Mini Mill to make camera parts

[Moesian]

Hi,

Ive been getting parts for a camera made, but its starting to get quite expensive so Im looking into buying a mill. I dont have much knowlege though.

Ive seen Taig mills around but I dont know how accurate they are? Also if I get a forth axis will it be neccesary for me to get a lathe??.

Ive got around $1800 to spend.

[nervis1]

For the price, for the precision (.001 all day) a Taig is hard to beat. They are very well made for the money. Go see one run, and get a sense of what size parts they are made for before buying though. I can see camera parts being .25-.375 thick, and 2-4" square, a Taig will do it but it will be slow. If you are doing this for fun you may not mind but I would not buy one for production.

I've toured their shop, and met the owner, those guys are about the nicest people out there and I'm sure they would not mind a call, and a little ear bending about their product.

About the price, 1800 will get you a mill, but you will need tooling, vice, maybe fixtures, stand of some sort, coolant, computer, CAM software, and a dozen other things. This is a little like scuba and any other cool hobby, there is no end to the gear you end up wanting.