RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Mill-Drills

First off Bill, remember where you are posting. This is not rec.metal or
alt.cnc. We try to answer hones questions with honest answers.

If the magic genie appeared to any of us I think we would all ask for a mega
ton piece of industrial iron, the tooling to go with it, and the shop with
enough space and electrical capacity to run it. Unfortunately this genie has
never visited me. So the real question is not whether a mill/drill or a 3 in
1 can do the same work as well as an industrial sized piece of iron, but can
one of these home shop oriented machines do real work?

I have never used a mill/drill, but do have experience with a Shoptask 3 in
1. My answer is that you can do real work on them and enjoy doing it. I also
have a "Gargantua 5 from Godzilla Machineworks inc" which is Bridgett my
Bridgeport series II. Is it a nicer machine to work with than the Shoptask,
a definite yes. Did it cost a LOT more to get setup and equip with tooling,
that is another definite yes. If my situation required that I get rid of
Bridgett would I rather have nothing than the Shoptask, definitely not. The
Shoptask is a real tool that can do real work. You just have to remember it
doesn't have the capacity of Bridgett. I am sure a Mill/Drill will be
similar to the Shoptask in regards to being a real machine that can do real
work.

Tim
[Denver, CO]

> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> *** WARNING!!! *** *** WARNING!!! ***
> *** DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! ***
> *** THIS IS _NOT_FLAMEBAIT_!!!_ ***
> *** REPEAT, _NOT_FLAMEBAIT_!!!_ ***
> (Merely a request for info).
>
> Well, now that we've got all that out of the way.....:-)
>
> A friend of mine has taught CAD/CAM at one of our local Community
> Colleges, and
> has worked with CNC. According to him, all Mill-Drills are
> useless, and I'd
> never be happy with less than a, "Gargantua 5 from Godzilla
> Machineworks inc",
> for the following reasons:
>
> a. A mill-Drill won't remain indexed from the start to end of
> the tool path,
> let alone from one pass to the next.
> b. There isn't enough metal, (machine too small), to soak up the
> vibrations.
> c. The above problems are exacerbateted by a round column.
> d. More that I can't recall.
>
> I'm sure he has my best interests at heart here, but I also have
> to figure that
> if everything he says about size/mass/etc., is 100% true, a
> watchmakers mill
> would not be a usefull machine. Further, given the school
> environment, I also
> have to consider that his experience probably includes a lot of
> old, worn out
> machines that have been donated for the Tax write-off, used for numerous
> examples of why you don't do "X", and have been much abused by
> numerous students
> who didn't know any beter than to do "Y", Some of this may be
> due to trying to
> make a mosquito do the work of an elephant, at the speed of a cheeta.
>
> Can anyone help me get a more realistic picture here?
>
> What about machines with a square column, like the Rong Fu Boring
> and Milling
> Machine, (made in Taiwan)? If workable, will one readily convert to CNC?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bill
>
> Addresses:
> FAQ: http://www.ktmarketing.com/faq.html
> FILES: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO/files/