[gcamlibel]

Is there any forum reader who know something about this mill?

I live in Turkey. In my country only OPTIMUM BF 20 Vario is possible to puchase as small mill. We can not buy from USA becouse of high tax rates and shipping costs.

This machine can be seen at http://www.optimum-maschinen.de/opti_neu/home/home.html
(please chose FRASEN from left menu and than OPTIMUM BF 20 Vario to see this mill)

I am waiting for suggestions.

[ESjaavik]

Russia is not very far from you. Maybe you should look at this:
http://www.fasie.ru/erten/index.html

Hopefully their machines works better than their web site! I checked it now and could not get further than the main page. But I've seen it before and it looks extremely versatile. It's a lathe / mill combo with quite another twist.
Here is another link that seems to work: http://www.industrialageworkshop.com/IAWErten.html

[gcamlibel]

yes you are right about their home page.
I could not open their web site.

The combo machine at second link is very interesting.

Thank you for advice.

[IJ.]

The BF20 looks to be the same as what is available worldwide from most machinery sellers. (HF/Grizzly/Hafco) They're made in the same factory and the only differences seems to be paint colour.

I have been using one of their slightly smaller Mills for a few years now and it's been reliable and accurate and I'm very happy with the purchase, I'm purchasing another Mill around the BF20 size this Wednesday to use as the base of my CNC conversion.

(That Russian MC is an interesting concept, just wondering about rigidity though)

[NeoMoses]

gcamlibel, would you mind translating some of the specs for that machine? From what I can tell, it should work very well for you. It appears to be very similar to the machine I converted about a year ago, you can check it out in the Gallery if you want.

If I'm translating (more like guessing in this case ) correctly, the machine has a 600W (~0.8 HP) motor and has spindle speeds in the 100-3000 RPM range. (Please correct me if I'm wrong) That motor size may be a bit small depending on what you plan to be cutting. It looks like the RPM is digitally controlled (probably a VFD DC motor on the spindle) which would be a nice option rather than belt or gear drives. I'd say it looks like a safe bet; I'd be willing to pay up to about $1500 US dollars for something like that.

Let us know how you decide.

[gcamlibel]

I copied BF20's user manual from a store at Ankara. I will attach its specifications page here. I think it will be better than translating the web page.

[gcamlibel]

I devided page into two parts becouse of the post size limitation.
here is the second part.

[ESjaavik]

Here what is said on a competing board(The Google cache so you don't have to join as member):
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:9...hl=no&ie=UTF-8

For those not reading german, the ultra short version is that one guy there bought it and his first impressions are good. It is also rumored that the first versions smoked their speed controllers. The guy wrote he got it with a test certificate and checked himself that it actually was within the pretty decent specs. The slides were scraped, in itself a sign that the producer at least put some pride in it. It was also said on this board that you could hear the electronics regulating. Some real cheap ones will just output a frequency (if VFD) or voltage (if brushed DC) and not compensate for any load.

I found this mill interesting too as I might like to have a "laptop mill". And if it is using BLDC and not brushed DC motors, then it might give good performance for the stated HP. I found nowhere saying that it has though, so assume it is brushed. If youy buy one, please keep us updated! At Eur. 1K I might be interested in picking one up myself next time I'm in Germany.

And don't believe the specs! The German version just states it has a drilling capacity of 20mm, not that it will do it in steel. The motor output is 440W (http://www.hh-motor.com/pro1-5.htm)+calculator. It has 0,785Nm@5500RPM. With a slow speed max of 1500 it must be geared down 1:4. That means you have 3,14Nm at the spindle. You don't drill 20mm steel with that kind of torque. This does not make it a bad mill for the money though, it just shows that some sales people believe the customer is an idiot.

[gcamlibel]

Thank you for your warnings and advices.

I read motor specifications at chinese site and I also read "peters cnc ecke" forum. I can not understand German but I have Systran Translater installed to my pc which can translate German sites to English. I found lots of material about BF20 vario at this forum.

Today I checked the local stores at Ankara to learn if this mill is available or not. But I could not find it here.

I learned who importes Optimum Machines to Turkey and I called that company. Unfortunatelly they said BF20 vario will available next month.

I will buy one when it is available and inform you.

[IJ.]

gcamlibel: Looking at the specs you posted it's a much smaller Mill to what I'm getting on Wednesday!

The table size on mine is 230 x 1244, it's funny how the pic on their site is deceptive.

(Mine is more the MF2 size so maybe I clicked the wrong image)
btw: I think your chipboard CNC is brilliant !! !!

[gcamlibel]

I talk to importer of Optimum this morning. They said BF20 wil be available next week.

I will wait it impatiently.

It is written at specifications of this machine that it uses MT2 at English manual and MK2 at German manual. (and at the web site it is written as "MK 2 / M 10")

What does it mean? I think I shoud order tool holder seperately isn't it?

[Konstantin]

Wow the russian ERTEN machine is looking very nice.
I am russian myself and do russians never stop to amaze me with their versatility.

BV20 is chinesse making and for some reason chinesse hardware is tricky to buy, they are prone to use soft steels in their machines. Have to be that I am russian but I fell in love with the ERTEN lathe.

[ESjaavik]

gcamlibel:
MT2 = Morse Taper 2 (English)
MK2 = Morse Konus 2 (German)
The M10 probably means that the pull bar is M10, and the MK2 should have a M10 internal thread.
Try to get a good price by buying the collet chuck with the mill.

Konastantin: Yes, I liked the ERTEN lathe too. If it's well made (and russian tools usually are) then it must be perfect for those with little workshop space.

[gcamlibel]

ESjaavik: Thank you for explanations of MK and MT.

Today I ordered BF20 at a local store (980$ + 18%vat = 1150$)

Local store sales man said that it is possible the collet chuck is included with the mill. Therefore I will not order the collet chuck until BF20 arrives to store next week. Price of the collet chuck is 65.000.000TL (about 50$)

My family lives at Samsun which is closer to Russia than Ankara. I will look for any people who will go to Russia to make see the ERTEN machine.

[gcamlibel]

Finally Optimum BF 20 Vario arrived to local store and today I get it. it is here, at home near me

I will post more detailed pictures and first opinions about this machine tomorrow.

[Swede]

Looks good! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We look forward to your review.

[Klox]

Vey nice looking mill! Keep us up to date...

Klox

[ESjaavik]

Yes, it looks good! Congratulations. We used to say "Skrabbelars" when a friend got a new item we could envy him/her of, it seems in place here. :-)
I have seen after previous posting someone claiming that it is made in Germany. Can you verify this?

[gcamlibel]

Thank you.

I said that it is "made in Germany"

But just before ordering I learned that it is produced at Chine under licence of a German Company (Optimum Machinen GmbH http://www.optimum-maschinen.de/opti_neu/home/home.html )

[IJ.]

I picked up my new machine last week and hope to install my CNC gear soon (just need to finish off some other work first so I can devote a few weeks to complete it)

I'm using a 4 axis setup comprising World Servo SSt-1500 Drivers KollMorgan 700w Servos and precision ground ballscrews.

When I finally get a chance to work on it I'll post a pictorial blow by blow description.


click to enlarge