Well I've pretty much decided on a Super Mini Mill. I had the HFO rep out today and we talked about options and he had some good advice about the machine that I wouldn't have otherwise been aware of.
Here's my dilemma. If you go to the HAAS site and look at their demo machines for sale, they have a Super Mini listed for $54,687.50. Retail on it is $78,125. The discount is 30%. Some of the options listed on the site for this mill are a little confusing since some of the option codes have changed. The rep brought a spec sheet showing the machine with the current option codes. It has the following options:
15K-SMM
AUGER
16MB
ENET/HD
HSM
HFP-SMM
P-COOL
TTC-300
TTC
WIPS
MACRO
COORD
ACF
Even those codes are still a bit off since WIPS now comes with MACRO, COORD, and SOM. Being 30% off this seems like a nice deal. I got him to pull the details on the machine. It has 393 servo hours, 299 run time hours, 43 motion hours, and 40 spindle hours. It was built in February 2008. Also, he thinks that even though they list it as having a 15" screen that it may not since he doesn't think they started doing the 15" screens on the minis until September of 2008.
If I were going to configure one myself with only the options I wanted, it would have the following option codes.
15K-SMM
WIPS-R (includes MACRO, COORD, and SOM)
AUGER
HFP-SMM
P-COOL
16MB
HSM
IPS-V
RJH-C
ESW-1
So really all I'd be leaving out over the demo unit would be the hard drive/ethernet, the through-tool coolant, and the auxiliary coolant filter. That through tool coolant option is expensive, $6000. And the filter is another $1800. Ethernet/HD $2800.
So he put a quote together for a brand new machine with the options I listed above. Retail was $67,545. They'll give me a 20% discount and make it $54,036.
So, it's basically a wash. I'd be paying about the same price for the demo model with those extra options or a new one without those extra few options.
Which one to buy? Other than doing a lot of drilling, is the through-tool coolant that important? The hard drive really seems like a waste given the size of USB sticks these days. Any opinions?