For machining wood or aluminum, you want a high speed spindle, more than 3600 rev/min.

You generally want a machine with chip shields all the way around, and a chip conveyor tall enough to dump into a big barrel.

Within a month of startup, probably sooner, you'll kick yourself if you didn't buy a toolchanger.

WRT scanning, you can measure stuff with a touch probe in the CNC, but you won't want to stop making chips for that.

No positive experience to report here with 3D scanners of any kind.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

Thanks Mike, I have the tool changer station on my mind. Honestly, I am getting into unknown territory and thus any expert advice or input is welcome.

You will still need to change the sample size parts to the correct size due to shrink allowance in the part. Make sure you purchase a large enough to machine to handle patterns up to the your casting flask size. You will also have to learn about parting lines, draft angles and cores. You will also need to learn about gating, risers, pouring basins and flow and metal solidification.

It would be better to have a casting supplier do all this work for you. Do what you are good at not what you think is easy. Castings are not easy to make properly.

Bill

Bill I am a casting engineer and I have fallen several times in the pit,mentioned by you. Now falling is fun. Cheers

I'm just one step away from being rich, all I need now is money.
( read somewhere on the internet)

arunmrao (Materials)
Before you can decide on an CNC machine size, you have to ask ," What is the largest pattern I would like to make?"
Of course what you would like to make, and what you can make, can be confined by details you have not mentioned yet.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

Your pattern material will largely determine if you choose a CNC router versus a machining center. In my opinion, Haas makes a very nice machining center, economically priced. Faro and Romer are 2 places to start for the scanner.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

My largest pattern size will be 1000x2000mm . I am in discussion with Faro for a scanner arm . I have used such facilities in India, for my pattern requirement.

Faro too have confirmed that some of their customers have integrated the scanner with a 3D sand mould printer . This is big ticket expenditure .

Now, in Nigeria, I am facing the challenge of delay in pattern making, which affects castings supply. I shall look for the machining centre by Haas.

I'm just one step away from being rich, all I need now is money.
( read somewhere on the internet)

You can also get some interesting opinions by engaging in discussions in the Forum sections of www.CNCZone.com and www.practicalmachinist.com .

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com