advice needed

[teamjnz]

Hello fellow Haas users.

I am looking to get my first CNC lathe. I have been setting up and making CNC mill and lathe parts for years on both standard Fanuc and Haas controls for different employers. Now I am going to try it on my own.

I am looking at a 2000 SL20. It has the servo 300 bar feeder, toolsetter, parts catcher, tailstock and auger.

What kind of things should I be looking for to avoid buying a piece of junk? I know that most shops don't get rid of good running machines, they keep running them because they are making money.

Any hints of future problems would be appreciated.

[tobyaxis]

Originally Posted by teamjnz Hello fellow Haas users. I am looking to get my first CNC lathe. I have been setting up and making CNC mill and lathe parts for years on both standard Fanuc and Haas controls for different employers. Now I am going to try it on my own. I am looking at a 2000 SL20. It has the servo 300 bar feeder, toolsetter, parts catcher, tailstock and auger. What kind of things should I be looking for to avoid buying a piece of junk? I know that most shops don't get rid of good running machines, they keep running them because they are making money. Any hints of future problems would be appreciated.

A few things you can check for are Ball Screw Noise in Rapid Moves, Rotting Coolant Tanks, Spindle Noise. I mean bad Noise like grinding, thumping, anything not smooth. Cut a shaft with Hard Jaws of about 2 inch in diameter to check the Taper over at least 8 to 12 inches out of the chuck. Low RPM of coarse. The Taper should be no more than .0003 for a .03 cut on the side. If more, it's probably been whacked.

Just a few off the top of my head.

[AMCTony]

Look at machine auctions. Not Ebay but actual out of business ones. There are good deals at these and these are machines the company held on to. They just ceased to make money hence the auction.