My company is a machinery manufacturer. We got into CNC milling many years ago and a VMC about 13 years ago. Our parts are relatively small (from .125” dia. Pins to 3” diameter hubs mostly in 304 stainless) and our runs are short. We have been jobbing out longer run lathe work to CNC shops and doing the one and two jobs on our two manual lathes. It is now looking like we can justify a small CNC lathe. I am aware of many brands out there, but I do not know how they stack up against one another. I can use all the advice I can get.
The .125 diameter pins? More info needed on the pins, the length of them and is .125 diameter
the lowest diameter of the pin or the highest? If the pins are too long or have deep plunges,
it will be very hard to find one machine to do them along with 3" diameter hubs. The pins sound like screw machine jobs, where as the 3" hubs are lathe friendly. Also is your budget for new
or used?
Pins & New/Used
The .125 pins are not a significant item so we could continue to have them done outside. Most parts are in the .75" to 2.0" diameter range. We are beginning to get quotes for a new machine. We have known the local Leadwell rep for a long time and he is giving us a quote. If a good late model used came up we would look at it.
All I can say is if you can afford it Mori Sekie makes the best lathes I've ever seen no matter what the application. They are not cheep but you get top of the line and state of the art. If the bottom falls out of your buisness you can always sell or lease them out easy. Check them out at the Mori web sight. If you buy you won't be sorry.
If your runs are under 40-50 parts, or don't need a high number of tool changes, a hybrid manual/cnc lathe like this one could be ideal - http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php?t=
We entered cnc turning with a Milltronics machine similar to this one. We migrated to a full turning center because we needed more power and a real tool turret with a collet chuck and barfeeder for longer runs, but we really did like the machine. Prototrak is one of the best in this market.
Investigate what dealers in your area provide the best service and use that info to weigh in on making your decision...expensive equiptment that isn't running due to poor service will hurt. You can argue about Milltronics vs Mori, but opinions are only that- opinions. Only buy what you NEED to meet YOUR requirements...don't overspend thinking "you might use the high-end function someday" or "it will hold it's value better". Size the machine for the job and don't get pushed into an overkill. Service/Support are way more important to consider than bragging rights...
You might want to consider American made CNC lathes like Hardinge or Haas. Hardinge make a really good machines in several price ranges. Haas has okay machines that are very price competative.
John
John, not all Hardinge lathes are made in USA. My Hardinge SV 200 came here on the slow boat from Tiawan. Regardless, the quality is impeccable.
Now Haas lathes, on the other hand, are a domestic product, as far as I know.
mori
"The only logical choice is Mori Seiki."
I have to agree with this as for as the top of the line. others to look for are okuma. wasino ,ikigai. I have seen many daewoo lately. they come highly recommended. hardinge is real nice too. i work on a haas and it is not the best built but the service is local. it also has many bells and whistles on it. we also have a ganesh. it is a gang lathe and not very notable but the service is also local and I heard it was only about $30k brand new.
Bob,
Do you program your mills at the machine, or off line with a CAD/CAM software? Toolcat brings up a very good point, if your doing your programming at the machine, not only would you want the best machine for your parts, but you'd need a control that has very user friendly programming capabilities. If you're programming "offline" with CAD/CAM, then there's infinitely more machine choices.
Maybe it would be nice to know what your definition of "runs are short" really means. This could make a difference in the machines we can suggest and compare.