Machines/Accessories/Controls

Some tool builders in the expanding economy are having a hard time obtaining machine components, which is delaying production, said Logan McGhan, technical salesman at KD Capital Equipment LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz., a machinery dealer specializing in used CNC machinery, plastic molding machinery and sheet metal fabrication. He said U.S. manufacturers must meet delivery deadlines in a demanding market. “You could potentially lose a customer," McGhan said, adding he is hearing about wait times of 6 months to a year for certain machinery. This environment may make it a good time for some companies to buy or sell used CNC equipment, even if doing so is new for them.

Plenty of companies need specific machining done. For some, the best bet is to buy machines and work in-house. But that actually can cause turnaround to slow down. When you have to maintain machines that are expensive, large and difficult to manage, production can hit a snag out of the blue. When production stalls, consumers and clients can grow impatient. That’s why you may want to take a different path. Companies that don’t want to deal with the hassles that come with machining in-house can benefit by sending jobs to a CNC machine shop.

Why shop locally for CNC machined parts? Cam Machine says they are better, from delivery/pickup speed and part quality to the support of local businesses and the ability to have firsthand knowledge of work.

When is the best time to sell your CNC machine? How should you prepare it to sell? How can you optimize your profit? Chicago-based Machinery Marketing International addresses these questions in the e-book "Selling CNC Machines." The guide covers considerations for selling old CNC machines.

My October 20 post on adding capabilities to your current CNC brought a response from a reader who who shares a problem. “We have a few Kitamura MyCenter 4XiF VMCs with FANUC 16iMB controls running daily on our shop floor,” he writes, “The control hasn’t given us a single problem since they powered on for the first time. However, we haven’t been able to get the machines onto our network and we have given up trying.”

A recent CNC Cookbook survey included respondent comments about what they found lacking in their current CNC control. They mentioned inadequate work offsets, lack of web monitoring, limited tool data management and other shortcomings. FANUC Corp.'s Paul Webster explains why for some users, it may not be too late to easily add the capabilities they need.

The CNC Cookbook blog recently polled its readers regarding their use of CNC control systems. According to the results, the five most-used CNCs are FANUC, Haas, Mazak, Siemens—and Centroid, which jumped up 9 places from last year's poll. The company is less well known that those other four but has a growing niche among "do-it-yourself" manufacturers.

Earlier this week we shared the conclusions of the McKinsey Report, which concluded that it may be possible for U.S. manufacturing to grow by 20 percent and add more than 2 million jobs by 2025. That was the good news. It can only happen, however, if manufacturers embrace Industry 4.0 technology. The Integr8 conference in Detroit showed how to get started.