3-in-1 for CNC?

[SteveHGraham]

Today after lunch I was goofing off, looking at Enco stuff, and I came across a 3-in-1 machine. Ordinarily, I don't pay much attention to these things because they are considered limited and annoying. But a tiny 3-watt bulb went on in my brain. Wouldn't a 3-in-1 be great for home CNC?

Think about it. If you could control the lathe spindle and the travel on the mill spindle, you could do a lot of weird stuff with a single setup.

[hanermo]

Yes .. and no.
IF the lathe was and good (its not) THEN it would work well.

The problem is lack of mass.
All decent lathes are heavy. All horizontals (a 3-1 is a horizontal cnc ) are heavier.
The 3-1 are ultra lights.

I am building a good-to-excellent multiple machine.
My mass and rigidity are on a par (comparable to) a 70.000 € dual-spindle lathe, with Y-axis milling.

Mine works very well as a lathe (its a light industrial model to start with). Its about 8x more rigid than a 3-1.

If you start with a good rigid machine, THEN the concept makes sense.
Doubling length needs 8x the mass.
Rigidity is lost as length cubed = l x l x l.

[Marty_Escarcega]

I would suggest it depends on what you are going to make with it. Sherline and Taig machines are light and produce parts within their capabilities.

[SteveHGraham]

That's what I was thinking. Most CNC hobbyists use small machines, so why not use a small machine with a little extra versatility?