Need Help!- Haas MiniMill Disassembly

[Frozen.Q]

This might come as a completely oddball question, but I figured this would definitely be the place to ask.

I'm trying to bring in a Haas minimill to our new shop, which is unfortunately half below grade. The only way to get it in is through an old industrial elevator, which of course it won't fit on the elevator and is much too heavy. The contractors said we could knock out the back wall of the elevator shaft and use a crane to drop it down in (A $4000+ endeavor, 1-2 days of work)

Is it possible to disassemble the machine and put it back together. Even if it takes an entire day? Not sure if anyone has actually tried this before.

Thank you!

Alex Quaintance
FrozenQPC

[Ken_Shea]

Whew, that's sounds like a real problem that only gets worse the further you have to dismantle.

Just thinking out loud, now may be the time to spend some dollars in constructing a garage door or suitable entry/exit door for just this purpose, deliveries or additional equipment.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by Frozen.Q ......Is it possible to disassemble the machine and put it back together. Even if it takes an entire day?.... Thank you! Alex Quaintance FrozenQPC

Have you looked closely at a MiniMill? Theoretically it would be possible to remove the column casting from the bed casting/fabrication. The problems would be removing all the enclosure, then disconnecting all the wiring, etc., that snakes through the casting and taking off the electrical cabinet at the back and the control unit at the front. Reassembly would be equally complicated with the added problem of re-aligning the Z axis. I think this would be a many day operation and of course at the end you would have a questionable machine no longer under warranty.

Knock the back wall out and use a crane.

Alternatively look at digging a hole outside and knocking a hole through a wall???

[Frozen.Q]

Thank you both for your input. It does seem like the only viable option is to use a crane. The contractor said the cheapest way is to knock out the back wall behind the elevator and go down the shaft with a crane. Came in at a $5000 estimate.

So, I might instead start with some bridgeport CNC mills instead. The operations I'll be doing are simple, and require few tooling changes, so something with an ATC is not completely necessary.

[wcbob]

There's the Tool room Mill