Beginner CNC Mill Comparison

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

In terms of actual machines, we have a small HAAS with an ATC, and it really is as awesome as everyone says. However, it was about $40,000, so it is a sizable chunk of change over what you are looking for. It holds tolerances to about .0001", and has fast spindle and cutting speeds. The user interface is pretty nice too.

I can believe +-.001. But +-.0001? How on earth are you measuring that and your holding that easily?

1323 (kinda) owns a Tormach and we've spent a ton of money on it. Got it for 25k with everything and then we've probably invested 5-6k on it (All school money, machine was paid for by the Shop Classes). And this is without the ATC which came out after we bought it. Out of all the machines listed on the initial post, its the best to get (besides the HAAS, which is better), but we have mixed feelings about it (more negative that positive). I wish the school would have gotten a smaller HAAS or something different. If your spending ~10-20k of non-team money, go for it. But if your spending team money or 25k plus, don't buy any of those machines. Go with something better or go with a manual with a power draw bar/dro. If you have someone that understands CNC machines, take a look at used machines. You can get some solid deals there.

I'd recommend getting MasterCAM for Solidworks or MasterCAM standalone (harder for kids). We recently tried MasterCAM for Solidworks X6 after disliking the x4 version, its pretty solid. Very inuitive and seriously a whole lot easier to teach kids on. Also allows you to update toolpaths as you rebuild your models/change dimensions.

-RC