Choosing a CNC Lathe/Turning Center

[MikeGT40]

I am looking to purchase a CNC Lathe/Turning Center.

Short story, I design and assemble liquid handling systems typically used in testing labs. I have a requirement to machine cylindrical parts which have several holes located on the perimeter of the part. Sample image attached. I do not own a Mill yet and would like the Lathe to perform this operation.

I called several CNC Lathe/Turning Center manufacturers and when I mentioned Live Tooling and the prices seemed to quadruple! Is it possible to machine these holes on the perimeter of the part on a lathe without Live Tooling (I may not understand the definition of Live Tooling, maybe I should be asking for some other type of process)?

Can anyone recommend a machine (I want to purchase new) which would fit my needs and cost less than $45K?
Thanks.

[Tcooper571]

I beleive you will need to have a lathe with live tooling capabilites to do those cross holes on your part. The term live tooling is just another way to say your lathe has milling capabilites where the tool is rotating and not the material. You will find it hard to fins a lathe with live tool capabilites for the price range you are looking for. What you may be able to do is purchase an inexpensive lathe and then add on an external milling spindles (air or servo). We have done this many times and it works out nice. try this websie for good used equipment www.automatics.com

[Karl_T]

You said you were in design. The next part you design may have different needs. Because of this, I'd suggest you get both a lathe and a mill. It will take two operations for this part but you will have far more versatility for the future.

For new equipment to fit your needs, you can't beat Haas. Folks that run a machine 24X7 look down on them cause they won't hold up for years. You won't be running them that hard. They have a great bang for the buck.

Karl

[ALLtra Mach]

I have to disagree with both previous posts.
There is a difference between live tooling and Milling capabilities.
Live tooling simply means, as TCooper stated, that you have some type of external spindle that spins the tools.
Any machine in that price range I will wager does not have the rigidity to do much, if any, milling operations.
I would look at a Waucheon machine, Though I have never ran them, I have heard from those who have that they are much more machine than a Haas in thae same price range.
However, I don't think you have hit that range with your budget.
I have to go with TCooper's add on spindle Idea.
Also, I do not know your financing situation, but If you can buy used you can find alot of very good used machines at excellent prices right now. You will end up with a much better machine than if you buy new.
Honestly at that price range I would be suprised if you found anything new worth owning.

[MikeGT40]

Thanks for all the info and advice. I am still searching and finding that most new lathes with live tooling (X, Z, C) lathes are around $100K. I'm exploring the use market.

[gthal]

my choise for you would be A Nakamura Tome One of the best for the money???

[Haas_Apps]

Mike,

Everyone will give you their opinion but what really matter is that you get something to fit your needs. You have not mentioned anything about the part you need to buy this for; what size is it; what material is it made of; how many do you need to make.

As is evident by username I work for Haas and you will most likely expect me to point you in that direction. Yes it would be great if you bought a Haas but you really should do a little research about this and not make any decision until you have narrowed it down to what you need in a lathe. You have already stated that you need live tooling and your budget is 45K. Other things to consider are:

Capacity of the machine
Training
Local support
Programming
Tooling
Warranty
Use for potential future work

This is the short list and I am sure that someone will come by and add more to it. 'Best advice anyone can give you is to research this before you take the plunge.

Originally Posted by MikeGT40 I am looking to purchase a CNC Lathe/Turning Center. Short story, I design and assemble liquid handling systems typically used in testing labs. I have a requirement to machine cylindrical parts which have several holes located on the perimeter of the part. Sample image attached. I do not own a Mill yet and would like the Lathe to perform this operation. I called several CNC Lathe/Turning Center manufacturers and when I mentioned Live Tooling and the prices seemed to quadruple! Is it possible to machine these holes on the perimeter of the part on a lathe without Live Tooling (I may not understand the definition of Live Tooling, maybe I should be asking for some other type of process)? Can anyone recommend a machine (I want to purchase new) which would fit my needs and cost less than $45K? Thanks.

[PixMan]

OK, I see you have a budget in mind. More information is needed before I can suggest a particular machine.

Maximum diameter of the parts you wish to make now or in the future?
Materials to be cut? (Rigidity of machine is important here.)
Any off-center milling or drilling to be done? (The part shown has on-center holes, so no Y-axis live tools are needed.)

Quantities of parts to be made? (Will you need a bar puller, single-tube bar feeder, or magazine bar loader?)

How long will you have the machine and do you anticipate growth in the near future? Buy the most machine you can now only if growth is imminent. Otherwise save some money and buy only what is needed for this type of job now. You can always add increased size and/or volume capability in the future if business conditions dictate a need.

[Runner4404spd]

ok, i'm of a different view point, forget buying a machine. sub the work out and focus on the design and marketing of your products. your clearly starting from scratch with no tooling, no lathe, no mill. do you know how to program a cnc? whats the learning curve like. i would recommend if your dead set on getting a machine get one with a controller that people know and can help you with like a fanuc. also you don't want to learn on a brand new machine. there are tons of used machines for sale right now, also there are tons of shops dying for work that would make that part for peanuts. also as much as i hate to say it, that part is not a lathe part. the wall thickness looks too thin. we have other processes available that would make that part much cheaper than you could do on a lathe.

the hardest part of a business is marketing and doing the design. actual fabrication is fairly easy. focus on what your good at and make money like that, either that or get a partner that has the knowledge you need to help grow your business. after all we are all in this to make money.

[Delw]

if most of your parts are round the get a lathe.
the part above I wouldnt waste my time on a sub spindle or live tooling.

its a simple lathe then go buy a hand mill for 5-10k and drill the cross holes.

not to mention that part above would be really tricky to do with live tooling the hole is on your locating face so your going to have do 2 operations . a simplehand mill would work for the cross holes.
with out telling how long the part is, if its longer that 5inchs a sub spinldle wont work. if its bigger than 2. 5" in diam your going to need a bigger class machine and 100k wont buy you that machine unless used especially with live tooling.

the best thing to do if your finance's allow for a proto type shop is to buy and cnc lathe and a cnc mill , a 30x16 will be a good screw around size of your parts are smaller than the table.
dont forget with the purchase of machines comes tooling, figure 20-30% of cost of the new machine.
sure some will say less and some will say more. but things add up, cutting tools, fixtures/vises/oils coolants etc etc.
if you have to buy software then your adding another 2-15k depending on what your doing, then training for the software and maybe yearly upgrade/maintence fees upwards of 5k.dont forget training for the machine, most new machines will give you free basic training.

45k for a new machine I wanna say impossable with live tooling unless your parts are smaller than 1.5" in dia then an omni turn maybe a possibility with live tooling. providing the marterial isnt really hard.9 i have cut inco ,304 316 ss and tit with am omni up to 1" dia. I would rather cut less that .5 on that machine.

like I said with out knowing the max dia and length its hard to give even a close anwser and material

[extanker59]

MikeGT40's last post on this thread was 4 months ago. So I suspect he has already done whatever he was going to do.
MikeGT40, can you update us?

[davidw731]

If your parts are less than 1.062 in diameter you could look at omni-turn. They have basic live tool capabillity and are lower priced