Haas VMT-750 (What is this thing?)

[CNC_Chip_Thin]

Evening everyone,

Was killing some time and decided to scroll thru the Haas website and came across this machine. At first when I saw the picture I thought to myself, why is the rotary axis on the left side of the table? Come to find out that it's in fact a lathe head stock with a rotating spindle head for 5 axis applications. I just can't come to understand where this type of machine would be practical.

How would you part off without dropping the part?
No sub spindle or tailstock?
Can't see any way you could bar feed

I just have so many questions as to why they would design a machine like this. Wondering what you all think of this creation...

 

[Garwood]

Haastegrix?

Honestly it looks like something you'd see a hobby guy put together with Linux CNC just to get views on Youtube. I don't understand why the tools are hanging out a mile.

 

[Jashley73]

Honestly, I love the idea. Instead of making a lathe into a super-complicated machine in order to get 3+1 machining, take a low-cost VMC and throw a more capable 4th axis on it.

(Side note, I've never understood why 4th axis units are always bolted onto the right side of the machine. Tool-changer clearance maybe?

Maybe the better solution is a beefy 4/5 axis indexer with turning, but I still like their idea there.

A tailstock would be easy to add as well. Full manual, hydraulic, or even pneumatic.

Part-off? No big deal. Let the part fall on the table. Build a small catcher from sheet-metal if you need to.

Bar-pulling? Put a schunk gripper onto a toolholder, and grip & pull the bar with it. (Idea stolen from Yamazen - @BrotherFrank thank you very much!)




Slightly off-topic, but one major gripe - Why the F#$& is the CNC world obsessed with RH turning tools? If they were using LH tools, not only could you SEE the F*$*%)# insert, but you would be compressing the machine to make it more rigid ---> The turning forces would be pushing the spindle + spindle casting INTO the Z-axis ways & column - Instead of trying to pull the entire Z-axis ways & column apart... When will machinists ever stop to think about force & thrust directions...?



Edit: Added more positive thoughts about it...

 

[AJ H]

RH tools the chips fall away from the cutter instead of into it….

 

[Jashley73]

RH tools the chips fall away from the cutter instead of into it….

Fallacy... I can change chip flow & direction just by adjusting the feed knob.

 

[Spruewell]

It’s traditional. Manual lathes all (as far as I know) have the bed under the workpiece and the tool-post between the it and the operator making RH tools optimal. Most CNC lathes a slant bed with the turret hanging above which would make the LH optimal. If you ever knew a machinist, you would know they are terribly stubborn and difficult to reason with. Therefore RH tools prevail

 

[Mud]

I figure it's because the drills are RH. I like LH turning tools for roughing adn use them wherever else possible. but it requires reversing the spindle multiple times in a program.

 

[Mhajicek]

On my CM-1 I put the rotary on the left, so I can stick barstock through it and out the back. The sheetmetal comes within an inch of the table on the right, but on the left there's plenty of room for the ATC umbrella, so I can fit a 20" OAL bar.

 

[Garwood]

I've had rotaries on the right and left of vmc tables. Depends on the layout of the machine and the rotary you have.

One plus for left rotary on a side arm tool changer machine is that the coolant nozzles are on the right of the spindle to clear the tool arm. The rotary will block the coolant stream less this way.

 

[Mr. Atoz]

14 seconds chip-to-chip tool change. Painful in a production environment. Especially in such a small machine.

 

[Spruewell]

Did they run that whole program without rapid moves? Looked like they cut some footage where there was a lot of roughing with the endmill. Not sure how you would manage fitting up a bar feeder on that thing either. On the other hand that would make for a pretty nice 4th axis rotary if it wasn’t so huge.

 

[dsj]

The whole thing looks more like a mid-stage prototype than a final production machine. Or maybe this will end up being their "toolroom" low-cost mill/turn?