Who in here are Haas shops?

We're pretty much an all Haas VM shop. We have a few that are 12 years old, and still running strong, and holding decent tolerances.

The newer ones are light years better.

All HAAS here too!

1993 VF-0 2005 VF-5 2005 SL-30 2006 Mini Mill 2008 VF-2YT

All running fine, all holding +/- .0005 or better all the time!

"D"

This was some time ago, but in the recurrent Haas vs. Fadal threads, one guy had both AND a Mighty Viper or sumpn, and swore by the Mighty.

But, those g-d tool changes in Haas are so g-d fast, they even make the demo guys nervous....

"A/B" comparisons are very hard to make, in a microwave, nevermind machine tools.

You really need a Consumer Reports type deal, doing controlled identical tests, and even THEN you don't have a fully representative picture, over time/wear/tear.

We have one. An ancient VF1 with chain counterbalance. Did mostly drilling and tapping steel. Worked most of the time like everything else of other brands.

The repair manual for it is pretty decent as manuals go.

Wes

What would be used instead of a chain counterbalance? The Fadal 3016L has a chain counter balance. Ahm thinking of using my old motorcycle chain lube on it. :)

1 - EC400 2 - HS1 2 - VF6 1 - SL40 also 2 mazaks

all programming done in the shop

Bob

We have 2, a VF-4 and VF-2.. only thing I don't like is it being 40 taper, and standard 7.5k spindle. Other than that, they run great and I bet if we needed to buy another machine, we would go with Haas. Our HFO support is pretty good, they don't get all pissy if I call them about a problem and try to help to the best of their ability before wanting to send out a tech.

PV:

Our Haas VF6 (64X32) uses a pressurized Nitrogen tank as the counterbalance.

We have 2 Haas EC400 PP (pallet pool) with full 4th axis and 12000 rpm spindles. Pretty reliable. Accuracy decent. We have run them unmanned for

4 to 5 hours a night before the work slowed down. We had to double the coolant tank capacity or else it would occasionally suck dry. With spindle thru, flood coolant, and the "Niagra" running all at once the stock capacity coolant tank wasn't keeping up.

Dale

Big d wrote in news:33a07209-24d7-4019-ace2- snipped-for-privacy@d2g2000pra.googlegroups.com:

*cough*...*cough*....

Yes? :)

Ok I stretched it a little, I try to avoid +/- .0005 work, it makes me lose sleep, and I dont get much of that anyway.

+/- .001 works fine for me, and the kid working for me, anytime he sees +/- .0005, he gets a funny look on his face, kinda like, "how the hell ya gonna do that"?

"D"

Hopefully you got a "super" version. It's a big difference. Even a hundai with all the extras feels sweet! The haas control is as good as anything out there. Very user friendly and very powerful. In fact the interface doesn't piss you off at all, it's quite refreshing. The machine...good for the price. It can cut a giant part, and hold a tenth if you go slow enough. I give the control an A+ and the machine a B+.

I ran a real crappy haas on some side work, I give the mill a B- for control and an F- for machine. It was sooo bad. The ways were even exposed right in the cutting area. Total junk. So I guess it matters on how much you spend. That's why I suggest the SS models.

Many have both the tank and the chains.

Gunner

Steve, Contrary to Cliff's exposure and put downs of anything others actively accomplish, the Haas VN2 is pretty impressive. HSM, mirror imaging, part scaling, pcool, thru spindle coolant, etc, 12k rpm, 600 fpm, as well as the rotary axis stuff, it is a powerhouse machine to operate. I like the built in CAT 5 networking, and especially the USB stick loading. FNC is really sweet, I loaded and ran a 34mb mold yesterday and today, nice!! I have seen and used quite a few pendant controls but the power jog in the Haas is pretty sweet. I'm really impressed with the additions and simplicity that Haas offers. Michael

Big d, We also have a 2 yo Mazak mill, it is good as well but I am really liking the Haas just as well by now. I operated Cincy's for years but the Haas is so much better thought out than any Cincy ever was. Michael

The first day I wasn't used to the control. I made two calls to Cali, not another call since. It just works like it is supposed to work. Michael

no way covers? amazing, did it come like that or was that from years of abuse? Michael

What's the matter with a "bash Haas" thread? :)

We have a 1998 Haas VF-4. It's been good to us.

And the newer ones have nothing. They use a servo brake on the Z Axis.