Carefully monitoring costs is not a matter of choice for CNC machine shops. It’s a necessity. A modest increase in material, labor or cycle times can mean the difference between a competitive bid and a losing one. In the same way, any cost savings may help a shop win and retain customers as well as adding to the profit line on the P&L statement.
When it comes to investing in new manufacturing equipment there is often a significant difference between initial cost and overall value. Everybody, of course, determines what “value” means to them. However most agree that in the case of CNC machine tools, overall value involves much more that the purchase price.
Total Value
So what, precisely, should you consider essential value issues when investing in a new CNC machine tool?
- Purchase Price. Naturally the initial cost of the machine tool is a factor. The issue is whether it’s a reasonable price for the quality of the product. Determining the quality of a CNC machine, however, is not always easy. Many machines look great on the outside and the published specifications seem impressive, but there are a number of other important factors to consider:
- How long has the company been in business?
- What sort of reputation does it have amongst your peers?
- How many machines are installed and operating in the United States?
- Does the company design and build its machine components including spindles, transmissions, tool changers, lathe turret assemblies, rotary tables, and TSC unions?
- Is the company ISO certified?
- How long is the machine tool warranty? Is it measured in days or in hours used?
- Do all of the company’s machine tools operate with a common control system and software?
- Are filters, screens, solenoids and other maintenance items conveniently located?
- Are amenities such as washdown hoses, toolholder storage and airgun holders standard equipment or extra cost add-ons?
- Does the machine tool builder offer a broad line of products (VMC, HMC, lathes, 5-axis, range of sizes) to meet changing requirements?
- Does the company offer their own line of peripherals such as bar feeders, live tooling, rotary tables and pallet systems all matched to their machine tools?
- Machine Control. No matter how rigid and reliable a machine tool is, optimizing productivity depends a great deal on the control hardware and software. What should you look for?
- A common control for all of the builder’s machines. This means an operator can move from one machine to another without learning multiple systems. This reduces programming, setup and changeover times, makes offsets easier and reduces the possibility of operator errors.
- Older machine control models are continuously supported, so there’s no fear of becoming obsolete.
- The control procedures for both milling and turning should be consistent, to reduce possible errors.
- The operating system should be user friendly so it’s easy to learn and operate.
- Major CAM providers must support the operating system.
- Integrated safety features such as offset adjustment warnings, live image and cutting graphics.
- One-button tool setting and offsets entry.
- Single screen offset adjustments that don’t require calculating new values.
- Technical Service & Customer Support. Even the finest quality CNC machine tools need routine maintenance and replacement parts. If qualified service is difficult to access, parts are not readily available or technicians must travel great distances to reach your shop, the downtime costs can be significant. This means it’s critical that the machine tool seller has these capabilities:
- Local sales and service centers dedicated to one brand of machine tool for one-stop-shopping.
- Published machine prices so you know the initial cost upfront.
- Factory-direct parts pricing.
- Extensive replacement parts inventory available locally.
- Factory certified technical service people, locally based for quick response.
- Online service guides, video how-to guides and troubleshooting help.
- Available financing.
- Return on Investment. How quickly you can begin recouping the cost of a new machine tool is an important part of the true cost and value equation. Some factors to consider:
- Does the machine have traditionally high resale value? Just as certain model cars and trucks hold their value better than others, certain machine tool brands are worth more on the resale market than others. What will the CNC machine you buy today be worth in 20 – 30 years?
- Is the operating system easy to learn so your operators can have the machine up and running quickly?
- Is there a deep field of machine operators who are familiar with the machines and controls, so you can more easily add staff?
Clearly, there’s a lot more to consider than the just the purchase price of a new CNC machine tool. Like any major investment it pays to ask the tough questions and have all the facts in hand before choosing the machining equipment that’s vital to your success.
Each CNC shop has it’s own unique requirements and your Torrance, CA Haas Factory Outlet team can give you all of the facts you need to make an informed buying decision. Just give them a call: (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.