There is a huge auction in my area with many many cnc mills as well as tooling and other doo dads Several are Haas tm-1 and a mini haas, as well as alot of doosan, I was considering getting either a grizzly 704 or 463 as i live close to springfield and dont have to pay shipping instead of a PM25. Anyhow is it worth thinking about getting one of these commercial machines if they are cheap enough... though i do just have a garage shop the tm1 and mini will fit, and have no experience with milling or cnc yet. I currently make knives and am fairly tech and computer savvy.
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Milling Machine dilema
- Thread starter uberdag
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- Feb 8, 2014
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How much power do you have available? The mini is 15HP, and the TM-1 is 7.5HP The TM-1 will run on single phase, not sure about the mini. I think we are running our TM-2 on a 50 amp breaker, single phase.
Nothing wrong with starting out with a CNC. That's quite a step up from a G704, not even in the same universe.
Nothing wrong with starting out with a CNC. That's quite a step up from a G704, not even in the same universe.
A Haas TM1 is a small machine. it will easily fit in a 1 car garage that doesn't have a car in it.
This is a TM1 where I work, I believe that the control box is larger then the table (-:
The Haas conversational software is easy to use, the control will likely have a good number of unused buttons that control features that a simple machine does not have, the buttons are there but they simply do nothing.
I should imagine that this would be an excellent machine for a hobby shop.
Also an automatic tool changer will assure that you will never use a manual machine again.
This is a TM1 where I work, I believe that the control box is larger then the table (-:
The Haas conversational software is easy to use, the control will likely have a good number of unused buttons that control features that a simple machine does not have, the buttons are there but they simply do nothing.
I should imagine that this would be an excellent machine for a hobby shop.
Also an automatic tool changer will assure that you will never use a manual machine again.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2014
- Messages
- 11,176
A correction to my earlier post, I checked the specs on the mini, it also has a 7.5 HP motor.
They don't break down, not needed to move.
Here is our TM-2P going on the trailer, about 5500 LBS. Most of what you see there is sheet metal. I think the TM-1 is about 4800 LBS, easily moved with a forklift in one piece. 8 foot forks are ideal, 6 foot will work, we used fork extensions on our forklift.
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So last night i was doing measuring in the garage and comparing to layout diagrams on Haas site and realized my ceiling in my garage is only 8 foot and the diagram looks like it needs 9 foot. Any ways around this, or should i just look for a bridgeport style knee mill. I am probably biting off more than i can chew anyhow. Just seems a waste to spend alot on small hobby size mills when for same money or a little bit more you can get industrial used equipment.
thanks for reading and helping
thanks for reading and helping
Cut a hole in the ceiling? : ) One difference is if you get the smaller mill it is new isnt it? With the old industrial you dont know for sure if it has any or will have any problems. Also, will you actually need the bigger mill? I agree with the notion of getting the biggest you can so it will handle most anything you need, but in reality sometimes you will never need it. I guess only you will know if you need the bigger or not.
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That 9 foot is just above the Z axis for clearance of the cable guide. As I recall, the height of the hard parts is <8ft. I'll measure mine later.
IMHO, the ideal home shop machine is one of the manual/CNC Bridgeport or clone machines if you can find one. That gives you the best of both worlds. If you can find one with a dead controller, it is still useful as a manual machine, and you can do a control retrofit at your convenience. I paid $1000 for mine, then did a retrofit a couple years later. The hard work is already done for you, it already has ball screws on the axes, and is set up as a CNC.
EDIT The highest fixed point on the Haas is 88 inches. That's the top of the braking resistors for the spindle drive. It is removable for moving the machine. The highest point is the cable tube, ~ 9 ft with the spindle at the top. Would fit nicely between the rafters.
IMHO, the ideal home shop machine is one of the manual/CNC Bridgeport or clone machines if you can find one. That gives you the best of both worlds. If you can find one with a dead controller, it is still useful as a manual machine, and you can do a control retrofit at your convenience. I paid $1000 for mine, then did a retrofit a couple years later. The hard work is already done for you, it already has ball screws on the axes, and is set up as a CNC.
EDIT The highest fixed point on the Haas is 88 inches. That's the top of the braking resistors for the spindle drive. It is removable for moving the machine. The highest point is the cable tube, ~ 9 ft with the spindle at the top. Would fit nicely between the rafters.
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Well crap, dont know the garage door height but its better than 7 feet. Now i am thinking i should just look at getting a knee mill type with cnc capabilities... saw a couple with 2 axis cnc? can you add the third, retrofit to more modern controls or not needed?
Also i watched two more auctions today, and the VFD's went for way way more than they did in the first auction i watched where they went for the price of bridgeports. Anyhow now that i have paid attention and tracked some auctions, i am truly confused on prices and worth of items. I am looking on bidspotter, craigslist and I live in NW arkansas and think a driving range of 10 hours...
thanks again
Also i watched two more auctions today, and the VFD's went for way way more than they did in the first auction i watched where they went for the price of bridgeports. Anyhow now that i have paid attention and tracked some auctions, i am truly confused on prices and worth of items. I am looking on bidspotter, craigslist and I live in NW arkansas and think a driving range of 10 hours...
thanks again