 52” table and can use most of it but you still have the 4th bolted down and you lose all that area. So shorter table,more travel But rotary uses up 10” of table not including the chuck.

So am I right or wrong thinking it’s break even? The Rotary will always be bolted to table If not I would go with the vf4 for sure.

Now add in that the 3yt has 6” more y travel does that make it the more attractive machine?

Now the vm3 question. Does anyone have anything negative to say about the vm3 ? I ask bc if I decide to go with the 3ssyt than I mine as well just go with the vm3 bc its the same travels but cheaper when think about the option that are standard on it.

I asked this a while back regarding machine weight and learned that the vf3yt is based on a vf6 casting so what is the vm3 based off of?there is a 2,300lbs difference and it’s the vf that is heavier but with the same travels and table size. With the vm being the “mold machine” and is suppose to produce a better finish I would think it would be the beefier of the two.

This will be the first cnc machine I’ve ever bought so I’m just trying to be a thorough as I can so sorry for the million questions.
 
One time I had a machine setup with a 4th bolted to a thick plate, which allowed me to let most of the rotary to hang off the table- thus taking up less table space.
 
My old boss has both a VF3YT and a VM3. Can't really help you with the rotary question but he says likes the VM3 because there is usually always a T-slot to use where the VF3YT has problems at times with a block not lining up in just the right T-slot location. That said, what he hates about the VM3 is all the damn T-slots to try and clean chips out of. Big PITA at times when they are jammed pack full of crap.

I have a regular VF3 but would look at the VM3 next time due to the T-slot flexibility and larger Y travel. The extra Y comes in handy for mold building. I have a son that can clean out all the extra T-slots :)
 
allloutmx, that idea never crossed my mind and ima think about it seriously. another question i would ask is how is the weight of the 4th, since its going to be along for the ride no matter if its being used or not, going to effect performance and wear? Ive been thinking a lot about how all that weight always being on the right side side of for a long period of time could possibly cause problems? i know that to an extent thats true but is it to the point where one should woory about it? Or is it best practice to remove when not in use but machine is?
 
RCS Machine thats funny and so true. You and my paps would get along good. But anways,Ive got my quote but havent pulled the trigger bc im torn between between 26" of y travel with the 3yt and the 50" of x travel for the vf4. i just dont know which is going to be more useful but use where both are beneficial. the vf5 is out of the question bc of price or thats the one i would get. decisions decisions.when i first started doing thinking about doing all this i thought it was going to be puppies,rainbows and kittens but its been more like jason.Freddy Kruger and the girl from the exorcist lol
 








 
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