Vertical cnc or skipper

Question

We are going to be increasing our capacity in our component company next year and I am looking for a little advice. We are thinking about using our loader/unloader CNC for cutting part outlines only and doing the secondary machining on either a vertical CNC or a skipper machine. Here are my questions about both machines.

VERTICAL MACHINE:

1. Is the depth accuracy of these machines right? We are not just drilling holes but have a joint that has to be right on the money depth-wise.
2. Do they run parts quickly or will it just be the new bottleneck since you are only running one at a time?
3. Any other pros or cons on these would be great to know

SKIPPER I like the idea of the skipper because it can process 2 parts at a time.

1. Is it hard to control depth since you are stacking 2 panels?
2. How does the post-work from cabinet vision?
3. Any other pros and cons would be great

It seems the trend is vertical CNC machining for what I am talking about I am just having a hard time seeing the efficiency but there again I have never run one. Thanks in advance for your input.

Answer 1

If your thinking about a CNC, best place to start would be contacting a CNC machine tool mfg,ie Hass/Doosan/DMGMori/etc. They will have a sales/application person who can explain to you if/how their machine can help you. Just be prepared to show them dwgs of your part and what your looking for as far as production demands go. Many builders are integrating robotics/automation and offering turn key solutions. Modern CNC machining centers can hit <.001" tolerances easy, the better ones might even claim .0005" or better but at that point setup is probably more important.

First time ive heard of "skipper", from a quick search, are you making cabinets/wood working? If so, i'd say you'd be looking for a CNC router with robotic loading and pneumatic fixturing.