I am looking at buying a new VMC for my shop. I currently have a Haas VF3ss and its an ok machine. It is the typical light and noisy machine that in my experience is a Haas. I have narrowed it down to 3 realistic machines and one potential "if hell freezes over" machine(meaning I would do it in a hearbeat, but the chances are slim to none).

Bridgeport conquest V1000- this is the highest on my list of candidates, the specs sound great, it has weight, power and speed. It has a big plus spindle which is a bonus.

Hyundai F500- it has a lot of weight, is about the same as the VF3ss in power and speed. It has a big plus spindle which is always a bonus.

VF3ss- It is a good starter machine IMO, but it is noisy and the lightest of all the machines. this is easy, since it would be a twin to what we have.

Dream machine: Okuma Genos M-560V. Bought 2 of these at previous shop. Most bang for the buck of any machine I've ran in 22 years machining. It's pricepoint is just a little out of reach at this point unfortunately.

I am going to try to get an in person look at the bridgeport and the Hyundai to see the ergonomics of them and get a feel for them. I ran Hyundai SKT15-LMS for a long time and was very impressed with its tolerance holding ability, the spindle seemed kinda underpowered, but it was a 6" chuck machine, so I couldn't fault it too much, it did everything I ever asked it too, just sometimes a little slower.. :-)

I am mostly curious if anyone on here has experience on any 2 of these machines side by side. How they perform and any impressions. I'd like to know any likes or dislikes about them and the usability of their layout/toolchanger etc.

I am making parts(mostly aluminum and brass with some light steel work) with the VF3SS and obviously it works. I did have to throttle it back some because I couldn't get surface finishes I wanted at higher speeds I think because of: Light machine, loose spindle bearings etc(the spindle bearings are pretty loose, you can hear them slip and chatter at lower speeds, service guy said it was normal and it allows for thermal growth at high speed).

I take a "big" cut in aluminum and brass (haha, not really, its .750 wide and .25 deep using a 2.0" kenna-perfect aluminum specific facemill) but it sounds huge and impresses people with the noise it makes :-) I'd think a heavier machine with a big plus spindle would not only quiet that down substantially but also give much better insert life. The next biggest cut I do is with a 1.0" dia 3 flute endmill with a 1.5" LOC and about a .01 width of cut.

At this point I don't do anything really heavy but we are always expanding our product line and may do some more steel or larger parts on down the road. The controls are pretty much a non-issue, I have ran Haas , Fanuc and Okuma OSP controls and am comfortable with all of them. The conquest has a Mitsubishi control which I understand to be pretty much a cheaper and faster Fanuc and few people could ever tell the difference.

I am a heavy production atmosphere not a job shop. I have set macro programs and dedicated fixtures for all of my products.

Thanks in advance, Just trying to make the best decision I can and real world suggestions hold lots of weight with me.