Do HAAS Make Custom Machines

[Ginger_Ninja54]

Do HAAS customise machines?
we require the X&Y of a VF3/VM3 but the Z is restricted by an overhead gantry crane - so was wondering if they would build a VF"2.5" for us....
i.e. a VF3, but with a VF2 Column!

Has anyone heard if they have ever done such a thing??????

[Donkey Hotey]

They are on different base castings so, I don't see how they could make you the machine you're talking about. The machine has to go to the top of the travel to execute a tool change and the toolchanger can't move down (all the bosses are cast into the column--that kinda' fixes the height).

You COULD buy a VF-2YT. That adds 4" to the Y travel, making a 30x20 machine on the VF-2 casting.

Or just make sure the crane isn't parked overhead when you're using the VF-3.

[Geof]

Crazy Suggestion.

Lower the floor just in the arear of the machine.

[Wizzard of H]

Custom machines are economically a dead-end. At least at the prices these and similar machines go for. 23 years ago a small company in the LA area sold a VF-1 size machine for $70,000! In that era and with that pricing there was room for custom machines. That is no longer the case.

Consider an alternative...
What is the highest thing in the machine that gets in the way?
Could the wiring from control to spindle head be moved to the side to make space? You could do that yourself without being prohibitively expensive.

Or...
Consider another something I saw once. A customer built a lowered floor to place the machine about 12 inches lower than it could otherwise. This also allowed an operator to get a lot closer to the parts.

Consider again...
My uncle in Texas once was having a machine installed and it didn't fit thru the doorway. A hydraulic cylinder was in the way. He offered to knock out and rebuild the doorway for only a few hundred dollars. The installer instead decided to remove the hydraulics and eventually spent two weeks and thousands of dollars finishing that half-baked plan.

Lesson:
There is ALMOST ALWAYS a simpler way.

[underthetire]

No. I tried to order three tm mills without spindles or drive for the spindle. They wouldn't do it. That's a lot less work than swapping a column. We will be pulling all the spindles ourselves, with the spindle drives and tossing them.

[wms]

We will be pulling all the spindles ourselves, with the spindle drives and tossing them.

Toss them my way..I'll give you directions..

[mecheng10]

I could take a pair of those TM spindles and drives off your hands.

[Machineit]

Depending on exactly how much interference you have, it is a practical solution to cut and drop the floor down. I have seen many shops that have 3's and 4's use a step stool to get better access to the machine. The guy who bought my shop about 8 years ago had to cut the dealing away to run it and they still used a step stool in front of it. So up to about 8-10 inches it is a viable option.

Cheers--Mike

[Ginger_Ninja54]

The cutting into the floor has been looked at... no way! we have a clean, smooth resin covered floor throught the shop, cutting into it is a no go!
The gantry crane has been looked at to see if it could be raised up... no way! the roof is in the way!
Parking the crane out of the way is a non-starter too! the area is in constant use....

Have seen the VF2yt, but we were keen on the VM series really, though i guess the VM is just a VF... but with all the options on as standard?!

[Ydna]

The VM's have lower-pitch ballscrews to allow the axis movements higher torque and accuracy/repeatability. I heard it makes them a tad more rigid though that may have been an interpretation of the ballscrew torque. However as a result they're slower than the standard VF's, and considerably slower than the VFSS's.

[Adelmi]

necito ayuda en el offset para setear las herramientas.....


i need help to set starting offset tools....

gracias
thanks