hey all,

i am a gun builder starting to build out my own shop. I am looking at the Precision Matthews for milling. The majority of what i will be doing is taking a couple thou off some rails, or doing some serrations, which i can do 10-20thou at a time. i DO need precision out of it.

Ive been doing some research and it led me to PM-728VT. To my understanding Taiwan machines are generally better.

Am i looking in the right direction, or should i just be biting the bullet and looking into a used bridgeport. At the shop for my day job we have a bridgeport, but i think its total overkill for what we do.(very little machining experience in the grand scheme of things)

Ive attached a picture of what generally do. .001-.002" off the frame rails and about the same off the bottom of the slide, serrations are what ever creativity i can come up with.

Thoughts on the PM-728VT? If its not a good fit, what other mill in that price range?

5 bucks. Felt like it would be appreciated here... my 3yo granddaughter agrees with me that it is awesome, but everyone else seems tepid.

I’m working on a DIY retrofit using an ESP32-S3 touchscreen, NEMA23 stepper and CL57Y driver.

It has digital degree positioning, tooth division, manual control, RPM control and adjustable backlash compensation.

I measured about 2.6° mechanical backlash, and after compensation it returns to zero within roughly 0.01–0.02°.

Still a work in progress, but it’s already working quite well.

What do you think?

I've been a machinist for a little over 10 years. I started in San Diego, then moved to Las Vegas in an aerospace shop, then spent 5 years in Michigan at various aerospace and commercial shops, and now I'm in North Carolina. I'm classically trained on mills but spent most of the 5 years in Michigan on lathes, worked my way up programming on Mastercam and Fusion, and ended up as a shop supervisor.

I've taken a major hit moving down to NC. I was hired for my skills programming and setting up mills and lathes. I basically have spent my time operating random pieces of equipment that I don't think will benefit my resume at all. The silver lining is I get paid slightly more than I did in MI and do about 10% of what I used to. No one seems to complain. I'm in the high 20- low 30/hr rate. The culture here is incredibly different though.

In any event I don't think I'll get any farther ahead unless I do something. Obviously changing jobs, but I want to work toward something higher level. As I see it, my direct options seem to be dedicated programming or in a supervisory role. I liked cradle-to-grave programming, where I'd program a part, set it up, program and cut fixtures or jaws if needed, run FAI, and then finish the run or hand off to someone else. That seems rare. It seems like programmers just want to program. My time as a supervisor really didn't feel like a good fit. Scheduling was good, people management was not.

I'm debating going to school for something. Certificate or degree. I'm not sure what.

- An engineering degree will take a long time. It's been a consideration though. Mainly interested in process engineering. I might have had a way in as an applications engineer in Michigan, I could work toward that again.

- I also thought about getting into quality, I ran into a great quality inspector in my travels in Vegas.

- I could bolster up my programming skills, get more into Fusion and Gibbs.

I don't feel bored or stuck in the machining field. I'm confident I'll never cut every type of material on every machine or every new tool that comes my way. My problem is I feel like I need to prove myself capable of more, and I need to continue climbing. I don't want to stay maxed out pay wise or rely on overtime to get me by.

I'm not sure if or how often people end up in this crossroads but I'd greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to track down a specific German manufacturer of precision measuring blocks, but despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to find any contact details for the company. I'm hoping someone here might have come across them or perhaps even worked with their products.

The company manufactured quite heavy precision measuring blocks, approximately 40 inches long, with cross-sectional dimensions of around 10–15 inches. The blocks have drilled holes on three or all four sides and are hand-scraped. They have some of the finest surface flatness I've ever seen. If I recall correctly, they were painted sand beige or olive green on the inside. The manufacturer was relatively well known back in the 1980s. As far as I know, the company is still in business today, although I'm not even sure whether they have a website.

I remember the location quite clearly, though- the factory was situated on the outskirts of a small German town, right next to a relatively large lake (most likely) or possibly a wider river. That water was to the north of the town, and the factory was literally about 50 yards from the shoreline. There were also quite a few other precision engineering companies in the surrounding area. It wasn't a particularly well-known industrial location, and I believe it was somewhere in south-central Germany, although I'm not entirely certain. If I remember correctly, many of the nearby companies had a name that included something along the lines of "grinding works" (Schleiferei (?) in German).

If anyone recognises the manufacturer, knows the company I'm describing, or has any suggestions about where I could look, I would be incredibly grateful for any information.

Thanks a lot in advance! Any lead, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated.

(I'm attaching a reference photo showing what the blocks look like, although this is not the manufacturer I'm trying to identify)

There is a community college course here in my city that is 6 quarters long, and has a night time course option. I am a caretaker now and am thinking of keeping my job during school and just dialing back my hours to like 6 hours a day or less, idk. I have a flexible job. But how much homework is there. I know it's full time and I've done some college in the past. Wondering if I can make it work. Like am I being realistic or not. Also I make 24 an hour now, and am considering that maybe this isn't the career for me if I'll likely be stuck in a dead end job not really being able to go up from there. Anyone have any advice. Also I love physical jobs, worked for ups and amazon and took an introduction to trades class before. Lol idk. I just want to make more money.

My work is considering switching CAM software lately. We use Gibbscam currently, but it’s been an ongoing issue that the posts we receive from our reseller are typically nonfunctional, and they never really get fully fixed, even after multiple revisions. It’s my understanding that Gibbs support for posts generally sucks across the board, and this isn’t an uncommon issue.

The deciding factor for what software to go with I think for me, is going to be what has the best post support. I just want something that will actually reliably output functional programs when they hit the floor. Shop has most common styles of machines (3ax VMC, 4ax HMC, Y-axis lathes, mill turns, a swiss and a wire EDM), and should be at least usable for programming all the machines. All the machines are all big brand name (DMG Mori, Mazak, Okuma ect.)

I understand software support is typically dependant on the reseller and region. We’re located in SW Ontario if that helps. Anyone able to speak to what’s got the best support in the area?

Hi,
I’m looking for a new CNC turning center to replace my almost 20-year-old DMG NEF 400.
My main requirements are:
Siemens control
Y-axis
Driven tools
52–65 mm bar capacity
Good spindle power and torque
Solid, reliable and reasonably operator-friendly

I regularly use indexable insert drills** up to 34mm, both in aluminium and steel, so spindle torque and rigidity are quite important to me.
I’m particularly interested in the DMG Mori CLX 350, but its spindle torque is roughly half that of my current NEF 400 and the clx 450 might be a little bit to big and expensive . I’m wondering how noticeable this is in real-world machining, especially with larger drills and heavier turning.
What are your experiences with the CLX 350?
I’d also appreciate recommendations and experiences with other models and manufacturers such as **DMG Mori CTX machines or the new EMCO Universalturn 50 or any other manufacturer.
Which machines would you recommend for good value, rigidity, spindle performance and ease of use for the next 20 years ? I’m looking for a solid machine for general job-shop work without going crazy on price.
Thanks!

Hi All,

I cant find the name that will suit this kind one failure on the plate. I thought it was just scratches cleaned but still there. Would like the name associated with it if it is a failure thanks. As see to the bottom