need ideas on prototype machines

[shootrr]

I am looking for a lathe and mill recommendation for quick turning of prototype parts, Lathe needs to be able to handle parts up to 1" diameter, mill needs to be able to handle a part that is 12 X 12 X 12 minimum.
Not particular on what machines they are but service must be available as quick as needed if something happens. These are not production machines, More like tool room applications. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[will gilmore]

what is your budget? what material? 12" in Y is just above a lot of the smaller machines. Do you actually need 12" of travel in Y or just hold a 12" part?

--Will

[PixMan]

And what kind of shapes/geometry do you need to machine? This matters because if there's a lot of complex contouring, you might want CNC machines. If it's ordinary features, manual machines might be more versatile.

[dertsap]

haas tool room mill and lathe would be the best bang for the buck

[florida]

also how much room do you have? plenty of floor space, or limited sq.ft. and power (like 3-phase)?

[shootrr]

Sorry I have been away for awhile, CNC is definately the way I need to go. I cant really pin down what type of parts I will be making as this is an R & D facility. I am not so worried on the price of the machines I just want a good reliable machine that can be setup and running as quick and efficient as possible. It would be nice if it had conversational programming. We have Mastercam for programming but for the one offs that could be done quickly on the mill or lathes I would like to use the CNC in that aspect also.

[awerby]

if 1" was the largest diameter you need to deal with. Take a look at the CNC versions available at The Sherline Lathe, Milling Machine and Precision Miniature Machining Page. They want a Linux computer to operate with, and you'd need a program like Mecsoft's VisualTurn (which I also can provide) to write toolpaths for it.

Andrew Werby
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