Meet the Machine

Used Haas DT-2: The Table Is Rated for 250 Pounds at Full Rapids

Haas gives the DT-2 two table load ratings.

Two hundred and fifty pounds at 100 percent rapids. Five hundred pounds at 50 percent rapids. Both evenly distributed. Same table, same machine, and the number doubles when you slow it down.

That is not a fine print curiosity. The DT-2 is built to move fast: 2,400 inches per minute on every axis and a tool change in 1.75 seconds. The table rating tells you how much mass the machine is designed to throw around at that speed, and on a machine this light, it is easy to spend.

A vise, a fixture plate, a rotary. They all count. The used DT-2 we have on the floor carries a Haas TRT100 trunnion, and the trunnion alone uses most of the 250.

Two Ratings for the Same Table

Haas publishes the full rapids and half rapids ratings across the DT family. Here they are with the table sizes.

Two things stand out. The DT-2 gets 8 more inches of table than the DT-1 and not one more pound of rating. And the DT-3, longer again, is rated lower at half rapids than the DT-2. A longer table is more room, not more capacity.

Haas makes the same kind of trade on its larger verticals, where our Haas VF series breakdown found the Super Speed machines halve the table load. Speed and payload pull against each other, and the DT family publishes the trade in plain numbers.

Haas specifies both ratings as evenly distributed. A rotary or a tall fixture concentrates its weight rather than spreading it, so treat the published figure as the ceiling, not a target.

What a Trunnion Leaves You

The TRT100 is Haas's small dual axis tilting rotary, and it turns a DT-2 into a machine that can index and machine small parts in 4 and 5 axes. Haas publishes its numbers.

Put it on a DT-2 and the arithmetic is short. The trunnion is 189 lb against a 250 lb rating at full rapids. That leaves 61 lb for the part, the workholding on the platter and anything else on the table. A 15 lb part on the platter brings the setup to 204 lb, about 82 percent of the rating, before anything else is bolted down.

It fits. It fits with less room to spare than a listing might suggest, and it answers a question worth asking before you buy: a DT-2 with a TRT100 is a small part 5-axis machine. Haas puts the 5-axis part limit at 3 inches by 3 inches and 5 lb. If your parts are bigger than that, the trunnion is not the machine you need, however the listing describes it.

Resell CNC Take

A DT-2 is a speed machine, and its table rating is part of the speed. Weigh what you plan to put on it before you buy, not after. If the setup is light, the DT-2 does exactly what it was built for. If the setup is heavy, you are either slowing the rapids you paid for or shopping for the wrong machine.

A DT-1 With Eight More Inches

When Haas launched the DT-2 in February 2016, its announcement, as reported by Cutting Tool Engineering, described the machine as identical to the DT-1 apart from 8 more inches of X travel and table length. Today's lineup has three lengths.

New, the DT-2 costs US$2,000 more than the DT-1, which works out to US$250 per inch of X. That is a small premium for a longer table, and it is the reason to buy a DT-2 over a DT-1: room for two vises, a longer fixture, or a rotary with space beside it. What it does not buy is weight capacity or cutting power, which are the same.

BT30 or 40 Taper: The DM-2

The DT-2 has a 40 taper twin, the DM-2, on the same frame and travels. The spindle rating does not change with the taper.

The US$10,000 on the DM-2 buys a larger tool, a heavier tool, and compatibility with the 40 taper holders many shops already own. It does not buy horsepower or torque. If your shop runs 40 taper everywhere else and wants one holder standard, that is a real reason. If the work is drilling, tapping and light milling with small tools, the DT-2 does it on cheaper holders with two more pockets.

The Spindle Speed Depends on the Year

This one can catch out a used buyer. The DT family's standard spindle speed has moved over the years.

So a used DT-2 can carry a faster spindle than a new one. The 2022 machine on our floor is listed at 15,000 rpm. A current build starts at 10,000. Neither is wrong. They are different machines under the same name, and the listing may not say which.

Read the maximum speed off the control, or ask for the original build record. On a 30 taper machine sold on speed, the difference between 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 rpm is not a detail.

The Numbers Underneath

Specifications vary by year and build, so pull the sheet for the exact serial number in front of you. These are the figures Haas currently publishes for the DT-2.

Two lines matter more on this machine than on most. The 5.5 lb tool weight limit, because a 30 taper changer is built for small tools and a heavy shrink fit holder with a long extension can exceed it. And the 5,000 rpm tapping speed, which is the reason many shops buy a drill and tap machine in the first place.

Which Control You Are Getting

The DT-2 runs the Haas control, which Haas has built itself since 1983. The boundary that matters on a used Haas is the Next Generation Control, which arrived around 2014. Confirm the control generation, the software options that are enabled and whether high speed machining is active, since it matters on a machine run at high feed.

The 2022 DT-2 on our floor lists high speed machining, rigid tapping, macros and rotation and scaling among its control options. On a used DT-2 bought for tapping and production work, check that the options you need are enabled, not only that the hardware is present.

U.S. Parts and Service

Haas Automation was founded by Gene Haas in 1983 and builds its machines in Oxnard, California. The support case for a used DT-2 is the same as for any Haas: domestic parts, a dense Haas Factory Outlet network, and a large pool of machinists and programmers who already know the control. Resell CNC carries more than 120 Haas machines. More on the company in our Haas brand profile.

One on Our Floor

Resell CNC currently lists a 2022 Haas DT-2 with a 15,000 rpm BT30 spindle, a Haas TRT100 dual axis trunnion, 300 psi through spindle coolant, high speed machining, minimum quantity lubrication, a chip auger and a machine anchoring kit. It is set up as a small part 4 and 5-axis cell, within the TRT100's limits described above. Inventory changes, so check the Haas brand page for what is on the floor today.

Used-Market Value

Five things move the number on a used DT-2.

Spindle speed. 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 rpm, which depends on the year and the options.

Through spindle coolant. On a drill and tap machine, 300 psi TSC changes what depth of hole and what materials it runs well.

Rotary equipment. A TRT100 or a single axis rotary adds real capability, within the table rating and the rotary's own part limits.

Control and software options. Control generation, high speed machining and the options that are enabled.

Condition. Spindle, tool changer, ways and covers, on a machine designed to run fast and often run hard.

What to Check on a Used DT-2

Weigh the setup. Add up everything on the table, including any rotary, against 250 lb at full rapids.

Confirm the spindle. Read the maximum speed on the control, run the spindle through its range and listen for bearing noise at the top.

Rigid tap at speed. A tapping cycle near the 5,000 rpm limit tests the spindle drive and the synchronization together.

Cycle every tool pocket. All 21, watching the changer for hesitation at the swap.

Check the ways and covers. High feed aluminum work throws fine chips everywhere, so look for cover damage and packed chips.

Test the rotary. On a trunnion machine, index both axes, check the brake holds and confirm it runs from the control.

Confirm through spindle coolant and options. Shown working, not only listed.

Who Runs One

The DT-2 suits shops running small aluminum and light steel parts with a lot of holes, where drilling and tapping make up most of the cycle and tool changes add up. Its long table lets two vises or a longer fixture share one setup.

It is the wrong machine for heavy fixtures, large parts or heavy cuts. Fifteen horsepower, a 5.5 lb tool limit and a 250 lb full rapids table rating describe a machine built for speed on light work. For another 30 taper drill and tap machine in our series, see our Meet the Machine on the FANUC Robodrill.

Frequently Asked Questions