Newbie- Which mill, office or mini

[lokii]

Hi I'm fairly new to CNC, I have been looking to add to my existing machine shop a smallish CNC mill. Thus far I have narrowed it down to two Haas VMC's

The Mini Mill and the Office Mill OM-2.

I just wondered if anyone has experience of either these machine?

My finances are limited so I have to get the choice right first time.
Both Mills have the capacity I need, as far as 3 axis are concerned.
But I am looking to add a 4th & 5th axis as I need them, so which is the better?

Cheers

Chris

[GermanTec]

Your finances are limited? Buy the Mini Mill.

You looking to add the 4th and 5th axis? Buy the Mini Mill.

[lokii]

Originally Posted by GermanTec Your finances are limited? Buy the Mini Mill. You looking to add the 4th and 5th axis? Buy the Mini Mill.

Thank you

[Pondo]

I looked into the same question before I bought my Minimill.
The decision was made for me because of the limited power of the office mill. The Minimill is a fully functional, full power machining center where the office mill is more like a table top light prototyping machine.
Plus, with the 6K spindle the non-SS Minimill is run on "house" 220V, no 3 phase power converter needed in my garage.
Plus, I had several thousand $ of 40 taper tooling from my VF-3 that works in the Minimill.
The only thing that would be better with the office mill would be the size if that's a big concern.

[L8Train]

lokii,
Have you looked into the DT-1? This is also a good choice the spindle is as powerful as the Mini Mill and you can run it upto 15K. It is also a much faster machine the biggest drawback is the 150 lb weight limit but that can be exceeded by slowing down the rapid accelaration and anchoring the machine. Even with the reduced rapids it will be faster that the Mini Mill.

[Haas__man]

If you are looking to install 4th and 5th axis later then it might be an idea to go for the minimill 2 instead. It has longer X and Y travels and you can have the side mount tool changer so that you don't have tools hanging down and getting in the way of the rotary tables.
The DT-1 is a great - superfast machine but with limited finances you may be better off with a minimill or minimill 2.

Hope this helps.

[aadrew10]

I have used both the mini mill and the office mill. Only get the office mill if you have the space constraint. The Mini Mill will cut material quite a bit faster than the office mill. I believe both are equally accurate. I ended up buying a Mini Mill and absolutely love it.

[lokii]

Thank you all for your input. I have contacted my local Haas Dealer, just waiting for them to get back to me.
I have found a Super Mini Mill for £15k used stock, other than a more powerful spindle, is it worth considering over a Mini Mill?

[GermanTec]

The SMM has more RPM, More rapids, a faster Toolchanger, but the Normal MM has more max torque. You need speed to safe time, the SMM is faster, but if you only make 10 parts from the same, you don't need the fast machine.

Personally I don't like the SMM because the rapids on the toolchanger are verry high and I must more often fix problems on the Toolchangers as by the Mini Mill.

[lokii]

Originally Posted by GermanTec The SMM has more RPM, More rapids, a faster Toolchanger, but the Normal MM has more max torque. You need speed to safe time, the SMM is faster, but if you only make 10 parts from the same, you don't need the fast machine. Personally I don't like the SMM because the rapids on the toolchanger are verry high and I must more often fix problems on the Toolchangers as by the Mini Mill.

Thanks, for that. I think for my needs the Mini Mill is going to be the better option.

[robwhi]

The Big Issue most are missing is what do you want to do with the machine?

I do small Aluminium Molds about 150mm x 150mm and the office Mill wins hands down . I do not need a EDM as I can get into areas with a very tiny cutter you just cannot do with a Mini mill or similar with a .25mm cutter

A mini mill with out putting a high speed spindle on it is totally useless for small intricate molds unless you have days to waste, I get a order one day and deliver a moulded component the next. I spent a lot of time looking at a lot of gear and traveling around the world and to find a machine like the office mill for the price with a 30 000 rpm spindle that is half decent will cost you more than twice the price. have you Costed a similar DMG?
Watch makers in Switzerland use a lot of the office mills these days as it is excellent value

I know of a fair few Mold shops now that have a larger mill and are using a office mill to do what a edm use to do.

Sorry Guys Once you have a 30 000 rpm spindle you won't go back it is not all about fast metal removal but what you can do with it

I now want a 50 000 come on Haas Guys

Cheers


Rob

[lokii]

Thanks Rob,

Whilst I don't produce moulds, I think High speed spindle would be of benefit to some of the more intricate work I do.

Something to think about