[Jewelry making - Article 00135] - Re: [Orchid] 3D CNC Systems

[Andrew Werby]

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    Taig Mill 

    These are really heavy-duty mills for the size (12"X, 5.5"Y, 6"Z for
    the LE model. They come with an open-loop stepper system that limits
    their working feedrate to 20 ipm, but they will keep going for a long
    time without problems. The spindle is controlled by a continuous-duty
    AC motor, and can be set for high torque and low speed, which is good
    for metals like steel. The company offers a 2-year warranty on its
    products, and tech support is good. The price (list is $2195) is
    excellent considering how well-built the machine is, and dealers
    (like me) offer additional discounts. 

    Maxnc-10/15 

    These all-aluminum mills are lighter-duty and less rigid than the
    Taigs, but offer several features they lack. The cheaper models are
    open-loop and very slow (6 or 12 ipm) but the more expensive
    closed-loop models are faster than the Taig, and use encoders on the
    stepper motors that monitor motor position and help avoid lost steps.
    They also use anti-backlash nuts, which is good except that their
    plastic parts tend to fail in use. They use 10k rpm Dayton spindle
    motors which tend to burn up after a few months of use, and which
    cause servo errors when their brushes arc. The spindles are
    speed-controlled in software, which is convenient, although torque
    at low speeds isn't high. MaxNC offers a 1-year warranty, their tech
    support is spotty, and getting satisfactory customer service can be
    difficult. 

    Roland MDX-15/20 

    These are combination scanner/mills that fill a unique niche,
    especially for people more adept at sculpting in clay or wax than on
    a computer. The scanning function is strong, and the fine
    piezo-electric needle probe is able to capture fine detail. One can
    make a part in a soft material like plasticine clay, and scale it up
    or down, or create a left part from a right. The milling function is
    obtained by swapping a small self-contained spindle assembly for the
    probe unit. This is a very light-duty spindle, suitable for carving
    wax but not much harder materials. Another drawback is the lack of
    tee-slots in the table, so holding a part down to the bed is
    difficult, although fixtures can be screwed down to it. And the
    small amount of head-room makes a 4th axis attachment (available for
    the Taig, MaxNC and Sherline mills) unfeasible. But on the positive
    side, they come with a suite of software that makes the scanning
    function work, and enables one to do basic milling and engraving as
    well. List price for the MDX-15 is $2995; the larger MDX-20 lists for
    $4495, but discounts from dealers (like myself) can reduce that
    somewhat. 

    I should also add the Sherline mill to this list- they have just
    announced that they will soon be offering  a CNC-equipped version of
    their popular mills, which will come with its own dedicated computer
    with EMC (a machine control program operating in Linux) preloaded.
    Their spindle motor is the best of the bunch considered heRe: a
    half-horse DC motor with variable speed up to 3k rpm. (which makes
    the spindle go at speeds up to 10k rpm.) It will be selling for about
    $2400, with further discounts possible from dealers.] 

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com



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