Opinion on a new lathe

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Hello,

well the final decision has been made. The Optimum is really a disappointment with amazingly expensive quote for nothing from a machine. This is why i decided to take Bernardo Profi 700 TOP, 3 phase 2013 model, serially equipped with sino digital readout. It has a 160 mm chuck (compared to Optimum 125 mm), power cross feed (which Optimum does not have), 700 mm between centers for price of 500 mm Optimum, safety clutch, longitudinal micrometer (although im not sure what is that in this moment :) ) and quite many details where optimum fails short.

The only difference is that Optimum lathe spins up to 4000 RPM and that is really unnecessary.

Will have to take a 700 km journey in one way, and again 700 km back to bring it home, going for it next week. If there is any reason to quit from these lathe (bad experiences?) let me know. Still with all that quite much money will stay in pocket comparing to Optimum.

Also i decided to leave my mini lathe because its impossible to sell if the price is not 1/4 of what i paid.. For that money i will just leave it (mostly because for it i have every lathe accessory ever invented). Its always useful to have a small lathe as spare, thats how i explained it to my wife...
 
That is basically the same lathe as mine but with the big bore head and uses many of the same parts as the optimum 270x700.

There are several suppliers of the lathe, Warco sell it as the WM290 and Presision Mathews also sell it and have a forum for their latehs

http://www.warco.co.uk/metal-lathes...934-wm290-variable-speed-lathe-wm-290-vf.html

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bluemachining/


Thank you for this useful link, im going to study them now. Any issues with your lathe? How happy are you?
 
I have had mine for about 4.5years and have only had to change a set of brushes in teh motor and I also changed the spindle bearings for better quality ones.

Very happy with the quality of work that can be done with it.

I notice that supplier does not include some of the accessories in the basic price. If making a long trip I would suggest you also purchase the 4-jaw independant chuck, faceplate, fixed steady and traveling steady.

You will also want a live centre and drill chuck & arbor to fit the tailstock and it would be a good idea to get a MT5-MT3 reducer sleeve so you can use tooling in the spindle. Thes eare standard items and could be bought from any source unlike the ones above which are lathe specific.

J
 
Hello,

thank you for advice. I ordered the stand, faceplate and both steady. All other accessories i have already except MT reducer sleeves which i ordered from China.

I guess you have the DC motor version, identical to Bernardo 700 profi, the lathe i ordered Bernardo Profi 700 TOP uses a 3-phase motor and frequency converter (its a new design for 2013).
If someone bought an original stand for this lathe, could they comment quality of it? I have seen Optimum stands live and they were quite rusty, unstable, thin metal looking junk

I cant wait to strip it in pieces when it arrives, clean it and start working on it...
 
The stand that came with mine is quite solid and no signs of rust. I did replace the flat panel in the middle with something more useful.

draw1.jpg


draw2.jpg


Yes mine has the DC motor, you should get better torque at lower rpm with the 3-phase.
 
What is the tool in your tailstock? Just for curiosity why you removed chuck protection?
 
That is a tailstock die holder

The chuck guard prevents the toolpost from getting close to the work unless you have excessive tool overhand, this is even worse when using the faceplate.

You will also find that the safety covers on the feed screw also stop the carrage getting close to the head, well known problem on many lathes that have these safety features retro fitted to get CE approval.
 
That is a tailstock die holder

The chuck guard prevents the toolpost from getting close to the work unless you have excessive tool overhand, this is even worse when using the faceplate.

You will also find that the safety covers on the feed screw also stop the carrage getting close to the head, well known problem on many lathes that have these safety features retro fitted to get CE approval.

Thank you, one is on my "to do" list for verry long time.

I understand now, this has been a problem on my optimum and because of it i had to disable chuck guard interlock when using faceplate. I noticed the Bernardo lathe has a safety clutch on bed, i wonder is it just a switch or "real" brake.

Thank you for all of your answers, they helped me quite many.
 
The problem with the tool holder that you already have is that the 30mm dimension will not be big enough so the tool will not overhang the topslide so you will have problems with facing cuts.

I have not tried the AXA ones so can't comment
 
Thank you for all help and answers. The lathe is delayed as its new product for 2013 and it will be available for pick-up in about 1 month.

Cant wait for it to arrive and start playing with it...
 
Hello,

i just received another delay notification, this time for 3 months more.

I was looking at the machining center http://www.mercateo.com/p/554-807(2...enter_700_BQV_inkl_2_Achs_Digitalanzeige.html .

It is the same lathe in specs and does include a mill head for not too much additional payment and is available now. Al trough i have a stand-alone mill i don't mind getting this combo too (since the price difference is quite small).

However im having trouble speaking with Bernardo on their impossible to understand English. Does anyone have experience with this machine and can tell me does this machine also use 3 phase motor with frequency converter as this lathe http://www.ebay.de/itm/Drehmaschine...980?pt=Industriemaschinen&hash=item19d632a63c
 
I have an Aloris AXA and love it It is on my south bend 9" but did nave it mounted on my seig 7 x 10 import IMHO if you have the extra cash go for a wedge style. some guys have had issues with the piston style. also I would not use a plunge style knurling tool buy or make a scissor type.
the subject of QCTPs has been discussed a lot here on previous threads so a search may glean additional info.
Tin
 
I have managed to acquire a german speaking person with Bernardo. The lathe available now does not have a VFD, just plain DC motor.

Is VFD worth waiting? I know all advantages of both drives since electronics is my profession. However i never operated a lathe with VFD, always with DC motor.

Who had experience with VFD and plain DC motor lathes, can you comment please?
 
Hello,

i just received another delay notification, this time for 3 months more.

I was looking at the machining center http://www.mercateo.com/p/554-807(2...enter_700_BQV_inkl_2_Achs_Digitalanzeige.html .

It is the same lathe in specs and does include a mill head for not too much additional payment and is available now. Al trough i have a stand-alone mill i don't mind getting this combo too (since the price difference is quite small).

However im having trouble speaking with Bernardo on their impossible to understand English. Does anyone have experience with this machine and can tell me does this machine also use 3 phase motor with frequency converter as this lathe http://www.ebay.de/itm/Drehmaschine...980?pt=Industriemaschinen&hash=item19d632a63c

Hi,

I think that you need to understand how this system works. Most of these machines are made in China, as you know, in two or 3 large factories and then painted , labeled up and even specced up for different destinations in batches, so there is always a shipment period of at least three months, as the western economy is getting worst the local suppliers are reluctant to put large orders in as I am sure that they need to purchase a minimum number of lathes, mills etc, to make it worthwhile for the Chinese to build them to a price, therefore the local supplier will take his time to get more orders in as they just want to pay for what they can sell straight away and not sit on the stock. Add to this all sorts of shipping, financial and administrative delays and the game becomes more obvious.
I have noticed that at least in the UK, the frequency of the suppliers showing items " out of stock " is increasing and I don't think that people are buying much so they are just not importing as much.

Good Luck and Regards,

A.G
 
Mine has the DC motor and there is a slight loss of torque when using slow speeds combined with large diameter work. For example on a 225mm iron casting I cannot take off more than 0.6mm cut per pass without the work slowing or even stopping, it is not noticable when using low speed on smaller dia work.

I do know someone who changed the motor on their identical lathe to 3 phase with VFD and he gets better torque at low speeds.

But I look at it this way on most of what we tend to make you seldom need to turn large items, usually just a flywheel on a whole model so I can manage with taking smaller cuts occasionally.

I did have a quick look at the Warco WM290 yesterday at a show and it is identical to mine except for the larger bore spindle
 
Mine has the DC motor and there is a slight loss of torque when using slow speeds combined with large diameter work. For example on a 225mm iron casting I cannot take off more than 0.6mm cut per pass without the work slowing or even stopping, it is not noticable when using low speed on smaller dia work.

I do know someone who changed the motor on their identical lathe to 3 phase with VFD and he gets better torque at low speeds.

But I look at it this way on most of what we tend to make you seldom need to turn large items, usually just a flywheel on a whole model so I can manage with taking smaller cuts occasionally.

I did have a quick look at the Warco WM290 yesterday at a show and it is identical to mine except for the larger bore spindle

Hi Jason,

I am with you. DC motor with electronic control board not 100% reliable.
Three phase motor with VFD best shot.May I add. I would go for "Taiwanese Teco". Or Japanese. The Chinese Rotary Screw Compressor Plants I worked with blacklisted local VFDs.Local VFDs have yet to come up to Taiwanese/Japanese quality.
 

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