Is there any such thing as too large of a mill?

[dabear3428]

what are the downsides of say a 12X54 knee mill vs a smaller 9X42?

 

[Karl_T]

Just room in your shop. should be a more rigid better machine.

 

[mmcmdl]

what are the downsides of say a 12X54 knee mill vs a smaller 9X42?

Depends . Is the large mill based on a Bridgeport style ? Is the head fixed ? Room in the shop ? Pics ?

Is there any such thing as too large of a mill?​

Yes . I'd love a DeVlieg but no room at the inn .

 

[benmychree]

I ran an old Cincinnati {WW-!} era #5 horizontal mill, if there is such a thing as too big, it would fit the description ---

 

[tjb]

No, but there is such thing as too small of a space.

 

[Aaron_W]

About 2000lbs or roughly twice the weight of the smaller mill is a downside of moving the bigger mill.

 

[mksj]

A few things to consider other than just physically bigger.
1. Increased weight, probably looking at an additional 1000 Lbs, good for rigidity, but will make it harder to move/ship.
2. Larger motor, most likely will be a 5 Hp vs. 3 Hp 3 phase, so need the associated 3 phase power to match the increased amperage requirements.
3. Spindle taper may be different than R8, this may be a problem if your current tooling is R8. Top RPM speed may be slightly lower.
4. Everything is bigger, so may need larger end mills and cutters. May need longer arms...
5. Great for larger work, but if you mostly work with smaller projects/sizes, a larger mill can be a bit more cumbersome just because everything is heavier. Would want want power drives at least on the X and Z, and a power drawbar given the height.

 

[dabear3428]

Just room in your shop. should be a more rigid better machine.

i'm dedicating a 15X20 space for a conditioned machining space.

 

[dabear3428]

Depends . Is the large mill based on a Bridgeport style ? Is the head fixed ? Room in the shop ? Pics ?

Is there any such thing as too large of a mill?​

Yes . I'd love a DeVlieg but no room at the inn .

looking at knee mills, non fixed head, 15X20 conditioned space dedicated to machining, ie welding/auto/grinding in different space but will share space with my 2X4 cnc router.

 

[dabear3428]

About 2000lbs or roughly twice the weight of the smaller mill is a downside of moving the bigger mill.

I'm setup to move anything up to 3k lbs without much issue.