I have been using a cnc retrofitted bport clone with ball screws the past few years and have finaly reached the point where I am running my machine about 10-12 hours per day and think its time to add a second machine.

Most of the parts I machine are alum and relativly small and my shop is small as well as my budget so I am looking at entry level machines. The local (about 6 hours away) salesmen is pushing the Milltronics RW15. The price is about right and the table size and travel are ample to jig 4-6 parts at a time. Is this a decent entry level machine, is there another machine in the same price range that would be slightly better, faster more riged or more relaible etc for the same money spent? Total newb in the new machine buying arena so any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

We just bought a small vmc a couple of months ago.
We looked at the milltronics, haas, sharp, fadal.
Look over which options are included and which ones are extra very carefully. Will you want to add a fourth axis in the future? We found that they all come out to be pretty close in price after you add up the options. Some of it is just silly to be optional (IMHO), some of it you may not need. In the end we purchaced a sharp sv2412. It has boxed ways which I feel will give a bit more rigidity. I also prefered the fanuc controls, motors etc. which are readily available if repairs are required. I am happy with the quality of the machine so far, nothing on it seems junky or poorly made. It is early days yet though, we will see how it holds together over time.
Don't forget to consider the a/c power. We had to use a phase converter since the machine uses 3 phase power.

I bought a sharp 2412 about a year ago I am very happy with it .Price was right too.

it's always a crap shoot, but did you look at anything used http://www.machinetools.com/MT/machines/index.tmpl?page=Listview&MachineID=2740&lvt=group&MachineClass=used

i bought an rw15 with pkg a,b,c,d, about a year ago. i already had a partner vmc, a vk5, and an ml14 lathe. the rw15, has proven to be a great machine, decent rapids, solid construction, very decent finish. there is no problem holding better than +-.0005 with good tooling of course. if your not familiar with the control, it is the most productive i have ever used, we are a tool shop, and sometimes i write 10 programs a day right at the machine while developing fixturing for a job. the only complaint is there is no oil skimmer offered, and it uses a lot of way lube. so i added a belt skimmer in one of the available ports in the coolant tank and solved that. check with your dealer, there are sometimes great incentives after major shows, when i bought it, you got pkgs. a,b,c,d, for a total of $4000, so at the time it cost $39k plus freight. a great price for this much machine.

We have two Milltronics and both have served us well. I would get the biggest machine you can afford. 25 X 15 travel is really small, especially the 15". I just went to an open house at the Milltronics dealer this week and looked at the VM22 with some interest. It's quite an improvement over our VM24 that is 6 years old now. I was surprised on how quit it was compared to ours. It was running at 10k rpm and could barely hear it running. We can't stand to be in the same room when ours goes above 7k rpm.

As far as way lube usage goes, that may have something to do with the rigid ways opposed to the linier rails used on most machines today.

i understand what you are saying, but sometimes price is a major object, as in my case, and the capability of the rw15 for the price is very good, also the vm22 costs quite a bit more. and yes the way lube useage is a function of the box ways.

If you are cutting primarily small aluminum parts I highly recomend getting a 15K RPM spindle, it will GREATLY reduce cutting time with small dia cutters.

i havent been following this thread, buy we have 4 milltronics vmcs. the two i am concerned about are the ones from '96 and '97, now with the exception of the '97 all of these machines have been the right choice for our shop (small; 6 guys). the vm30 that we purchased new in '97 has been a lemon. Anyways i am torn do i try to fix this machine, that has too much slop in two ballscrews, or think about purchasing a new machine. if the new machine is the better option. the vm30 and the older vm 24 just dont have the rigidity or the kahones to even push the tools i have to their potential. Any suggestions?
Oh yeah i really like the conv. prog. available on these machines. it helps eliminate operator error, and is really easy for the guys i train to pick up. :cheers:

other than size I dont see anything negative about the rw15, I think I am going to drive down and see the machine under power next week at the dealer

If you are cutting primarily small aluminum parts I highly recomend getting a 15K RPM spindle, it will GREATLY reduce cutting time with small dia cutters.

I agree with this ... but ... you need balanced cutters for 15k and if you are working with people who are not the sharpest tacks in the box it might be wise to compromise on 10k. With 15k it is possible to run the risk of toasting your spindle with an unbalanced tool but this is not likely with 10k.

did you end up buying a RW-15 or 20 or a vw line of machine? Keep us posted and could you shair if you like the machine or not.