Recommendation on commercial CNC machine for milling in metals and composite material

[Newton]

When I did my research for my personal machine I read up on many machines and I remember some green looking high end gantry type machines.

Since this is many years back I can't find my links so I was wondering if some one knows any machines which they could be recommend?

I have looked at Datron machines and received a quote but the Germans seems to think that money is no object and I feel the quote rips us off. I have therefor started looking at Haas which is cheaper than the Datron, but it's has the size of a small cottage and requires some hard work to make it fit in the space available.

This is not for my own use but a company which I try to help out.

Any experiences and recommendation is welcome.

K

 

[RBC]

Kent,

When it comes to this type of equipment, you get what you pay for.

There's a reason Datron is more expensive than other machines. Most likely it's because it's better than those other machines.

Find machines that offer you the capability that you're looking for. Expand that for any reasonable future needs and remember, you get what you pay for!

 

[Newton]

Kent,

When it comes to this type of equipment, you get what you pay for.

There's a reason Datron is more expensive than other machines. Most likely it's because it's better than those other machines.

Find machines that offer you the capability that you're looking for. Expand that for any reasonable future needs and remember, you get what you pay for!

Agree Royce - but almost $19 000 just for training and shipping from Germany was something which had my eyes saying rip off. Datron is a good machine and would fit the needs but I feel a Haas is more "high end" in my eyes - and when it all comes out cheaper than the other it makes me wonder.

Currently trying to search for other German machine manufacturers - darn if I had kept those links.

K

 

[PolarBear]

I feel a Haas is more "high end" in my eyes/QUOTE]

I would not consider Haas to be high end, they have gotten better over the years. I dont know what type of materials you will be cutting or the tolerences you need to hold, but they may be a factor to consider if you are looking at the Haas. Havent used the gantry type machine, but a few mini-haas mills, not ver rigid or powerful.

 

[conetip]

Hi Kent, the problem with composite materials is they are very abrasive, especially when they get into the cutting fluid/coolant and the sliding parts of the machine.
Mazak make some good machines, and so does Mahoe Deckel .If it is smaller components then I would sugest something from Kitamura like their sparker series, (for making electrodes etc). A cheaper machine would be a Victor from Taiwan.(these have good access to cleaning and are easy to clean down).
Lots of choices out there at the moment.
Neil

 

[Newton]

I feel a Haas is more "high end" in my eyes/QUOTE]

I would not consider Haas to be high end, they have gotten better over the years. I dont know what type of materials you will be cutting or the tolerences you need to hold, but they may be a factor to consider if you are looking at the Haas. Havent used the gantry type machine, but a few mini-haas mills, not ver rigid or powerful.

I was not aware of this. Materials where mentioned in the heading ;-) Composite (plastics) and aluminum.
Haas could be equipped with 30k Rpm spindles and weight is 5-6000kg in the 1000x660x500 mill area. Datron M8 weights 8-900kg and is a gantry machine.

Thanks
K

 

[Newton]

Hi Kent, the problem with composite materials is they are very abrasive, especially when they get into the cutting fluid/coolant and the sliding parts of the machine.
Mazak make some good machines, and so does Mahoe Deckel .If it is smaller components then I would sugest something from Kitamura like their sparker series, (for making electrodes etc). A cheaper machine would be a Victor from Taiwan.(these have good access to cleaning and are easy to clean down).
Lots of choices out there at the moment.
Neil

Thanks Neil.

I would for sure look in to the mentioned machines. Locally we have Haas, Mori Seiki, Datron, Multicam and a lot of Asian machines. The problem is that out of these I only see Datron and Haas as options. Mori Seike is to ekspensive and Multicam has no housing and does not look as nice as Datron.

A high quality Gantry machine would most likely be the best solution but I was hoping to find additional machine manufacturers and not just one.

Thanks for the tip, I would Google them asap.
K