hy, i remember the 1st time we decided to buy a cnc / everithing was classic arround here, so we went to get something, somewhere 30..40..max60
at the exhibition, 1st exposant had a nice machine, like a multus, but it was no okuma ... however, the guys were pretty young and failed to talk profesional, so we moved on
so it happened that the guy that spoke nice, he knew how to sell, was from Okuma .... this is how it started ... he come after some days to our place, he saw our parts, and he reccomended a lb3000ex2 ... so far so good ... it is 4 years since then, and i would tell you :
... 1st decide what parts do you think you will craft, and so select the spindle size ... spindle size leads to cnc size
... lb3000ex2 has a 10" spindle, and also we can put on it a 12" spindle; so far, we did not need to use the 12", because our parts were not so big, but i can tell 4 sure that for some parts we need a faster lathe, because you can not reach high rpms on a 10"
... like this you choose your base machine ( bm )
... same machine comes with different lengths, but differences in prices between them is not so high; for example a bm-lenght1 has almost same price as a bm-length2, so deciding 4 money from lenght perspective is not so important, because the "big money" goes into the "bm"
... M is ok, and is most common optional buyed by clients
... Y is also ok, but is not so common ... is good to have it, just in case, but it costs, and also you may not use it for a while ,,, maybe never ?
... also Y raises the turret, and so an Y lathe turret is not so rigid, because is raised; Y turret is also more sensitive to collisions
... 2nd spindle is ok, but it does not replace a taistock ... a tailstock has it's own elastic element, and it does not put pressure on the screw ball, while the 2nd spindle, if used as a tailstock, will put pressure on the screw ball, more exactly on the encoder ... so using an electrical motor in electric tension, when you could take a tailstock does not sound very nice
... my turret has 12 posts, thus there can be 12 tools; there is a middle index function that allows your turret to stop between posts, thus having a total of 24 ... on 24 special holders are required, and also they are bigm and you may not be able to use the neighbours
... also 12 posts is generally enough for turning, and a 2nd spindle may require more tools, so even if you have the 2nd spindle, maybe you won't have place on the turret for tools
... also, 2nd spindle comes nice for mass production, because you combine 2 machine in 1, actually you realize/machine 2 clamps faster, but if this is not done properly, than you may lose more time on a dual spindle cnc compared to a single spindle
... so i would suggest a 2nd spindle once you are sure of what you will; otherwise, get a tailstock
... a tailstock does what it should, and if a 2nd spindle could replace a tailstock, than Okuma would stop selling tailstocks
... there are also other options & accesories :
...... high pressure coolant - for deep holes
...... abso scales, for increased precision - not recomended on common parts; if you get a machine with absoscales, than that machine must no be forced, must not be roughed, used gently ... otherwise this makes no sense
...... control at 0.1um ... default is 1um; if you combine 0.1um control + absoscales, than you may craft nice parts with tight tolerances, but if you get that machine for general turning, you will ruin it
...... chip conveyor ... you may get it later
...... bar feeder ... same, get it latter > you may drag bars with a puller on the turret
...... automatic doors > really nice for mass production
some options may be bought and installed later, while others are built in from the factory
thus inspect this list for the machine that you decide to get, and don't rush ... you may decide after a month
just get informed
in the end, is the same thing
kindly !
