?????HAAS CNC LATHE?????????

[JROM]

Ok guys, my boss just told me to buy a new Haas cnc lathe. So I would like to pick your brains about them. I would tend to shy away from them in favor of a mori. or something like a Mori. But the old man says buy a Haas........so I will buy a Haas. I would like to know what to watch out for and what options are the best. This machine could end up just doing prototype work or production work. So I would like to buy a machine that would go ether way.
Lets say 2" bar stock max and at least a 8" chuck and a 5c collet lash up.
So make me wise in all things Haas Lathe
Thanks in advance
John

[Geof]

Do you need a tailstock? What material will be used most often?

The Haas TL machines are quite good for aluminum and mild steel, and if you have scanned through the threads here mentioning the TL's you will have seen some people do stainless. For large diameter, 6" or more, they are limited because they have no gearbox and the torque falls off at low speed just when you need it most. Conversely if you are always dealing with small diameters the low maximum speed is a nuisance.

I find them easy to set up and very handy for prototypes and one offs, but they are painfully slow if you want to try and get production out of them.

The SL machines are much faster but they are more awkward to setup for a single part.

[JROM]

Thanks Geof
I just got back from the Haas showroom. I'm having them quote a SL30 with most of the bells and whistles. Looks like about 90K........we will see......news at 11
John

[swain]

Have had my haas going on 10 years now. Sl 20 with BB will handle 3" thru the drawtube with a 10" chuck. Cuts 10" in diameter. No tailstock cause i do mostly short parts. With the tool probe...its easy to set up. Fast enuff to do everything i throw at it. Has had one bad outage in 9 years. The cpu board
wigged out. Other than that it has been rock solid for the most part.

I got the chip conveyor when i bought this one. Only had a couple problems with it in 9 years. I have heard that the chip augers get bound up a lot on lathes. Ridgid tapping...a must. Oh...the big bore option also jumps the sl-20 to 30 hp...so that is nice when you are drilling 4 inch holes in one feed pass.

Can't think of much else in way of options.

Good luck...and Grats on your machine.

[APP]

Seriously get live tooling.