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Need to find a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?
I need to find a cnc machine that I can use to create prototypes. Our
company already has many cnc machines but these are large, designed for production purposes, have all the bells and whistles on them and require very skilled workers. My department often needs to have a piece of plastic milled out, holes drilled - all the basic things you would do with virtually all cnc machines. My department does everything from designing electronic ciruits to building prototypes of products, so we are not cnc skilled people. What I am looking for is a cnc machine that is relatively small. It should either sit on a bench or desktop or on its own table that can be carted around. It should allow me to mill out surfaces and drill holes. It should either come with software that I can use to create 2D parts. I'm not interested in milling 3D. If it gets that complex, then it can be done on our production machines. It would be nice if the Z axis can move up and down at some variable speed for drilling holes, depending on the material to be cut. In summary, the cnc machine should be simple and can be programmed by someone not skilled as a cnc operator. A friend of mine says that cnc machines out of Taiwan are pretty good and low cost (relative to other countries). Any suggestions on manufacturers? Thanks Johann |
Need to find a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?
wrote in message oups.com... I need to find a cnc machine that I can use to create prototypes. Our company already has many cnc machines but these are large, designed for production purposes, have all the bells and whistles on them and require very skilled workers. My department often needs to have a piece of plastic milled out, holes drilled - all the basic things you would do with virtually all cnc machines. My department does everything from designing electronic ciruits to building prototypes of products, so we are not cnc skilled people. What I am looking for is a cnc machine that is relatively small. It should either sit on a bench or desktop or on its own table that can be carted around. It should allow me to mill out surfaces and drill holes. It should either come with software that I can use to create 2D parts. I'm not interested in milling 3D. If it gets that complex, then it can be done on our production machines. It would be nice if the Z axis can move up and down at some variable speed for drilling holes, depending on the material to be cut. In summary, the cnc machine should be simple and can be programmed by someone not skilled as a cnc operator. A friend of mine says that cnc machines out of Taiwan are pretty good and low cost (relative to other countries). Any suggestions on manufacturers? Thanks Johann [How big a part are you going to be producing with this? It's sounding like a router might be more useful to you than a mill. For sheet goods, look for one with a vacuum table to hold the work. There's plenty of inexpensive 2d software out there, I don't think you need to insist on it being provided by the machine vendor. Plug "Free 2d CAD" into Google and you get over 800 pages. Try a few and see which one suits you. You might look at SheetCAM for your toolpaths; it's simple and inexpensive. I've heard various things about Taiwan-branded mills (the ones that get shipped over here, anyway) not all of them complimentary...] Andrew Werby www.computersculpture.com |
Need to find a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?
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Need to find a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?
Haas Office Mill.
Cheap, as cnc goes. Small. Clean and neat. Made in the USA, but sold and serviced around the world- 15% or so of their production is being sold in China these days. Good resale value, good reputation, commonly used, so many people are familar with them. Easy to program. A real milling machine, not a router. A router is fine for plastic, but if you want versatility, you want a milling machine. http://www.haascnc.com/VMC_MODEL_OM.asp#VMCTreeModel |
Need to find a cnc machine for prototyping. Any suggestions?
For a good versatile lathe and mill with cnc try www.shoptask.com
wrote in message oups.com... I need to find a cnc machine that I can use to create prototypes. Our company already has many cnc machines but these are large, designed for production purposes, have all the bells and whistles on them and require very skilled workers. My department often needs to have a piece of plastic milled out, holes drilled - all the basic things you would do with virtually all cnc machines. My department does everything from designing electronic ciruits to building prototypes of products, so we are not cnc skilled people. What I am looking for is a cnc machine that is relatively small. It should either sit on a bench or desktop or on its own table that can be carted around. It should allow me to mill out surfaces and drill holes. It should either come with software that I can use to create 2D parts. I'm not interested in milling 3D. If it gets that complex, then it can be done on our production machines. It would be nice if the Z axis can move up and down at some variable speed for drilling holes, depending on the material to be cut. In summary, the cnc machine should be simple and can be programmed by someone not skilled as a cnc operator. A friend of mine says that cnc machines out of Taiwan are pretty good and low cost (relative to other countries). Any suggestions on manufacturers? Thanks Johann |
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