what at home CNC?

[STANG KILLA SS]

looking for something i can do 1.9/2.2 wheels etc on.
would be nice if it could do 16-17" chassis rails too but if a huge added cost not so important.

help

[xjman]

A lathe is hands down going to be what you want for the rims. Are you having issues cutting them on a manual lathe? The hardest parts will be the angles, and all you have to do is set your cross slide up at the angle you want and cut. The rest save for the hex. could probably be done on a decent drill press.

What size are you looking for? Do you have lots of room in a garage, or just a small area in a corner? What kind of money are you looking to spend?

[STANG KILLA SS]

what about the spoke designs and taped holes?
small area, not much money.

small CNC lathe/mill combo?

[SMR 510RR]

What style of wheel are you trying to make? Post up some "inspiration" wheel designs and I can help tell you what you need/what you should have to speed up the process.

I am assuming that you are talking production as in more than a couple sets, if not just send out the parts and have them made.

Also what kind of budget are we working with here?

[C*H*U*D]

What's your budget? I think that's where you need to start.

[rlockwood]

NT Series | Turn Mill Centers | DMG Mori Seiki

i'd reccomend the NT series, with thru coolant, conveyor, and tool probe.

oh, but budget could be important. as well as quantity. production rc wheels are going to be easiest to make on a lathe, but most are made with a combination of the two. I've never seen a "two in one" machine that would please me (too "jack of all trades") At any rate, a decently accurate cnc mill could make them as well, you just wouldnt want to making tons of them, would get your ass handed to you by the guys with lathes

[Crawling Calvin]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

What's your budget? I think that's where you need to start.

Ditto... are we talking Sherline/Taig budget, Little Machine Shop "Hi-Torque" mill CNC conversion... or full blown CNC lathe with live tooling and indexing I can speak for the Sherline as a tiny hobby machine but for production... eh kinda pushing the limits. Hi-Torque mill is nice but needs some help to CNC and make work nicely, the castings are really soft tho

I make my rims on a Fadal VMC-15 (old one) but it works and gets the job done. Sadly it isn't mine but I get to run it when I am not on shift at my job (Aide at an adult school) and overall it is nice for making parts. But it is a massive beast and isn't exactly "cheap" or "portable"

Mill/lathe combos are cool but the head is facing the wrong way so your... at a loss there. If your design is simple enough you could do hole patterns REALLY easy on a drill press with a jig (I have one as a backup in case I can only turn my rims, I can do the drill work on a drill press easily.) As for tapping keep your eyes for a small tapping head, they are amazing with a drill press for tapping holes

[xjman]

I work with a guy who uses a CNC Jr or something like that. He likes it pretty well. I haven't really had the available cash to look at something like that yet.

Now if money ins't an option, I agree with one of the previous statements. Mori Seiki NH6300. It may be almost a million bucks, but its worth it. Lol

[STANG KILLA SS]

not sure on budget. is there such a thing as a desktop CNC? with maybe only 12" x 12" capabilities or something?
that link posted above is WAY to big for what i was after.
what about a small CNC lathe for making the blanks with the concave etc. then swaping to CNC mill for spoke holes, beadlocked threaded holes etc.

SMR most of my wheels are a concave with holes drilled in them. wither D window style or 5 spoke style. search wheels section for "TSS"

[rlockwood]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

not sure on budget. is there such a thing as a desktop CNC? with maybe only 12" x 12" capabilities or something?
that link posted above is WAY to big for what i was after.
what about a small CNC lathe for making the blanks with the concave etc. then swaping to CNC mill for spoke holes, beadlocked threaded holes etc.

SMR most of my wheels are a concave with holes drilled in them. wither D window style or 5 spoke style. search wheels section for "TSS"

I was being facetious with the Mori I posted.. Would need to sell ALOT of RC wheels to pay that mortgage.

There are many styles of CNC mills, routers, and lathes.

I personally think the best option for most 'hobby oriented' parts are all converted mills. Look at Taig, Sherline, etc. there are other brands as well, along with a harbor freight mill that is easily converted. Many of these mills are identical, or atleast have copied each other... So look for the best price. Keep in mind, none of these are production machines at all.

Then look for an affordable turret style manual lathe, to semi-automate the machining of the blanks. When dedicated to a single product, and the process is effeciently designed, these lathes can be competitive with virtually any CNC lathe..

similar to this hardinge--
Hardinge Turret Lathe - YouTube

Another route, if you have a bit more to spend, is an older VMC that some job shop is replacing. It will cost considerably more, but an automatic tool changer and rigid tapping, as well as the potential material removal rates, increased accuracy, rigid tapping cycles, etc are incredibly valuable additions. Not to mention the increased work envelope, enclosure.. etc. If you go down this route, an older Fadal VMC15 (as mentioned in this thread) is a very good option. Parts are still readily available. If you go this route, make sure it comes with some tooling, as vises and tool holders are rather expensive in their own right.

[Grizzly4x4]

Ace used to use a Sherline to make his Clod wheel adapters back in the day. It was a great little tabletop unit.
A CNC mill is your best single purchase to make wheels imo. A lathe can do some things better, but you can't drill your holes with one.

The Sherline Lathe, Milling Machine and Precision Miniature Machining Page

For more efficient production work I'd look at the one C*H*U*D has, it's an affordable badass unit. Affordable being a relative term of course.

[SMR 510RR]

Its honestly hard to recommend a desktop unit for production of wheels. Without a tool changer you will have to sit there all day and swap tools over and over, it wouldnt be too bad if you bought a ton of holders (say like .125" end mill holders etc.) because then you could automate the offsets depending on the controller software you are running because every tool would be ready to go in its own holder. You could also have 4 fixtures going at once for 2 fronts and 2 backs so that every time your program finishes you end up with 2 finished wheels.

I would look at something like the Sieg X3 mills, they are a little larger, a lot more rigid and would be good to convert to CNC. Not sure if any of these mills would ever be capable of rigid tapping, may be safer to do it on a drill press with a tapping head. For a lathe I would just pickup a quality used lathe, they are not all that expensive and something like a hardinge would make a great CNC conversion.

One other question is what is the space like where you want to put them and what kind of power do you have access to? Even the standard hardinge use 3 phase power and if you are trying to put it at your house then you probably dont have access to 3 phase so it can get expensive to get everything up and running.

I should add if you want to do aluminum you are going to want coolant and then we are getting into a whole other world of issues.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

not sure on budget. is there such a thing as a desktop CNC? with maybe only 12" x 12" capabilities or something?
that link posted above is WAY to big for what i was after.
what about a small CNC lathe for making the blanks with the concave etc. then swaping to CNC mill for spoke holes, beadlocked threaded holes etc.

With a 3-axis mill, you can do all of it on one machine. If your budget allows for a CNC lathe and a CNC mill, then I would get one larger mill instead.

How many are you planning on making at a time? If you are looking at production runs, I think you will quickly find the limits of a Sherline or even a Taig. If you are just looking to make one-offs, and then send them to a shop, a Taig would probably be perfect. If you are looking to make large production runs yourself, then I would look into something larger.

This is my setup in my basement. It took 3 of us to get it down there, but it was designed to come apart in 3 pieces. It weighs 660 pounds, so even though it's movable, it's pretty stout. Being able to have warmth in the winter, and cool air during the hot summer is great.

Initial machine purchase

[JeepinDoug]

If you were only planning on one machine I would look at a Bridgeport with a ProtoTrak 2 axis retrofit.
CNC conversation line programming and program storage.
Learning conversation line programming is very easy yet still very capable of cool work.
I see these machines at auctions regularly now and they go for a decent price.
The last time I priced the retrofit it was around $14k for the 2 axis.
I've see complete good used machines go for less.
Southwestern Industries, Inc.

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by JeepinDoug

If you were only planning on one machine I would look at a Bridgeport with a ProtoTrak 2 axis retrofit.

We have one of these at work and I love it. I actually saw one on Craigslist a year or so ago for $6K...what a steal.

[xjman]

The prototrack mills themselves are not that bad. I used one for a little while while I was in school. Its not dead accurate, but good if you want to hold .001 or .002. The only thing that gets me is conversational programming. Everyone tells me how easy it is, I just can never figure it out right.

The lathes I'm not a fan of, they have a limit of 2500 rpm, and the motor is weak enough you can hold the chuck and keep it from spinning. (Saw a guy get caught doing something supid, pulling against the chuck he stopped it from spinning)

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by xjman

The only thing that gets me is conversational programming. Everyone tells me how easy it is, I just can never figure it out right.

The conversational on our Milltronics VMC is horrible compared to the ProtoTrak. Once you learn what it's asking for, it's pretty easy and very quick.

[4VRYNG]

HAAS Mini Mill


Discover Machinery

16" in x
12" in y
10" in Z

10 tool changer

[SMR 510RR]

Originally Posted by 4VRYNG

HAAS Mini Mill


Discover Machinery

16" in x
12" in y
10" in Z

10 tool changer

You left out the price tag $20,000+...

[bigstu]

Originally Posted by 4VRYNG

HAAS Mini Mill


Discover Machinery

16" in x
12" in y
10" in Z

10 tool changer

$20,000+ and 3400 lbs of big chunk to move.
Something tells me I am not getting that down my basement stairs and in to the man cave.