If the order quantities are small then that is not a good reason. It is much better to fit your machine choices to the work you choose to pursue. That by nature, means that what’s best for one shop is not going to be the same as best for another.
The problem with that is there are more fixture offsets to deal with, more fixture stations to make and locate, and those pallets get pretty big and cumbersome unless you swap parts with the spindle stopped, which really adds to the cycle time. You can have those very rare jobs that are too big for my little machines, and all the while I will eat your lunch on everything else. I am keeping in mind what the op said they do, palm-sized parts in run sizes of 100-150.
That won't even fit an 8'x20' part on it, much less do work on all five sides. Why'd you buy something so smalli've yet to see a part that doesnt fit in our 6x3x1.5 meter work envelope
I just don't see a problem with that. I routinely do this type of machining/programming. That's why those control features exist. I make my own pallets and slide them in at the end of the cycle. Hit "start" and back in the race.
For low quantities making pallets is a waste of time and no matter how fast your pit stops are, a slow car never wins the race.
Well, I have to respectfully disagree. One pallet is set, and running, another is set for a different job. ATC the indicator, pick up a G54 ~ G59 and next job is running. Job B is running and I'm packing Job A for shipment. Every time.
bit of a blanket statement...
Seems that if you are making pallets then indicating for a fixture offset is also a waste. You should already know its location. Heck, if you had a right sized and fast machine then job B might be done before job A is packaged
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You make pallets for 100-150 palm sized parts?
Yup.
Not really, it goes right thru, get's picked up and off it goes.Seems that if you are making pallets then indicating for a fixture offset is also a waste. You should already know its location. Heck, if you had a right sized and fast machine then job B might be done before job A is packaged
Really, all this discussion says is that there are many ways we each believe to to do things best and make money at the same time
They aren't pallets exactly, but fast and easy to swap ... I've seen people stack several on a plate.
To my understanding: Historically drill/tap machines were just that, adding threaded holes to stamped or extruded parts that didn't require machining. To that end they had fast positioning and tool changes at the cost of lower rigidity.
No comment....
Faster parts and less power consumption for the right parts.why would a drill and tap center be picked over a VMC?
please advise and thank you!
Brother dropped the Tapping Center moniker from their nomenclature about 10 years ago when they went with Speedio for marketing their Compact Machining Center line. The controls became much more capable, the rigidity and horsepower increased dramatically and features such as great rotary table options, high pressure coolant thru spindle and tool and part probing etc put them in a niche for machining smaller (hold in your hand, shoe box, pizza box) parts more efficiently. Less floor space, less power consumption, less time....Can someone please explain to me the difference between a drill and tap center vs a VMC? like a robot drill and speedio vs a VF4? I can see the difference in shape and config, but what is the purpose of a drill and tap center that a VMC cannot accomplish? a VMC also has more tool pockets. is the Haas DT-2 comparable to a brother speedio? why would a drill and tap center be picked over a VMC?
please advise and thank you!
That's pretty much standard on 40 taper vmc's, no?
