u/Objective_Lobster734

We currently have two Trak K3 2-axis mills and a 1630SX lathe. We're looking for something enclosed with a 3rd axis. I make tooling and small parts and things for in-house production use, so no production work or anything. Almost everything is one-off, maybe I might make upwards of 10 of the same small bracket for something but that's it.

We run a lot of C-276 on our mills (see my other posts here recently) and at 3HP it's got the same power as the K3 mills, but with an enclosure, flood coolant and a tool changer. Plus it's a great size, it'll fit where one of the K3 machines currently is and give more space.

I have the Trak rep coming in this morning at 9.

Does anyone have one that they use regularly? I'll be doing light conversational but will probably be using Fusion for the majority of the CAM for it, I already use it for the lathe and K3 machines when doing more complex operations.

Other options we're considering would be a new or used Tormach 770MX with tool changer, used Haas VM2/VF2 or something similar. We don't need a ton or table travel for what I make, I just want the 3rd axis (and possibly a 4th or an indexer) so I can have it run those long slow C276 toolpaths without me having to babysit it and set the Z height every few minutes like I do with the K3 machines.

I also design and build actual machines so I'm cutting/tapping/drilling structural steel (angles, tubes, etc) but that's all done on the K3's with their longer travels and tables.