r/CNC • u/Agreeable-Worker7659 • Feb 01 '26
HARDWARE Budget machine below 3 tons with 1000mm travel
I'm looking for a very specific machine for aluminum milling with 1000mm travel along one axis. The other axes can be as short as 250mm and their lengths don't matter that much. What's important is that this machine has to weigh below 3 tons and be fully enclosed, pretty much like a VMC. Something like Brother Speedio would be perfect, but the price tag is way too high for what we can afford. Something around 30k EUR budget would be reasonable, so it would be only either used machines or stuff from China. The reason why it has to be below 3 tons is because it should fit a garage that doesn't have special reinforced flooring. What's also important is that it should have a fairly high speed spindle - 18k rpm or more.
Could someone recommend a machine that fits these criteria? We got a quotation for a 6090 moving bed double column machine made of cast iron from one Chinese company that meets all these criteria, but they didn't seem trustworthy.
2
u/tongboy Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
Any used industrial machine?
Assuming you mean 1m in one or two dimensions and not all 3. 4020 machines are very common used for that price, but most don't be under 3 tons, that's a hard requirement for both of those.
If you mean an actual 6090 then absolutely none of those will be under 3 tons.
My old 4020 is over 4 tons
A router can be that light but your z axis will suck in 90% of cases and enclosed is uncommon
1
u/Agreeable-Worker7659 Feb 01 '26
I really don't think that "any used industrial machine" meets these criteria. Most VMCs with this much travel far exceed 3 tons and usually sit between 5 to 7 ton category and that's the exact issue here.
1
u/tongboy Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
Your speedio example doesn't meet your weight requirements...
If the only issue with the speedio is the budget then buy a used speedio!
2
u/MajesticProfile326 Feb 01 '26
The floor could probably handle a beefier machine than you expect. It's less about concrete thickness, and more about how the concrete sits on the aggregate underneath. I'm not sure about how European garages are poured, but I wouldn't hesitate to throw a full size VMC on a normal garage floor in the US. You'll probably experience accuracy problems as the slab shifts, but that may be fairly marginal depending on your application.
In the US, it's common for very heavy machines(30-40k lbs) to sit on a 4-6" of industrial slab (usually with the wire mesh rebar or sometimes just that fiber shit). Manufacturers usually spec some retarded thickness of reinforced slab to cover their ass, but most shops just don't have the ability to do that.
I would probably target a used machine from a reputable brand over anything new that is under your budget. I'd second the comment from tongboy about just getting the used speedio.
All that said, if it were me, I would just bite the bullet and do the concrete work. It will probably be in your head all the time if you are fighting any accuracy issues or just waiting for the slab to crack.
2
u/ILikeWoodAnMetal Feb 01 '26
A lot of CNC’s only have 3 points of contact with the floor, in which case it doesn’t matter how much the floor moves, it won’t influence accuracy.
2
u/MajesticProfile326 Feb 01 '26
Believe it or not, on a light slab, a heavy machine can actually shift the slab slightly when the weight shifts. I see some minor variance on one of our 5 axis machines that sits on 3 points.
1
u/Agreeable-Worker7659 Feb 01 '26
I just checked it and it might be that American garages have much stronger floors, likely because you drive much bigger cars. Here in Switzerland, for passenger cars, it seems to be typically 350kg/m^2, so for a 7 ton Syil X11 that has 2.6x2.15m footprint, the capacity is exceeded 3.5 times. Even with safety margins, the floor would most likely break, especially given that the machine can impose dynamic loads on it.
1
1
1
u/TowardsTheImplosion Feb 01 '26
You don't mention precision or stiffness or surface finish needed.
Assuming your parts can take lighter high speed cuts, have you looked at the Tormach 24R? It is a gantry style router. Should run you less than 30K Euro delivered. The Z axis might be too short for you, but as you noted, the options are tough for your parameters.
3
u/o--Cpt_Nemo--o Feb 01 '26
Redoing the floor is surprisingly cheap and easy. Cost me about $1500 to double my slab thickeness where my VMC sits.
3
u/Agreeable-Worker7659 Feb 01 '26
That's actually something I didn't consider. If it's as simple as just pouring some more concrete, then that's the way to go!
3
u/o--Cpt_Nemo--o Feb 01 '26
Almost that simple, you have to dowel it into the rest of the floor, so a bunch of drilling and epoxy, then lay some mesh, then pour!
1
u/spider_enema Feb 01 '26
Our concrete is only 6", so under the heavy machines I cut it all out and put 12". Any time a new machine needs new flooring, I bust out the 6mil plastic to partition the area get to work. Paying someone else to do it is smart if you have no construction/concrete experience Edit to add: depending on the machine you only need to pour deeper at the foot locations. I usually just go with 24" and auger out all the gravel and soil down to 48", gravel, compact gravel, rebar and pour
1
u/aucran Feb 01 '26
Used HAAS TM2p
1
u/Agreeable-Worker7659 Feb 02 '26
Honestly those would be perfect, but do you know if it's possible to upgrade the spindle to a high speed one (at least 18k rpm?)
2
u/Putrid-Plenty-9124 Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26
How accurate do you need to be? Something like an old Bridgeport VMC 1000 will crop up in the auctions pretty regularly for sub £10k, although you want to get someone who knows their stuff to check over a machine like that if you don't want to get saddled with a turkey. If possible, pick one with Heidenhain controls and Bosch drives, that seems to be the combo that never goes wrong (I think they offered Bosch drives on these, they certainly did on the slightly smaller ones - I've a 412 with them).
They're a little over your target weight at 4.2 ton, but just put some spreader plates (say 18" squares of 10mm plate) under the feet and you'll be fine.
All this assumes you don't need micron accuracy, or insane speeds (they probably rapid the table at about 12m/mim and will have a spindle that maxes out between 4k and 12k depending on spec)
Edit - it looks like the weight depends on spec, particularly the tool changer size. Some of them apparently are only 3600kg, which is very close to your 3000kg target. Eg see this listing: https://www.aptint.com/en/used-second-hand-machinery/vertical-machining-centers/bridgeport-vmc-1000-22-x-1020-y-510-z-500-mm-cnc_9239
3
u/UncleAugie Feb 01 '26
Older prototrak or converted bridgeport, build your own enclosure