Originally Posted by Need CNC  Hello,
For the past 3 years, I have had my small parts subcontracted out. I use these materials : 6061, 7075, 4140, 304. Popular alloys that most mills can tackle.
So now I am asking myself this question... should I take the plunge for my own machine ?
This first admission may disqualify me, right off the bat. I have never ran a CNC before. On the other hand, I am technical and believe I could do it. I have built my own computers for the past 12 years and I design my own parts, so this shouldn't be too hard, right 
Anyhow, I have researched the subject pretty well but am left with more questions than I started with.
I use Solidworks 2009 currently. I have all of my parts in solid models. It just appears that there are no industry standards. Or, I should say "easy" standards. I am really trying to figure out why I cannot jump from solid models to finished parts ??? This is the 21st century... Why G code and all the complications ?
I think that we are at a point, technology wise, that one could place a block of aluminum into a CNC and click "mill". If we have the CAD software, shouldn't it output data good enough to mill with ? Or am I completely off base here ?
I don't really have the time to take coarses just for CNC. I am pushing the limit, as is, just to design and get products to market. If there is a simple [haha], plug-n-play type CNC out there... then I am all ears. Otherwise, I may be stuck with expensive subcontracting.
I would like to get all my operations under one roof.... overall quality would improve. Also, room and power are non-issues. I have plenty for a vertical or horizontal machine.
Any help... or polite criticism is welcomed.
Thanks. |
We bought a new Fanuc Robodrill Mate, tooled, delivered and 3 days training for 50K. You can learn G-code, it is a very easy language once you understand the rules. I had never run any cnc equipment before, now I program, setup, and operate both the vertical machining center as well as a new Hass SL10 lathe. I got 3 days training and they turned me loose. 2 years later we are machining some pretty complex stuff. Hands on experience can be the best teacher. Of course I had experience with manual milling and turning, if you have no experience in manual machining then it's gonna be a much rougher ride, and you should probably continue to sub the work out. The benefits of doing your own work in house is faster leadtime, greater flexibility in design changes, and cost savings if you do things right. The downside is initial investment, maintenance, learning curve, repairs, overhead, etc. Hope this is of some help to ya.