CNC Lathe Recommendations
10 Nov 2017 18:49 #101626
by fc60
CNC Lathe Recommendations was created by fc60
Greetings,
For those that have CNC lathes, please mention the Brand and Model.
I am looking to replace my 13" South Bend manual lathe.
I prefer a machine not made in China.
The Taiwanese machines I have used are well made.
Naturally, LinuxCNC controlled.
With kind regards,
David
South Prairie, Washington, USA
For those that have CNC lathes, please mention the Brand and Model.
I am looking to replace my 13" South Bend manual lathe.
I prefer a machine not made in China.
The Taiwanese machines I have used are well made.
Naturally, LinuxCNC controlled.
With kind regards,
David
South Prairie, Washington, USA
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14 Nov 2017 13:35 #101771
by andypugh
Replied by andypugh on topic CNC Lathe Recommendations
Are you looking to buy brand-new, or retrofit an existing CNC lathe, or modify a manual lathe?
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14 Nov 2017 16:30 #101789
by fc60
Replied by fc60 on topic CNC Lathe Recommendations
Greetings Andy,
Initially, I thought buying a new machine with a LinuxCNC controller would be my best option. I visited the Tormach website; but, I believe their machines are made in China.
Surfing the "web" I find lots of CNC Lathes made in Taiwan; however, most are targeted for industrial users. I am retired and seek a machine to do small prototype parts for old customers.
A used machine is also a consideration.
Converting a manual lathe to CNC might be more work than I am ready for.
Cheers,
Dave
Initially, I thought buying a new machine with a LinuxCNC controller would be my best option. I visited the Tormach website; but, I believe their machines are made in China.
Surfing the "web" I find lots of CNC Lathes made in Taiwan; however, most are targeted for industrial users. I am retired and seek a machine to do small prototype parts for old customers.
A used machine is also a consideration.
Converting a manual lathe to CNC might be more work than I am ready for.
Cheers,
Dave
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14 Nov 2017 16:42 #101790
by andypugh
iPhones are made in China. Made to the right design and quality standards there is nothing wrong with "Made in China" and I would think that the Tormach Slant-Pro might be a good bet for your situation.
Replied by andypugh on topic CNC Lathe Recommendations
Initially, I thought buying a new machine with a LinuxCNC controller would be my best option. I visited the Tormach website; but, I believe their machines are made in China.
iPhones are made in China. Made to the right design and quality standards there is nothing wrong with "Made in China" and I would think that the Tormach Slant-Pro might be a good bet for your situation.
I rather liked the Weiler lathe I saw recently in Germany, but that is more indicative of my limited experience in retrofits rather than a specific recommendation.A used machine is also a consideration.
The only reasons to do it are if you want a project, or of you want the aspects of a conventionally-arranged lathe that make one-off and experimental part production easier. Both were true in the case of my Holbrook Minor retrofit , but I think that the way I did that was certainly more work than a rational person would have undertaken.Converting a manual lathe to CNC might be more work than I am ready for.
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14 Nov 2017 17:03 #101791
by fc60
Replied by fc60 on topic CNC Lathe Recommendations
Greetings,
I contacted Tormach regarding the controller. It is called "PathPilot", based on LinuxCNC.
Is PathPilot something developed by the LinuxCNC group; or, is it a proprietary system?
I like the LinuxCNC running on my mill as I have complete control of most everything.
Cheers,
Dave
I contacted Tormach regarding the controller. It is called "PathPilot", based on LinuxCNC.
Is PathPilot something developed by the LinuxCNC group; or, is it a proprietary system?
I like the LinuxCNC running on my mill as I have complete control of most everything.
Cheers,
Dave
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14 Nov 2017 17:19 #101792
by andypugh
Somewhere in the middle.
It's LinuxCNC with a proprietary GUI. It also doesn't include all of the LinuxCNC tools (such as Halshow) and I don't think it has the full set of HAL components. (But both of the above can be added).
Otherwise the HAL and INI files will look familiar, and it works pretty much the same except with some changes to tool change (it has behaviour built-in which is equivalent to the lathe-fanucy demo config toolchange remap in normal LinuxCNC)
It uses a Mesa 5i25 as the interface card.
Replied by andypugh on topic CNC Lathe Recommendations
Is PathPilot something developed by the LinuxCNC group; or, is it a proprietary system?
Somewhere in the middle.
It's LinuxCNC with a proprietary GUI. It also doesn't include all of the LinuxCNC tools (such as Halshow) and I don't think it has the full set of HAL components. (But both of the above can be added).
Otherwise the HAL and INI files will look familiar, and it works pretty much the same except with some changes to tool change (it has behaviour built-in which is equivalent to the lathe-fanucy demo config toolchange remap in normal LinuxCNC)
It uses a Mesa 5i25 as the interface card.
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