Sherline & Taig CNC Mill & Lathe Upgrades, Reviews for Hernandez, NM 87537
Lots of have an interest in ISO20, IS030, BT30 and 5C headstocks for both Sherline and Taig mills and lathes in the Hernandez, NM. Automatic tool changers, or ATC, attract numerous people. There’s just on place to get the at a sensible cost which’s GlockCNC. Updating to a ISO20 or BT30 is perfect for the mill. Going with a 5C is perfect for the lathes. Of course, you would require to upgrade the headstock, bearings and motor. High speed balancing is likewise a perk. The accessibility of tooling for each of these models is exceptional. For 5C collet sets, you can get excellent quality from Hardinge.
Sherline headstocks and parts can be found in a variety of models from the factory. Typically ER16 and MT1. Both of which are really small. Sherline likewise provides WW collet sets for really tiny work. Generally watchmakers and clockmakers utilize the WW collets. Many choose ER25, ER32 and even ER40 collet sizes with a larger spindle pass through hole. The 5C collet for the Sherline lathe would be the best. For Sherline mills, most actually don’t care for the MT1 and hardly like the ER16. An R8 spindle with a low profile would be best. It provides one of the most versatility and many tool choices. You can discover lots of reviews on both the lathe and the mill. Popular models are the 2000, 5400, 4000 and 4500 in metric and inch. The likewise come in CNC, manual and CNC all set versions. Just recently, they have added ballscrew variations for sale. This is far better than the older leadscrew type. Browse the internet if you desire a review or comparison of ballscrews compared to leadscrews. There are suppliers near Hernandez.
Taig likewise provides lathes and mills. It’s Sherlines primary competition. In fact, you can find a lot of videos and short articles referring to Taig vs Sherline. The Taig items offer far more rigid ways and typically more “heavy duty” in general. The Taig motors are pretty weak, much like the Sherline motors. A high quality brushless motor can make the machine seem like a completely various mill or lathe. Taig likewise provides a good CNC ready mill and lathe. You can also select their digital CNC system which utilizes closed-looped steppers and Mach3 software application. The Taig spindles have the very same problems as the Sherline. They are far too small. The only exception is the 5C collet headstock design they provide. We will do an evaluation of the 5C in the future. The nice thing is that they now use a ballscrew choice for their mill and lathe. Plus, the deal a “gang tool” lathe. The disadvantage with both produces is the lack of serious upgrades.
Sherline offers many parts and attachments, but not much to make it a better machine. To begin with, they headstock uses bad quality bearings and the bearings are too little. This means the spindle itself needs to be little. A spindle with very little mass suggests the lathe or mill the finish quality won’t be as excellent and subject to vibration issues. For example, they offer many lathe devices, but you can’t get a 5C headstock or ER25, ER32 or ER40. Plus, the travel through hole has to be small since the bearings are little. There is a similar concern with the mill. You can just use ER16 collets and this limits its usage. Of course those in Hernandez, New Mexico 87537 may have different needs.
Video: Sherline CNC in Hernandez
There are other machine options too. You can likewise buy from Grizzly or Harbor Freight, along with other providers that provide Chinese mills and lathes. Of course the quality isn’t real excellent. Lots of end up either very disappointed or doing a lot of modifications to get the machine to do what they want. Outstanding upgrades are ballscrews, upgraded brushless motor, encoder for threading and so on.
If you prefer to go with a CNC machine, your best option is the Centroid Acorn. The software and hardware is far better than Mach3 or a number of the hardware choices in the market. You can do stiff tapping and threading if you have an encoder. Plus, it offers consistent speed for turning applications. Mach3 and Mach4 were the requirement for several years. Nevertheless, they were cumbersome at best and truly only focused on amature usage. Centroid is a well established commercial manufacture of mills. Much of which are 5 axis devices. The best servos to utilize for CNC on the Sherline or Taig are either DMM, Clearpath or GlockCNC brand names. Combine that with the Centroid Acorn and you will have a powerful machine. We will also produce evaluations of the Taig CNC mill and Sherline CNC mill using the Acorn hardware.
What about a much better jaw chuck for the lathe? Lots of complain that the little chucks won’t hold steel for cutting. The part will just fall out. On option is to purchase a headstock with a jaw chuck adapter built in. This can open up more alternatives for 5″ or 6″ chuck. Particularly if you choose bigger bearings.