Experience of CNC Machines from differnet Manufacturers

I've had good luck with my Daewoo lathe, and they make a line of VMCs also.

"abc@ABC" wrote in news:d1jff7$ snipped-for-privacy@imsp212.netvigator.com:

What size mill? Horizontal or vertical? Same for the lathe. What type of lathe? Sub spindle, four axis, mill/drill, y axis? Swing x length? Bar feed or not? High production or short run? It all matters. My opinion on what you've listed so far: Haas - Lathes are junk. Mills are on the low end of so-so. Really depends on what type of milling you need to do. Okuma - Lathes over all are durable and well made, control is good. Mills vary, some are good but expensive, the low cost ones are so-so. Mazak lathes are pretty good (sorry Anthony) people either love the control or hate it (Mazatrol that is). Mills are about the same. It seems to me that Mazatrol is great in a short run job shop environment, where programming at the machine is a plus. There are others you should look at but it's hard to say without knowing what type of work you are doing.

Dan

Garlicdude wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@garlic.com:

I would have to put in a word for Mazak. See some of my other posts. We have machines still in high volume production with 15 MILLION cycles on them.

Dan Murphy wrote in news:Xns9621950C1F73Admurph740aolcom@130.133.1.4:

My impression also.

Good machines, but repairs are expensive. Okuma shares very little to no information either.

For the price and from vast experience, I would have to put them in the 'very good' category. Yes, Mazatrol...you either hate it, or you love it. There is always EIA (option though) for high-volume production (what we use in the majority of circumstances).

I have all Three, and each one has its application and its place. I have enjoyed trying to get a mastery of all of the 3 controls and have enjoyed each lesson and each little idiosyncrasy.

--Service

I have had great service out of Haas, the machine is simple and strait forward; however, so are their service people.

I have had mixed service out of Okuma, sometimes good sometime really not so good. A lot of that has to deal with the distributor in your area? The one in my area has had a great deal of turnover lately and that and that caused service problems. Where are you at?

I have had much better service out of Mazak lately than in the past. However, I do feel that they have out grown their pants a little. Mostly due to the fact that that in N. AL they have been selling them left and right and it a logistics problem. Plus, I feel like the more they sell the more advanced machines. I.E. Integrex the more of a problem it is to find qualified service personnel.

Haas= sound Mills that are Great light duty for the $$ VF1-VF3 /..VF6 and up are good Heavy machines. Lathes are for light duty work, I have a "mini-lathe" that has paid for itself 10 times over since I bought it at IMTS. They are not advanced; they do not have a lot of bells and whistles. It's a strait forward lathe.

Haas Control is the best and simplest control I have ever taught someone.

Okuma = One of the most sound Lathes I have ever been around. The life on one of these machines is amazing. They are production animals, and uptime is the highest in the shop. However, you pay for that luxury. I cannot speak for their mills.

Okuma Control is one of the most flexible controls. Yes, it has the most idiosyncrasies, but those are what give you good control and fast trouble shooting.

Mazak = an Awesome mill for the price, the new Nexus line is great. The new Nexus lathe line is also as impressive for the money. Mazaks are not cheap, but they are sound machines for the value. They have an even more impressive higher end line of machines that will cover all your needs.

The Mazak Control is by far the most advanced. I can't speak for the new Okuma "E" line (that the control not their cheaper E-series machines) I hear it puts the Fusion to shame. I Love the Fusion control on the mills. Yes Mazatrol is different, but it is also an extremely powerful tool up to 2 ½ D programming. There are some constraints when it comes to EIA, but nothing that doesn't have a work around.

The other thing that is nice is that just about anyone I bring into the shop has been around one of these machines. That gives me great flexibility for hiring without extensive training on the control. When and if the time comes for them to leave they will have a mastery of all of these major brands that will make them more employable elsewhere.

Billy K.