Spent $800 on a 5-axis add-on and it barely worked for my shop in Tulsa

I got talked into upgrading my 3-axis to a bolt-on 5-axis kit last March. Setup took 2 full weekends and the post processor was garbage, none of my CAM files came out right. After 60 hours of fiddling and zero usable parts, I pulled it off and went back to indexing. The seller blamed my machine's spindle rigidity, but I think they sold me a toy. Anyone else tried these retrofits and found them more trouble than they're worth?

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anna_ross191mo ago

Did you watch that video from NYC CNC where he tested one of those bolt on kits? He showed the whole thing flexing like crazy under any real load. Sounds like you got the same deal, just with worse support. I had a buddy in Dallas who tried one on his Haas and the post issues alone made him want to throw the whole machine out. The sold you a toy part is pretty much what I heard from every shop that tried it, it's not you. 60 hours of your time is worth more than that refund.

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