Sherline & Taig CNC Mill & Lathe Upgrades, Reviews for Thurmont, MD 21788
Lots of have an interest in ISO20, IS030, BT30 and 5C headstocks for both Sherline and Taig mills and lathes in the Thurmont, MD. Automatic tool changers, or ATC, appeals to lots of individuals. There’s just on place to get the at a sensible rate which’s GlockCNC. Upgrading to a ISO20 or BT30 is ideal for the mill. Opting for a 5C is ideal for the lathes. Obviously, you would require to upgrade the headstock, bearings and motor. High speed balancing is also a reward. The availability of tooling for each of these models is exceptional. For 5C collet sets, you can get excellent quality from Hardinge.
Sherline headstocks and parts been available in a variety of designs from the factory. Normally ER16 and MT1. Both of which are extremely little. Sherline also provides WW collet sets for extremely small work. Generally watchmakers and clockmakers use the WW collets. A lot of choose ER25, ER32 or even ER40 collet sizes with a bigger spindle go through hole. The 5C collet for the Sherline lathe would be the best. For Sherline mills, most really do not care for the MT1 and hardly like the ER16. An R8 spindle with a low profile would be best. It provides the most flexibility and lots of tool options. You can find many evaluations on both the lathe and the mill. Popular models are the 2000, 5400, 4000 and 4500 in metric and inch. The also come in CNC, manual and CNC prepared variations. Recently, they have added ballscrew versions for sale. This is far better than the older leadscrew type. Search the internet if you want a review or comparison of ballscrews compared to leadscrews. There are suppliers near Thurmont.
Taig likewise uses lathes and mills. It’s Sherlines main competitors. In fact, you can find a lot of videos and articles describing Taig vs Sherline. The Taig items use much more rigid ways and typically more “strong” in general. The Taig motors are pretty weak, similar to the Sherline motors. A high quality brushless motor can make the machine appear like an absolutely various mill or lathe. Taig also uses a nice CNC all set mill and lathe. You can also choose their digital CNC system which utilizes closed-looped steppers and Mach3 software. The Taig spindles have the very same issues as the Sherline. They are far too small. The only exception is the 5C collet headstock model they provide. We will do a review of the 5C in the future. The great thing is that they now provide a ballscrew option for their mill and lathe. Plus, the offer a “gang tool” lathe. The downside with both manufactures is the lack of serious upgrades.
Sherline uses many parts and accessories, however not much to make it a better machine. To start 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 really little mass suggests the lathe or mill the surface quality won’t be as good and subject to vibration issues. For example, they provide lots of lathe devices, but you can’t get a 5C headstock or ER25, ER32 or ER40. Plus, the go through hole has to be small because the bearings are small. There is a similar concern with the mill. You can only use ER16 collets and this restricts its usage. Of course those in Thurmont, Maryland 21788 may have different needs.
Video: Taig CNC in Thurmont
There are other machine options too. You can also purchase from Grizzly or Harbor Freight, together with other suppliers that offer Chinese mills and lathes. Naturally the quality isn’t genuine excellent. Many end up either very dissatisfied or doing a lot of modifications to get the machine to do what they desire. Outstanding upgrades are ballscrews, upgraded brushless motor, encoder for threading and so on.
If you desire to go with a CNC machine, your best choice is the Centroid Acorn. The software application and hardware is far better than Mach3 or a number of the hardware alternatives in the market. You can do stiff tapping and threading if you have an encoder. Plus, it offers continuous speed for turning applications. Mach3 and Mach4 were the requirement for several years. However, they were cumbersome at best and really only targeted at amature use. Centroid is a well established commercial manufacture of mills. Much of which are 5 axis devices. The very 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 likewise produce reviews of the Taig CNC mill and Sherline CNC mill utilizing the Acorn hardware.
What about a better jaw chuck for the lathe? Lots of grumble that the little chucks will not hold steel for cutting. The part will simply fall out. On option is to buy a headstock with a jaw chuck adapter integrated in. This can open up more options for 5″ or 6″ chuck. Specifically if you opt for larger bearings.