Need Opinion

[Builder]

Hello All,

I am a new to this forum and seeking opinions on a Bridgeport clone with cnc already in place. The model in question is CNCMasters Supra Mill http://cncmasters.com/CNC%20Supra%20Knee%20Mill.htm I don't have time or the knowledge to convert it myself. I will be cutting aluminum with fairly tight tolerances.

Any opinions or suggestions would be welcomed

Thank You
Tony

[HuFlungDung]

Not having actually run one, it doesn't look too bad for that kind of money. At least its based on a real milling machine.

Note the accuracy guarantee of +/-.003 in 12". That tells me that they are using rolled ballscrews, not precision ground. The repeatability is pretty good though. You just have to decide how much error you can tolerate. If you have a really critical part, you can often compensate for size errors using radius compensation, or even modifying your program. This takes your time and some trial cutting to figure out for each different part, or each different location on the table. I don't mean to alarm you, but think about the accuracy that you typically need.

Another annoying part of +/-.003' would be dowel hole spacings in a large part.

[HillBilly]

http://ajaxcnc.com/new_cnc.htm

This mill cost more but has ground ball screws and servos instead of steppers.

Darek

[nervis1]

WOW that Ajax one looks nice for the price...the 1.5 hp motor is a little bit of a bummer but a cool little machine none the less.

[Builder]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for your responses. The ajax machine is a little small for what I want. But the CNC setup looks interesting. Ajax has retro kits for Bport clones for a little more than what CNCMasters cost is for their stepper setup. Any body have exp. with the Ajax system.

Thanks again
Tony