lorbay
Member
Do any of you know of a fairly inexpensive CNC machine capable of turning something as small in length and diameter as a file handle. Would also need to produce these at a rate of a 100 a day.
Thanks
Lin
Thanks
Lin
CNC Machines
- Thread starter lorbay
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Lin Whats your budget for something like that?
For something like that, if it's a repetitive shape, a duplicator would be much less expensive and less time invested, depending on your skillset with CAD/CAM.
A metal lathe will auto feed and any cam can be made for the profile. Make as many cams as you need and switch them for variety.
JMHO
A metal lathe will auto feed and any cam can be made for the profile. Make as many cams as you need and switch them for variety.
JMHO
Curly
Member
Check out Viel Tools in Quebec. He has a duplicator that uses an angle grinder to spin a cutter. Much better finishes are possible than the usual fixed cutter does.
Ed McDonnell
Member
With an inexpensive CNC, you would need to spend waaaaaay too much of your time every day on setup, material handling, machine monitoring and final finishing. You would not be able to just push a button, walk away and come back to 100 finished parts.
An inexpensive CNC setup would probably be about as time consuming as turning them by hand (assuming you are an experienced production turner (and at 100 a day you would get experienced fast)). In any case, in an 8 hour day doing one piece every 5 minutes would get you 96 pieces. Sounds like a real long day to me.
You can buy wood file handles retail for a buck or two just about anywhere. If you were going to do tens of thousands, you could probably get someone to do them on the other side of the world for really cheap out of whatever wood you wanted (that was importable).
Ed
An inexpensive CNC setup would probably be about as time consuming as turning them by hand (assuming you are an experienced production turner (and at 100 a day you would get experienced fast)). In any case, in an 8 hour day doing one piece every 5 minutes would get you 96 pieces. Sounds like a real long day to me.
You can buy wood file handles retail for a buck or two just about anywhere. If you were going to do tens of thousands, you could probably get someone to do them on the other side of the world for really cheap out of whatever wood you wanted (that was importable).
Ed
lorbay
Member
lorbay
Member
There are a couple of folks I know have an Emco CNC lathe. They bought used and well within your budget. There are a bunch on eBay. It's a good machine.
Besides the Emco, possibly Taig. The lathe and controller can run around 2000.
Curly
Member
Hmmm. Sorry about that. Go to the site and click on English in the top right if it isn't already there. Then click on Viel along the left side. Look through the tools they make and you will find the duplicator among them. It's about $440.00. There are other accessories for it but I'm on the cell at the moment so can't tell you how to get to them.
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lorbay
Member
Paul in OKC
Member
not sure if that would handle what you are looking for, as it is mainly set up for pool cues. Not sure if a better chuck is available to hold larger diameters or not. Many have converted the 7x lathes, may find one of them on eBay. Also possible to have a pattern made, use a trim router in the tool post, and do them without a cnc. I have made a taper bar for a couple of cue makers to turn their shafts with, made a trim router holder, and they use a regular metal lathe for that. Not as easy as cnc, but better than hand turning that many/day.
If you are industrious, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grizzly-Har...309040?hash=item41bef08930:g:l1gAAOSwo6lWLZiA is a conversion kit for the 7x's. Sherlone makes a cnc lathe as well, but again I would check work holding capacity.
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Check out videos from Bob Dzuricky on youtube. He is a pool cue maker. This might give you some ideas. He uses a xzero cnc. The least expensive one on the website runs aprox 2000 as a kit then add software etc. You may be able to tool up within your budget. The units have some impressive specs.
If it will handle the job
Do you own a CNC or have you operated one ????
I wouldn't of suggested that CNC if it wouldn't of handle the job the OP asked for and its with in his budget and Todd the owner Of mid American pool cues lathes would be more then happy to write the OP files ..
My point is I am sure ... And I own 2 CNC 's
Do you own a CNC or have you operated one ????
I wouldn't of suggested that CNC if it wouldn't of handle the job the OP asked for and its with in his budget and Todd the owner Of mid American pool cues lathes would be more then happy to write the OP files ..
My point is I am sure ... And I own 2 CNC 's
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Curly
Member
I hadn't until you asked. :redface: It works as I figured it should. The comercial copy lathes usually use live tooling, powered cutters, rather than a fixed cutter moving along the wood. Viel make a disc especially for the 4 1/2" angle grinders, it uses diamond shaped inserts. If your goal is just to make a lot of simple handle shapes, then a copy lathe is enough. It you want to eventually make complex shapes with flutes, spirals, inlays etc., then you should hop the CNC bus. The direction is yours to pick. 
robutacion
Member
As the owner of a Chinese 60-40 4 axis CNC with 1500W spindle with one of the better controller, motors etc., it cost about AU$2,800 without any extras, it had a couple of cutters but you will need a lot more and many other stuff that took me back to around AU$4,000 so far however, none of the software included in this cost will allow you to create your own designs and G codes, you will need specialised expensive software for that, I can't justify that cost so, I only use the CNC for designs that I purchased, ready to be worked with.
The question as to should you buy one or not..? if you can afford it, have the space and have the brains to work it all out and probably get pretty pi$$ed off at the damn thing to make it all work as it should, sure go ahead and buy it, it's a tool/piece of equipment like any other that you have in your workshop.
With that said and unless you have to do intricate work on those tool handles, CNC is not the best option for you, a lathe copier would be better, faster and a lot cheaper, and more importantly, less stress...!
Unfortunately for me, the money I invested on my systems, is giving no return since the day I got it and until now, nearly 2 years later I think, the original purpose I got it for, never did realise as the marked has changed in that regard, the second attempt I made with picture/image carvings in boards/slices of wood, has never sold a single piece so, the damn thing was not turned on in over 1 year.
What annoys me the most is that I spend weeks struggling with it to make it work right, my brain was spinning with all the technical stuff I had to learn just to get started, I was just starting to get used to it and I know that I will forget half of what I learn very quickly so, what will I do with it and all the money I invest in it..? not sure yet...!
You asked for information about CNC's, I'm telling you my experience that you will also be confronted with if you decided to go that way, I wish you luck...!
Cheers
George
The question as to should you buy one or not..? if you can afford it, have the space and have the brains to work it all out and probably get pretty pi$$ed off at the damn thing to make it all work as it should, sure go ahead and buy it, it's a tool/piece of equipment like any other that you have in your workshop.
With that said and unless you have to do intricate work on those tool handles, CNC is not the best option for you, a lathe copier would be better, faster and a lot cheaper, and more importantly, less stress...!
Unfortunately for me, the money I invested on my systems, is giving no return since the day I got it and until now, nearly 2 years later I think, the original purpose I got it for, never did realise as the marked has changed in that regard, the second attempt I made with picture/image carvings in boards/slices of wood, has never sold a single piece so, the damn thing was not turned on in over 1 year.
What annoys me the most is that I spend weeks struggling with it to make it work right, my brain was spinning with all the technical stuff I had to learn just to get started, I was just starting to get used to it and I know that I will forget half of what I learn very quickly so, what will I do with it and all the money I invest in it..? not sure yet...!
You asked for information about CNC's, I'm telling you my experience that you will also be confronted with if you decided to go that way, I wish you luck...!
Cheers
George
Paul in OKC
Member
I operate cnc's daily. I have seen the chucks used on these type of cnc machines and my concern is if he needs to hold something without support on the tail stock end, there is not enough jaw depth or through hole in the chuck for that. Just my observation and what I would look for. To each his own. Not sure of diameter of the material being used, but for a file handle I am guessing one inch.
lorbay
Member
Thanks George for the in-depth view into the CNC world. Also to all the other responses. Although I like a challenge I don't think I need all of these headaches. Although I said in my original post they are something like a file handle they are but have a few beads and coves on them. I think the copy lathe as the one Pete aka (curly) has pointed out and made in Canada the Viel copy lathe will work just fine for me at this point. If the business grows to over a 1000 a year then I will have to look into something a little more automated.
Lin.
Lin.
robutacion
Member
Hi Lin,
I'm sorry if I sounded very negative about it, I have good reasons to be but that doesn't mean that everybody will have the same experience and or end result. I suppose is like anything else, the CNC world is a lot more than what it can look to the inexperienced person is these issues.
I still admire what CNC can do and I'm watching YouTube videos all the time about those high-tech and sophisticated CNC's of our days and I can now appreciate what is behind a machine doing its thing all on its own, the amount of work and knowledge necessary to make the machine do what we want/need is far more than one can imagine.
Yes, I lost my interest and or enthusiasm in having a full operational full of extras of all sorts doing nothing but somehow, I haven't yet consider/thought selling it and why..? because in the back of my mind, and something that I thought of when I got it is the fact that, if I lose the use of my legs, a CNC is a tool that I will be able to work on, seated down and find a way to make something with it that will actually turn into some revenue, the investment has been made and the struggle to pay it off is over and done with so, unless I have a fire and get everything burnt down, I prefer not to think about it and carry on, fortunately for me, the place where I got it, I rarely go and I got it covered up out of sight...!
The truth is that, for what you need to do, a CNC is definitely not the right machine, unless you get a multi-head CNC used to carve some wood pieces and that has normally 6 to 12 heads all doing the same thing but that costs serious money...!
Let us know and see what you endup with...!
Cheers
George