Need help on 5 Axis

[machines2go]

I do need some help now. I'm going to have to let the little booger out of the bag at least for now. I have the CNC Pro software only. I'm buying a 6 axis motion card for 5 axis+spindle coordination. The software seems fine but I'm confused on where to get and how to mount a low cost 5 axis head rigid and flexible enough to do Milling, Routing, Waterjet, Flame even Laser cutting with. It seems they do not exist. The only one I found strong enough only does milling and cost as much as I want to sale the whole machine for.

[Farmers Machine]

You could buy that head and mount it on your first prototype machine then work the bugs out and use the machine to manufacture your own 5 axis head with improvements that make it better than the one you bought. Question??? how are you going to focus a laser beam on a 5 axis knuckle head, because a fiber optic cannot carry enough watts to do more than cut up soda water cans. If you mounted a machine spindle like cat 40 or cat 50 then you could build special tool holders to mount an oxy fuel of plasma machine torch in the center and make it program just like a spindle with an end mill in place, it would be really cool.then just swap torches as needed for the job at hand, you could even machine step pockets or islands for a large pump and motor package and then switch from milling back to torching and burn the perimeter out. What size of work envelope do you plan on making the machine? Will you be able to market such versatle machine for under 100 grand? I hope so.

Good Luck
The Farmer

[machines2go]

I might have to make my own head or scale down my ambitions or raise the price since the market we want to be in is under $50,000. I am really doing this for someone else with these plans that wants to buy the machine from me. They will sale the machines and I will make them. They will be my only customer. I was told not to discuss the plans until it was done. I can say that work envelope will be any size a customer wants us to build. We are going to build the table based on the need. (Laser or Mill or Flame). Someone else has the know how to make the head versatile for the application. Like you said this head needs to be heavy duty enough. The person I am doing this for already has a plan to create an easy method to swap out the so called tool / nozzle holders. This is the portion that is being kept a secret for now. I know it can be done. If we can pull it off this will be a machine every shop could use.

[Karl_T]

Just my two cents. If you try to do everything on one machine you'll have too many design compromises. Or a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Now, If you drop the milling requirement your design issues dramatically improve. There is no reason a routing, water jet, plasma, torch, laser couldn't be built. None of these processes require the tons of cast iron needed to make a rigid mill.

Karl