Have You Considered Rebuilding?

That is how we usually operate here in our company. They purchase used machinery, and we replace, rebuild or modify that which does not work well.

It also depends on what your rebuilding. For example, we have just purchased a new Kaeser air compressor. We had an old Joy Twistair. The company has already gone bankrupt. The manual has no clear drawings of the compression unit. We bought a new compressor with warranty, highly efficient in motor and compression unit compared to the old Joy.

Three principles (should) apply: reduce - expenditures on new equipment unless it is absolutely necessary; reuse - older machinery with repairs, modifications, and upgrades; and recycle - when it is finally used to extinction, make something else out of it. Anything else is not what I would call "sustainable".

Basically what you say is correct. We are a throw-away economy. Our economy thrives because new means continued production and more jobs. Repair of a machine can mean costly "down-time". Cost wise, it is usually better to replace than to repair.

Companies that manufacture products ranging from mops to automobiles, design for obsolesce. That is a lesson Henry Ford learned with his model T. He realized if he made his car to last a long time, he would soon go out of business. He had to make them so they would need to be replaced or repaired within a certain time frame. That is the philosophy used by every manufacturer today. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It is necessary for our economy to thrive. I have no data to substantiate this claim. Just ask why model T's can still be found running on our roads and a 1996 car is rusting away in a junk yard.

I have a machine shop and I have found that retrofitting older north american made CNC Machines in decent mechanical condition with newer controls and motors is a good way to get a quality machine at a low cost. Don't throw it out! Rebuild and repair is the way to go.