Thinking of jumping into CNC milling. How to start ?

[SparkyLabs]

Any comments on the Wabeco F1200 CNC ? this is like the proxxon controlled with nccad

[magicniner]

"by connecting the WABECO controller to a PC and installing
the nccad turning software the customer turns the conventional
WABECO milling machine into a CNC milling machine"

I hope they do better with mills than with proof reading because you won't get far with a mill if you use turning software! :-(

[SparkyLabs]

Well the specs are slightly better than the proxxon (that also has dubios english and if you read the nccad website you will faind yourself reading worse gibberish, I guess german machinists don't have great english), they are offering an ex demo machine for around the price of the proxxon but it looks like as a machine it is built to a higher standard. One reveiwer on axminster (UK distributor for proxxon) recomended the cc f1200 over the proxxon machine he had bought second hand.

Proxxon offer 0.05mm repeat accuracy,

webaco offer 0.015mm "positioning accuracy"

I'm noty sure what they mean by "truth of rotation of the tool spindle" of 0.01mm

[SparkyLabs]

oh and the webaco has a standard MT2 spindle, not sure what the proxxon ff 500/bl-cnc has.

[SparkyLabs]

The manual has better english: http://www.emcomachinetools.co.uk/im...occf1210hs.pdf

They meant concentricity of the spindle is 0.01mm

[magicniner]

standard MT2 spindle

You can get ER Collet Chucks on straight shanks in smaller sizes and thus have an ER Collet Chuck without a huge increase in tool protrusion from the spindle, it's a shame they didn't go with BT30 though, that would have supported a tool changer if they implemented a decent draw-bar system.

[m_c]

truth of rotation, will be spindle run out.
Might have to add that one to the dodgy chinglish translation thread.

By the looks of the proxxon, it's got an ER20 spindle.
Although a MT taper will give a bit more flexibility, I doubt in this size of machine you'll have enough spindle torque to handle anything that an ER20 collet couldn't handle. ER20 can handle up to 13mm cutter shanks, and I'd doubt this small a machine will make much use of any cutter bigger than 4-5mm.

[SparkyLabs]

Well the wabeco is 1.4KW versus 400W of the proxxon so I guess they meant it to be a beafier machine. The only pitty is that maximum spindle speed is 3000 rpm but then like I said high speed work is not a concern because I'm only prototyping and doing small batches.

[magicniner]

Well the wabeco is 1.4KW versus 400W of the proxxon so I guess they meant it to be a beafier machine. The only pitty is that maximum spindle speed is 3000 rpm.

There's a 2kW spindle option listed in that linked PDF that shows max rpm as 7500 which sounds much more useful.

[Clive S]

he only pitty is that maximum spindle speed is 3000 rpm but then like I said high speed work is not a concern because I'm only prototyping and doing small batches.

Yes but with small cutters you need higher rpm that is why we tend to use the Chinese 24K rpm spindles. The water cooled one are very quiet.