Haas VF-12/40

The Haas VF-12/40 is a long-bed 40-taper vertical machining center: 150 × 32 × 30 in (3,810 × 813 × 762 mm) of travel over a 150 × 28 in (3,810 × 711 mm) table, with an 8,100 rpm inline direct-drive spindle. Among the 150 in models Haas lists, it is the one with the narrower Y and the lighter spindle. Its starting price is US$391,995.

X is the whole point of this machine. The table is as long as the travel, so a part or a row of fixtures can occupy all 150 in and still be reached end to end. That suits long extrusions, rails, beams and plate strips, or a line of vises holding different jobs at once. Two cautions come from the same table of figures. Table load is 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) in total, which is modest when spread over a table this long, so heavy steel sections need adding up before a job is quoted. And X rapids are 360 ipm (9.1 m/min), equal to the maximum cutting feedrate, against 600 ipm (15.2 m/min) on Y and Z, so a program that hops between distant setups spends real time in transit.

The spindle is rated 30 hp (22.4 kW) with 90 ft-lbf (122 N·m) at 2,000 rpm. It is liquid cooled, uses air/oil injection for the bearings, and comes in CT40, BT40 or HSK-A63. That is a spindle for aluminium, plastics and light to medium steel cuts, with tools the 30+1 side-mount changer can carry: 2.5 in (64 mm) in diameter with the magazine full, 16 in (406 mm) long, 12 lb (5.4 kg). Haas's table also gives a figure for an optional gearbox, 250 ft-lbf (339 N·m) at 450 rpm, which is an extra and not part of the base machine. If low-speed torque is the main need, the VF-12/50 has the same travels with a 50-taper spindle making 340 ft-lbf (460 N·m) at 700 rpm.

If the part is shorter, the VF-10/40 has the same Y, Z and spindle figures on 120 in (3,048 mm) of X and ships at 30,100 lb (13,654 kg) against 36,300 lb (16,466 kg) here. If it is wider, the VF-14/40 extends Y to 40 in (1,016 mm) over the same table.