Heavy is good???

[zaebis]

Ok I was thinking... if heavy machine has more rigidity would it make any sense to increase the weight of the base/column somehow? What is it that makes smaller, flimsier machines leave jiggy cut paths? Any way to fight it with a shear weight?

[neilw20]

It is where the weight is, and the weight added needs to make the machine stiffer.
Just adding weight to the base probably won't make the column any stiffer.
All the stiffness is required to react the force of the cutter between the spindle and the job. Once the spindle/column/cutter deflect more than the chip thickness (and I don't mean depth of cut) you get chatter and a poor surface finish, as the whole assembly oscillates.

Increasing the torsional stiffness of a column can help, but it won't be that simple. If you thump the head with your hand and feel vibration, then the vibration is an indication of lack of stiffness.

[DareBee]

It is the sum of the parts and design as a WHOLE.
If you filled every cavity you could with epoxy granite polymer, you would gain some vibration damping, but then the other weaknesses will be more pronounced.

It turns into a vicious loop. I highly recommend that people realize what they are buying, do a few simple, highly effective mods, and take it for what it is worth. If it is not satisfactory buy bigger or better, don't ever kid yourself that it is cost effective to buy something that is unsuitable and rebuild from the ground up.
BELIEVE me - I know. By the time you are done you could have bought 2 new "super" machines AND been running parts for 2 months on them.
BTW - A large part of my biz is machine build and re-build

[ToolMach_Aust]

Every machine has it's limitations & weaknesses.

However the X4, X4plus, SX3 etc are great machines and excellent value for the money. They are capable of repetitive accurate work.

We have a number of clients that use these machines 8 hours a day, 5 days a week producing parts. Some of these clients are churning over $200K of product from one machine. Great return on investment in any language. Even if you have to replace every 2 years.. who cares.

Spend some time tuning the machine, regular maintenance and it will perform to its design.

Most problems people have in Machining are due more to Software, poor Tool selection and incorrect Feed/Speeds.

Happy machining

cheers

Toolmach

Originally Posted by DareBee It is the sum of the parts and design as a WHOLE. If you filled every cavity you could with epoxy granite polymer, you would gain some vibration damping, but then the other weaknesses will be more pronounced. It turns into a vicious loop. I highly recommend that people realize what they are buying, do a few simple, highly effective mods, and take it for what it is worth. If it is not satisfactory buy bigger or better, don't ever kid yourself that it is cost effective to buy something that is unsuitable and rebuild from the ground up. BELIEVE me - I know. By the time you are done you could have bought 2 new "super" machines AND been running parts for 2 months on them. BTW - A large part of my biz is machine build and re-build

[DareBee]

I am sorry if my post seemed targeted - I did not notice (yesterday) that this was the Syil specific forum.
I was speaking in general terms of ANY piece of equipment, to apply my POV to the question asked.

However - I will point out that

perform to its design.

is exactly what I was saying in my first post. It seems (in my browsing of this site) that many people buy a machine that is listed with lower capabilities than they require (to save a few bucks) figuring on modifying it and all will be roses.
Some times they get away with it and a lot of the times it doesn't live up to their unreasonably elevated expectations.