How To Find The Right CNC Machine For The Job

There are a great deal of benefits and perks of what a CNC Machine can do as it provides fast, reliable and efficient work. The standardized machine provides great quality with assurance and versatile performance. However, not every CNC Machine is the same. Knowing the right equipment that makes up a CNC machine is essential if a good quality wants to be achieved. Depending on what kind of work you need will require a specific machine. Here are tips on how to find the right CNC Machine for you.

Compatibility with Materials – On choosing what type of machine is needed for the job, make sure to select that is appropriate for the materials. The materials can include aluminum, copper, mold steel, hardened steel, titanium and inconel. It is important to know the material to be machine because the machine will influence the design, as it will be selected to be spindled. There will also be factors that will assess the durability, the load bearing and precision and of course knowing the horsepower.

Determine Purpose of Machining For The Workpiece – Another thing you need to consider is if you want to use a CNC machine that uses the Linear Motion or Box Guide ways. Using a Linear Motion is considered to be faster and stronger, especially if it’s needed for light work or intended for light applications. Using a Box Guide Way Machine tends to be more rigid, have less vibrations and is capable of handling heavy cuts on larger parts. However, it is of course slower compared to Linear Motion. Before choosing what is needed, it is important to ask these questions:

• What type of cut will the material be?
• How much damping of vibrations is needed?
• What are the desired cutting feed rates
• And what are the expected and required tool life?

CNC Control System – The next part of choosing the right machine is selecting the right CNC control system. Always match your chosen selection with practical CNC controls. Be aware of the reliability of the control, the effectiveness of the controls, the software stability and how the engineers or operators are aware of the system.

Space – Consider the space your workers, engineers and operators will be working on. Figure out the amount of space it will take for the new machine tool to be settled on. Assess the availability of the floor space, know the amount of workload the workers will do for them to minimize movement, assess if there are available power points, if it is comfortable enough for the workers to work on or if you are considering for a future expansion on the site and definitely assess for the safety conditions for the all the workers.

Costs – Make sure to consider your two costs: Fixed and Variable costs. Fixed costs are the initial capital investment. The variable costs are the material costs, manpower, tools, factory maintenance, fixing spare parts and service cost for the machine. Know that choosing the cheaper machine will not ever guarantee satisfaction on the effectiveness of the machine.

Investing in a CNC Machine can be rather costly, so make sure to do the research and take your time when choosing to buy a machine. S&M Machinery is the leading independent machinery dealer of late-model surplus used CNC industrial machine tools in the United States. With over 300 machine tools, make us your first call when buying surplus CNC Machinery!