Newbie- If a person was to start from scratch and had $10,000 to invest in a Mini CNC Mill

[CNCWNTTOBE]

Hello,

I want to get into the CNC world, but on a small scale with a mini cnc machine. I don't have anything cnc related, ie cutting tools etc. So I am asking for suggestions on what buy in order to be prepared to start milling aluminum parts at or below 500mm x 200mm x 3mm in size.

There are many companies that sell mini cnc mills, but what makes one better over another? Is high RPM important? Are there some machines not built as well as others that I should stay away from?

What software do I need other than SolidWorks in order to control the cnc machine?

What are some good cutting tools to have, etc? All your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and hope to hear from someone soon.

[Karl_T]

I'd look at the Haas minimill
http://www.haascnc.com/details_VMC_N...9#VMCTreeModel

[CNCWNTTOBE]

Preowned HAAS? Are they in that range? New Haas...even the minis are more than what I have for a budget.

[cncgooroo]

I reccomend Haas to anyone starting out due to the fact that there support is untouchable. Even if you buy a used machine, they will help and a lot of the time you can go on there web site and find answers yourself from the answer man.

Tooling should not really worry you...thats going to depend on your particular product you are going to be machining.....and when looking for mini machines RPM is important. You are most likely going to be using max cutters of 1 inch dia. and generally not above 1/2"

Do you have machining experience? Again depending on your particular machining needs you may not need Autocad, Solidworks etc. I like Gibbs CAM for programming it does a nice job. I used both Autocad & Solidworks as well for cad work but these are expensive items. Autocad LT will save you a lot of $$$ and it will help you make mill or lathe math calculations when starting out.
Do you have CAD experience? The Haas Control will do a lot of Math for you also, and insert it in the program.

You need to lay out what your planning and then make your equipment match.
You can buy too small !.........make yourself a business plan of sorts and make all the pieces of the puzzle fit nicely together. It will save you a lot of time & Money and a lot of hard lessons you can do without. You need to come out of gate making money, not sorting out problems.

Get in touch also with a Haas rep and he may know of someone that needs to go bigger or that is in trouble and you can find big savings on a used mini.

[hoss2006]

Welcome to the Zone!
Save a good $2-3000 for your tooling,clamping,measuring etc, which
would leave enough for the
Industrial Hobbies or the Tormach that would handle anything you want to throw at them.
The IH has servos and more travel, more than the 500mm x 200mm you wanted.
You be hard pressed to find any complaints on either.
They are brutes, nothing mini about them.
Mach 3 is the best for controlling the mills for the money.

[sergizmo]

I don't know why Haas is even being suggested. Guys, his budget is 10K for everything. A Haas mini starts at 33K. Even the base toolroom starts at 24K. Any used machine in budget will be beat to crap. A Haas Mini only has 16" of X. He needs 20".

The Tormach doesn't quite meet the work envelope needs either, with 18" of X. Outside of that it's primo. A good machine in budget.

The Industrial Hobbies would more than meet the work envelope and budget needs. Just be sure to get the VFD option if you go this route.

Honestly if your parts are only 3mm thick in aluminum there may be some CNC routers up to the job. I don't know much about them but it may be worth asking in the router forum.

Serge

[Mike Stevenson]

I agree that the tormach is a great machine.

[tikka308]

I've met with the IH guys at their Connecticut shop and have to say I'm really impressed with the machine! The only reason I haven't bought one is that I couldn't fit it in my apartment...

The tormach is certainly great as well and is backed by a more "formal" company with R&D, documentation, etc, but I find that the IH servos & larger travel make it really compelling!

[cncgooroo]

This is in reference to the Tormach .... I am not breaking hearts here.. but the Tormach is SO limited it is sad..... 1.5 horsepower guys...use your head...Unless of course ALL you are going to do is run a 1/16 drill. Haas minis have TOOL Changers and 7.5hp

The reason I suggest Haas is because you can with patience find the minis around 8K - 10 k used, and new he COULD use part of his money to finance a new machine and NOT be so limited, and second I do not buy nor would I suggest something without a service record. Tormach is reputable, but I have been in the posistion of owning something I for one cannot get parts for and 2 cannot talk to anyone who can speak english when I needed service help. And even worse I have shelled out $147,000.00 for a piece of equipment that was so limited in its work envelope that eventually I had to go buy a larger machine to fit more opportunities. You can buy a little larger than you need....and have possibilities.....but if you push the envelope the other way you will learn like I did.

You really need to Plan it all out carefully and not get in a hurry.
Sorry...but thats the way it is...... You get what you pay for!

[SpeedsCustom]

I wish I had a Mini Hass. God those machines are beautiful


-Jason

[Mike Stevenson]

Originally Posted by cncgooroo This is in reference to the Tormach .... I am not breaking hearts here.. but the Tormach is SO limited it is sad..... 1.5 horsepower guys...use your head...Unless of course ALL you are going to do is run a 1/16 drill. Haas minis have TOOL Changers and 7.5hp The reason I suggest Haas is because you can with patience find the minis around 8K - 10 k used, and new he COULD use part of his money to finance a new machine and NOT be so limited, and second I do not buy nor would I suggest something without a service record. Tormach is reputable, but I have been in the posistion of owning something I for one cannot get parts for and 2 cannot talk to anyone who can speak english when I needed service help. And even worse I have shelled out $147,000.00 for a piece of equipment that was so limited in its work envelope that eventually I had to go buy a larger machine to fit more opportunities. You can buy a little larger than you need....and have possibilities.....but if you push the envelope the other way you will learn like I did. You really need to Plan it all out carefully and not get in a hurry. Sorry...but thats the way it is...... You get what you pay for!

I regularly milled titanium with a 3/8" end mill taking heavy depths of cut on a Tormach. You don't know what you are talking about.

[cncgooroo]

Limitations Mike, and yes I do know what I am talking about!

If you think a Tormach will out perform a Haas Mini, well it is self evident that someone does not know what they are talking about, however in your defense because I am that kinda guy...... it is not Apples to Apples either.

But you still get what you pay for.

Jason Good Wish! Hope you get one. Super Mini on Ebay now for $29,500 Or best offer sweeeeet. 10,000 rpm too! rigid tap! Tool changer!

And just a note Aprox $7k for a tormach NO OPTIONS add then and tell me what a deal it is. And to be fair add em all to compete with a mini cause it already has them ( to be fair ) Dont forget your computer.....or there pre configured dell.