Warco VMC turret mill.

I am pleased with mine, I chose the R8 version and I feel this was a good choice but I was not bothered about using any common tooling with other machines. Some people find the head to table height a bit small and fit a riser block to give typically an extra 100mm. R8 collets can win some height aswell. There are some more compact machines with a larger working area. So far I have not had a problem with the capacity of the machine. As yet I do not have a power feed and this is getting to the top of my wish list. I am fitting a DRO at this moment and think this will be a useful enhancment.

Mike

I have one with r8 and find it OK but speed range can be a bit iffy an inverter would sort that out.

Over 1/2" end mills you have to delicate with on an old Warco round column mill I had before you could use a 7/8" end mill and take heavy cuts with no chatter.

For most model engineering I'm happy with it but it has limitations on heavy machining cuts.

I've been pleased with my MT3 version of the VMC and found it handy to be able to put MT drills straight in the quill. I've not had any Z space issues when milling as I normally use MT collets straight in the quill. It can be an issue when drilling though as most drill chucks take up a fair bit of space. I use stub drills if it's a problem or mount bits in an ER32 chuck I have for the mill. Given the choice I'd always go for a knee mill like the VMC but would maybe have gone for something like a used Harrison if I'd been able to move one. I recently moved house and it wasn't difficult to split the VMC into three manageable bits with an engine hoist. Warco's driver Dave was very helpful in getting the machine exactly where I wanted it in the garage by the way!

Hi Mark,

I have a Taiwanese manufactured Chester 626 knee mill and am extremely pleased with it. It came as an R8 version together with a 2HP 3phase motor powered via an inverter and it also has X, Y and Z axis DRO's plus a separate DRO on the quill, all of which makes working extremely easy.

The only down sides are that I cannot find a ready made motor drive system due to the shorter lead screw so am making my own using a wiper motor as the drive system, and the other issue is the occasional lack of clearance between the quill and table and a 4" riser is on the cards I feel.

Overall I am very pleased with the mill and from my limited experience would recommend a similar machine to anyone.

Best regards,

Mike

The standard motor is 1.5 HP and I've certainly not felt it under powered. The maximum recommended end mill size is 20mm and I would say that's about right.

Hi Mark

I'm very pleased with my VMC, which I've been using for the last 5 years or so. I've undertaken various enhancements including fitting an inverter, DROs and a raising block, which have all improved the versatility of the machine.

Totally agree with Vic that the 1.5 HP motor is perfectly adequate, and if you have the 3-phase motor and an inverter you retain high torque levels right down through the rev range. The belts on my VMC are almost permanently set to 1180 rpm - think that I've changed them only a couple of times in the last 5 years. With the inverter you can program a 20% overspeed (effectively 60 cps) at one end of the rev range, while at the other end (jog) it is ideal for tapping under power. The best time to get the 3-phase motor is when you order the machine - I wanted an imperial / 3-phase / R8 machine which although non-standard Warco ordered as a special - this will save you around £200 (replacing a single phase motor) which should almost pay for the inverter. Would also recommend the remote controller with speed control at the turn of a knob - no more tedious and time-consuming belt changing.

The R8 taper is much kinder to the spindle bearings when removing tooling when compared to 3 MT - a gentle tap and it releases and well worth the investment in new tooling. A wide range of tooling is readily available at reasonable cost.

For the work that I do I found that a 4" raising block was essential if I was to gain the maximum from the machine - my article in MEW 215 onwards shows how I tackled the job using a Myford S7. The only thing to be aware of is that with the knee at a new maximum height in relation to the spindle nose it's possible to disengage the Z-axis leadscrew, and it's a real pain to re-engage - you only do it once.

Hope that this helps.

A friend has just purchased a Warco VMC which he ordered with a 3ph motor. I converted it to delta, added an inverter, and we added a a 3-axis DRO from MachineDRO which went on the X,Y and Z axes (knee), plus a magnetic reader for the quill which integrated with the knee. The Z display now gives the distance between the quill and the table. He also added power feed to the X-axis

He also, was concerned by the lack of headroom so we made a 5" raising block, which has totally solved the problem.

He is now very pleased with the mill, which has been checked as being very accurate.

The only thing he didn't like was the rather unyielding plastic sheet/cover for the knee and Y-axis dovetails, which he replaced with a far more flexible cover in a bright yellow colour, which doubles as a useful background when milling.

In the photos, the inverter can be seen on the wall, and the X-axis DRO scale can be seen to have an extension in front that still allows travel hard stops to be used.

Other mods I've seen on these machines is conversion to CNC by adding ball screws and stepper motors, increase in "Y" travel of the table by careful removal of metal on the knee and self ejecting drawbar on the MT3 version. Although not exactly the same due to the electrics, the best manual avalable for the "626" mill is the one on the Grizzly Tools website, well worth downloading. I've found the table stops very useful so I've replaced the somewhat crude originals with my own. Only other mods I've done on mine so far is to add a scale and new handle for drilling.

So much good gen. Thanks again chaps, I was going to go for an MT3 spindle so I can use MT drill bits but I suppose that R8 - MT sleeves can be obtained, or make a self ejecting draw bar. I like the idea of ordering the machine with a 3 phase motor. never crossed my mind to do that!

Regards Mark P.

I don't find the lack of Z a problem for milling, only drilling but I suppose it depends on what folks are using their machines for? Mine would certainly benefit from a modest 3" riser but my Lathes too small to do the work. Having said that I'm surprised to see how far that boring head is away from the quill on one of those pictures above! Can't be very rigid.

I always make sure to maintain the rigidity of the machine by locking the quill - ok, I've forgotten once or twice and had slight downward movement! luckily I spotted it and the job wasn't ruined. it's surprising though how many folks move the quill rather than the knee for adjusting the Z, don't understand that. The graduations on the knee are plenty fine enough for me.

Gary, is that riser block Alloy or Steel?

I already had a lot of MT3 tooling from my old mill and it also fits my Lathe so getting an MT3 VMC mill made more sense for me. You don't need to hammer the collets out, just make a self ejecting drawbar. Have a look at Ralph's post on this link, he made his own easily enough. Yes, it's on my list!

http://modeleng.proboards.com/thread/5804/mill

The riser block is 6082T6 alloy.

Thanks Gary.

Hi All,

I've been looking for a mill and was wondering how the VMC compares with the Sieg Super X3.

Clearly the Sieg is a much smaller mill and the Warco is only £200 more...

Working on the bigger is better rule, is there anything better on the Sieg?

I can only think of the variable speed and digital readout on the quill.

Has anyone seen a Warco manual for the VMC? I can't find mine and there seem to be some slight differences in other manuals, particularly the otherwise excellent Grizzly version I mentioned earlier. Warco don't seem to do PDF?!

Hi Vic, If you PM me with your email address I'll scan mine and send it over.

Regards Lee

Hi all just in case anyone else requires a copy of the Warco VMC manual I've put a copy in my photo album.

Regards Lee

Richard,

If you have room go for the VMC / 626. It is far more rigid than the SX3 ( which I have) and on the Warco you can buy the power feed. For Me R8 is a no brainer if it was good enough for Bridgeport .... As an earlier poster said you can buy an R8 to MT3. anyone ever seen an MT3 to R8....