help with cnc brands

[steve schaeffer]

hey guys, i would like some feedback on bridgeport alternatives, if there are quality machines. i really dont want to buy a spammy machine. what are your opinions? ive seen a kondia, a supermax, and an american eagle, (which im guessing is made in china) any help you can give is so very much appreciated. i know supermax is taiwan. id be willing to look past that if it is a quality machine. thanks guys.

steve, dreaming about cnc's, schaeffer
ps, bridgeport rc23 was sold.

[SID]

Steve- I have a supermax lathe that has been good for me. Service has been good when needed. I would look into Prototrak if you are looking for a CNC mill. I have one of them and it has been a very affordable machine, and dependable. Service was also quite good.http://www.southwesternindustries.com/swi/index.shtml

Thanks- Sid

[DR]

Steve,

Virtually all the iron (the basic machine, less the control) for world's high end CNC's are now made in third world countries. Likewise, all the junk is made there too.

One way to filter out the good from the bad is to see what kind of support you'll receive in this country. Call the USA distributor and try to get a feel for what kind of operation they're running. Is there anyone available or is it an answering service? Ask for the parts department, is there anyone available, do they have a full time parts man? Do they maintain an inventory of common parts? Do they have any service techs to answer simple questions? Is there anyone on their staff familiar with the machine's controller?

As for controls, check with a local independent company that services CNC's. They can usually give some indication about a machines control, whether it's hopelessly out of date from a repair perspective, etc, etc. Is the control one that they can service? Sometimes these guys are aware of machines in their area that may have long repair histories (avoid those machines). A call to the control maker's national office might be informative also.

[Thrud]

Steve
You can buy a brand new - built in the US(if you include NY) Bridgeport from Hardinge http://www.hardinge.com/ who now builds them to a higher standard than they ever were before.

Republic-Lagun, Kent, Haas, Fadal, Okuma - all good bang for the buck. Haas and Fadal booth have CNC toolroom machines (can also be used as a manual machine) for just under $20K. I have tried the Haas and like it. Okuma is excellent.