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Mini Mill Comparison
This chart compares the specifications of the major brands of the
mini mill. Bold rows highlight what we feel are significant
differences, rather than mistakes or variations in measurement.
|
 |
| |
LittleMachineShop.com |
LittleMachineShop.com |
Grizzly Industrial,
Inc. |
Harbor Freight
Tools |
Micro-Mark
|
Micro-Mark
|
| Brand |
HiTorque |
HiTorque |
Grizzly |
Central Machinery |
MicroLux |
MicroLux |
| Model |
3900 |
3960 |
G8689 |
44991 |
84630 |
82573 |
| Price |
Lookup |
Lookup |
Lookup
|
Lookup |
Lookup |
Lookup |
| Head Tilt |
45°-0°-45° |
Solid Column |
45°-0°-45° |
45°-0°-45° |
45°-0°-45° |
45°-0°-45° |
| Table |
4.1″ x 18.1″ |
4.1″ x 18.1″ |
3-5/8″ x 15-3/4″ |
3-11/16″ x 15-7/8″ |
3-3/4″ x 16″ |
3-3/4″ x 16″ |
| T-slots |
12 mm (7/16″) |
12 mm (7/16″) |
12 mm (7/16″) |
12 mm (7/16″) |
12 mm (7/16″) |
12 mm (7/16″) |
| Spindle Taper |
R8 Taper |
R8 Taper |
#3 Morse Taper |
R8 Taper |
R8 Taper |
#3 Morse Taper |
| Drilling Capacity |
0.5″ |
0.5″ |
1/2″ |
1/2″ |
|
|
| Face Milling Capacity |
1.2″ |
1.2″ |
1″ |
1″ |
|
|
| End Milling Capacity |
0.6″ |
0.6″ |
1/2″ |
1/2″ |
|
|
| Swing |
12″ |
12″ |
12-3/4″ |
12″ |
12″ |
12″ |
| Spindle Clearance |
11″ |
11″ |
11-1/2″ |
12-1/4″ (10 1/2″ measured) |
11″ |
11″ |
| Spindle Stroke |
9.3″ |
9.3″ |
5″ |
8.5″ |
7″ |
7″ |
| X-Axis Travel |
11.8″ |
11.8″ |
9-1/4″ |
9″ |
8″ |
8″ |
| Y-Axis Travel |
5.1″ |
5.1″ |
4″ |
4″ |
4″ |
4″ |
| Spindle Speed |
0-2500 RPM |
0-2500 RPM |
0-1100, 0-2500 RPM |
0-1100, 0-2500 RPM |
0-2500 RPM |
0-1100, 0-2500 RPM |
| Motor Controller |
Brushless DC |
Brushless DC |
PWM |
PWM |
Brushless DC |
PWM |
| Horsepower |
0.67 HP
(500W motor) |
0.67 HP
(500W motor) |
0.47 HP
(350W motor) |
0.47 HP
(350W motor) |
0.67 HP
(500W motor) |
0.47 HP
(350W motor) |
| X & Y-Axis Dials |
0.0625″ / Turn |
0.0625″ / Turn |
0.0625″ / Turn |
0.0625″ / Turn |
0.050″ / Turn |
0.050″ / Turn |
| Z-Axis Dial |
0.060″ / Turn, 0.001 Graduations |
0.060″ / Turn, 0.001 Graduations |
0.060″ / Rev, 0.002 Graduations |
0.060″ / Turn, 0.001 Graduations |
0.060″ / Turn, 0.001 Graduations |
0.060″ / Turn, 0.001 Graduations |
All the mini mills listed on this page are made in the same
factory in China. Except where they have different features, the parts are
interchangeable. In our experience there is not a noticeable quality difference
between the brands.
LittleMachineShop.com HiTorque Mini Mill is the best in
its class. It has the most power, most torque, and a larger table than other
mills in its size range.
The tilting column version (model 3900) provides the same 45°-0°-45° tilting head
as all the other Mini Mills. The solid column version (model 3960) was specifically
designed for LittleMachineShop.com
to maximize rigidity. The column bolts solidly to the base with four cap screws
and the wall thickness of the column is significantly greater.
The 500 Watt (0.67 hp) brushless spindle drive motor provides tremendous low end
torque. And you can vary the speed from 50 RPM to 2500 RPM continuously. There
are no gears to shift. And, with no gears, the HiTorque Mini Mill is the
quietest in its class.
The large mill table provides 50% more table area than other mini mills. It also
has 30% more travel in each direction. The resettable feed dials allow you to
zero them at any point.
Grizzly
Industrial, Inc. sells the Grizzly model G8689 mini mill. The Grizzly mini
mill has a 3 Morse taper spindle. It comes with two 3 Morse taper collets; a 3/8
inch collet and a 1/2 inch collet.
Harbor
Freight Tools distributes the Central Machinery model 44991 mini mill. The
Harbor Freight mini mill has an R8 spindle.
Micro-Mark carries
the MicroLux model 82573 mini mill. The Micro-Mark mini mill has a 3 Morse taper
spindle. The MicroLux mini mill has one unique feature; the table feed dials both
advance 0.050 inch per revolution. On all the other mini mills the dials advance
1/16 inch per revolution. The 0.050-inch per turn is easier to use than the 0.0625-inch
per turn of the other mini mills. Micro-Mark will have you believe that the other
mini mills have metric dials, but they do not.
Micro-Mark also carries
the MicroLux model 84630 R8 mini mill. This mini mill is similar to their other
mini mill except it features the 500 watt brushless DC drive system.
Homier
Mobile Merchants previously distributed the Speedway mini mill model 03947. The Homier mini
mill has an R8 spindle.
ToolsNow.com (Cummins
Industrial Tools) previously distributed the mini mill model 7877. The ToolsNow mini mill has
an R8 spindle.
This information is put together from published
specifications and by measurements made by users of the machines. It is believed
to be accurate, but there are no guarantees.
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