Gentleman I seek your knowledge please; I am looking to buy a CNC machine to work with aluminum 7075 and steel 4140. Initially I was thinking of a Tormach since I want to spend around 10K however I been reading through the forum and for what I can put together I am better off just buying an used VMC, hopefully a bit of a fixer upper with tooling, I am willing to put the time to rebuild the machine and stretch out some $.
I have time to get it working is not something that I need for production, I am in no rush.
I am thinking of a Fadal, Haas or Japanese made CNC, something with linear ways, easy to service, with problems that I can fix with a bit of time, probably a 1995+. What brings me to the questions.
I am correct to be more inclined to getting a Fadal?
How many hours of usage should I look for?
I can't get 3 phase to my home so easiness to get it to work with single phase is a plus, so I would love to hear your recommendations.
My ceiling in the Garage is 9'3" however the actual garage entrance is 7' is this going to be a problem? Or is it easy to remove anything that is poking past 7" to make it through?
I would like to keep the machine as small as I can (I know they are as big as a car or bigger), what do you guys recommend, should I worry about this?
I been looking locally in Creigslist and checking online auctions like in Bidspotter.com | Industrial, Commercial, Plant and Machinery auctions and MachineTools.com, The metalworking machine & tooling marketplace for new & used equipment., however I do not feel very comfortable buying from out of state without being able to check the machine, what do you guys think? Any other places where I could check for a deal?
I thank you all for any knowledge you can share.