I’m researching a new machine for my company and was wondering if any one has any feedback about the haas office mill or the Benchman MX by Light Machines. Like how are they holding up, do they keep tolerances, how user friendly is the controller and any problems that people have had with the office mill. We plan on using the machine to cut small parts out of alum, stainless steel, plastic, and graphite.

Thanks
Tom

Also If anyone knows of another good small industrial grade machine please let me know

It's a size up from the Office mill. Robust and fast. Perfect for small parts. I have 2 of them, Can't wait for #3.

For not much more than the cost of the Haas Office Mill you can get the SuperMiniMill with a 10,000 rpm spindle and fast rapids. If you squeeze out a few more dollars and get the spacer option to raise the Z axis 4 inches and include a 4th axis you can mount an 8 inch rotary table (HRT 210) and have a very complete industrial grade machine with a small footprint.

you can get almost 2 minimills for the price of a reasonably equipped office mill. plus the ISO 20 tooling is very expensive and limited availability compared to CAT40. Also minimill will run on 220 single phase.
the office mill would only be for a place that was very space limited, or needed to go thru a regular sized entry door, or needed to be portable.
also the high speed spindle is nice but not worth the $$$$ in my opinion.
I love my 4 axis mini except for the ethernet still doesn't work, otherwise it's great.
joe V.

the mini mill will not fit thur the door and is twice the size of the office mill, we have looked into it. Also we need the high speed spindle for the small endmills.

I have ran a benchman, I can't remeber the model, but it was a fun machine to run. It had a computer as the controller, and it used standard G and M codes. We used a vacuum table, and cut mostly plastics and aluminum.

In the case of what you describe the office mill would be a great machine. As far as mini machines go I have never seen one better built, the only thing I can think that comes close is like EMCO-Maier or Schaublin, although they are very expensive also. I would be looking for a place to put a mini-mill, or Super mini, of course I don't know your situation so it's hard to judge from here.

There are lots of companies selling minature milling machines (what I call "hobby" machines) but you will have a hard time finding one with all the features of the office mill for much less money.

I saw the office mill at IMTS and it is a very impressive machine. For only $4000 difference the OM-2A looks like better deal over the OM-1A. The only option I would consider is the 16M memory since I think all machines come standard with USB now. I estimate $55,000 by the time you get delivery, tooling and workholding purchased. This doesn't include any CAD or CAM programming software which can easily be another $30,000 on top of the price of the machine. Remember everything is going to cost you more for a miniature ISO 20 system. You may not even be able to buy holders from anyone but HAAS since this is their own spindle design. I would also be very skeptical about your ability to do very much with stainless steel. User friendly-ness of the control totally depends on your experience with CNC. I like the HAAS control cause I'm used to it but I don't know your background.

Out of the box the office mill would be hard to beat if you have the money go for it, however there are probably five different machines out there that will do everything the mini mill does for thousands less. What you won't get is a full enclosure, or a tool changer, (at least not standard) and probably not a control as robust or with as many features as the HAAS. Ask the machine sales person where the nearest customer is with a machine like what you want. Most will be happy to show it to you and talk about it.

Joe V.

thanks for the info everyone.

Datron also make nice smaller machines.

Hi Tom,
I am new to this forum and found your older thread. I don't know if you've already made a decision or are even monitoring. But.... I have an OM2A that I am just bringing up and I just sold a Benchman 4000. Without even cutting a part, there is NO comparison. The most concise description of the difference is that the Haas is a real machine that you could actually count on to make accurate small parts, day in, day out. My Benchman would more or less make the prototypes I was working on, but I always had the sense that it would of started breaking down in myriad ways if I ever really started using it regularly. Besides, there is this forum available to you for help, a legitimate machine tool company for support, and a bunch of ways to upgrade should you wish (I have 4-axis now, and would someday like to go to 5). But, perhaps most importantly, they are REALLY cute and can fit anywhere. I just moved to a cool balcony inside someone else's shop and am getting FREE rent because my space needs are so minimal.
I don't yet have much time using the machine, but shortly will. Please feel free to call or write if you have any questions I might be able to answer.
Jeff
415-531-8519