CNC mill or RP machine for tech classes?

[srmaietta]

Hey all, my district might have some money (Around 10k$) in the next year or so to spend on a new machine(s) for the tech lab. I was wondering your thoughts. I was considering either a rapid prototyping type of machine 9ABS extrusion), or retrofitting our shop's Bridgeport manual mill to 3 axis CNC. We teach basic tecnhology/design, junior engineering, robotics and electronics. 3D and 2d CAD are used throughout the curriculum.

Any thoughts? What machines do you have? Pros/cons? Regrets?

thanks!!

~Steve

[awerby]

While they aren't large, they can cut metals and a range of softer materials, and would be excellent machines to learn the basics of CNC machining on, which would be capable of making a wide range of small parts. Since they only cost about $3000 each for the advanced DSLS model, you could get a couple of them, plus omputers, accessories, tooling, and CAD/CAM software, while staying inside your budget, and keeping the manual Bridgeport as-is for the larger less complex jobs it's suited for. One nice thing about the Taig is that the stepper motors won't kill themselves if a student runs them into something immovable. Also, they aren't huge man-eating machines that will run your insurance costs up.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[roit31]

I work for a manufacture of 3D printers and have seen some amazing things done by many schools with the printers. Over 2000 schools have our equipment and they use them in many areas of the curriculum. All of your subjects fit very well with what the printer capabilities are. More info for educators can be found at http://www.dimensionprinting.com/app...educators.aspx

Jesse

[srmaietta]

Jesse, I like your technology (abs printing) but the price is out of my range. Maybe a used machine? Do the pumps/nozzles wear out? Are they rebuildable?

I want my parts to be "real" -actually milled or RP'd in a durable, useable material. I see colleagues with the machines that pake parts out of powder and that it seems is still very much just an appearance model. I want something that can be snapped/screwed together, painted, sanded, etc..

2 or 3 smaller machines, now there's an option, but we have a very real space constraint at this time.. I may be re-doing my rooms this year though which could open up a few feet of space for 2-3 taig type machines...

hmm

thanks for the ideas so far guys.
anyone out there been through a similar situation? what route did you take? any regrets? do you love your machine?

thanks again

~Steve
NJ Technology Educator

[roit31]

Steve,

I could find you a previously enjoyed printer and that would take the price down to $15,000 or so. The printers are very reliable and all of the demo printers are brought back to our plant and refurbished before being sent to the end user.

If you are really interested contact me via email and I could try to find a grant for your school.

jroitenberg@dimensionprinting.com

Good luck Steve!

[acssgt]

Hi Steve,

It sounds like you need to decide which direction to go, $10K is a nice chunk of change but certainly not enough to do both (cnc retrofit and 3D printer).
I help at one of our local high schools and can attest to the fact that for that amount you should be able to get an off the shelf (minimum work on your part, and students can fabricate the servo/stepper adapter plates and brackets) retofit kit for your bridgeport and a lathe ... and possibly 1 or 2 seats of educational MasterCAM (#1 priority to consider is the programming software).

Perhaps you should check http://www.machmotion.com as a starting point. There are a number of other dealers as well ... like http://www.ajaxcnc.com just google cnc retrofit and park yourself for a few hours!
You might also want to contact MasterCAM directly to see what they want $$ for an educational seat before making any commitments! http://www.mastercam.com

Just a couple of suggestions in case you were leaning towards the cnc conversion decision ... if you want to read some more info on retrofits follow this link to an overview http://www.mendonet.com/cnclinks/overview.htm and then follow his links at the bottom of the page.

Good luck, Rob D.

[smallss]

i think there is a cnc made by tormach or something like that for around 7,500 if im not mistaken. i have seen videos of it running, and it seemed pretty nice.

[techwoman57]

We are primarily a waterjet shop, but recently leased a 3D printer. It is incredibly easy to use once you have a good STL file. Ask your Vocational Director if you can use your budget on a lease. We got our Dimension SST 1200es through Stratysis leasing.

[aminear]

Without a doubt I would go with your idea of retro'ing the bridgeport.
Check out Mach3 software, you can probably do this on a smaller budget.
3k is probably more than enough.

Then you would have money left over for software.