opinion on ebay mini-mills

[Smertrios]

The thing I don't like about TAIG is that I have it in my head that leadscrews = backlash which means no accuracy for 3D contoured parts. Right now all I need is something for cutting wax forms but I want something for metal cutting when/if I need that as well.

Found these "new" TAIG machines on EBay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/TAIG-CNC-MILL-WI...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Larger-Taig-cnc-...QQcmdZViewItem

[cartertool]

Well, it is true that if you can afford a machine with ground zero backlash ballscrews you will be happier when doing close tolerance work....

But the Taig has adjustable nuts on x and y (weight of the head and motor takes up backlash on z), and usually ships with a backlash of between .001 and .002, and more than that and you can adjust the nuts. Then software backlash comp will remove the rest at a slight performance hit (time spent winding the crank to take up backlash under cnc control)

[GlenBA]

If your not in a huge hurry, and you think you can add steppers onto a CNC ready Taig, you can save a lot by doing it yourself. You can get a CNC ready mill with stepper motor mounts and anti-backlash nuts from KT Marketing or Computer Sculpture for under $1K, then buy a 4 axis box from Xylotex for under $600. That's $400 extra dollars you have to buy cheap computer to run it, or a nice CNC ready rotary table you can put that fourth stepper on.

[bkstout]

also don't knock the taig i bought 1 a year ago set everything in at .001 tolerance an have been cutting everything imaginable from delrin to stainless you may not be able to do alot of hogging on these little machines but they are remarkable accurate just be careful buying on ebay i tried for months and decided to go direct to the factory i have no regrets

[cartertool]

About 3/4 of my customers buy the CNC ready Taig mill instead of the full Taig CNC system, and quite a few put the Xylotex 4 axis kit on it. Because of this I ordered a xylotex 4 axis system in and will be putting up a page soon detailing my experiences putting on on a Taig mill. The joy of selling machines is that you can try fun things!

If your not in a huge hurry, and you think you can add steppers onto a CNC ready Taig, you can save a lot by doing it yourself. You can get a CNC ready mill with stepper motor mounts and anti-backlash nuts from KT Marketing or Computer Sculpture for under $1K, then buy a 4 axis box from Xylotex for under $600. That's $400 extra dollars you have to buy cheap computer to run it, or a nice CNC ready rotary table you can put that fourth stepper on.

[Smertrios]

How fast are the TAIG mills or rather how fast can they be?

[cartertool]

The factory says rapids of 30ipm, but that is the extreme with the stock control and steppers. In practice you rarely exceed 10-15 ipm when milling, depending on depth of cut, number of flutes, diameter of cutter, spindle speed, material, etc.

The spindle speed is max 10k rpm.

I have had some customers say they got higher rapid speeds (and cutting speeds) with aftermarket controls and steppers.

How fast are the TAIG mills or rather how fast can they be?