Best CNC Machine

What are your requirements?

Size, material , shapes, features of the jobs you intend to do.

For small jobs I like to make my own by modifying existing or scrap equipment at a fraction of the cost of new or used oversized equipment.

The Best for What? I like a good 5-axis machine, you can do a lot with a 5-axis, but it doen't turn too well. Then I like a 3-axis lathe, but it doen't do angle holes to well.

Ask you local CNC Machine rep. he'll tell you it's his machine.

I am staying in China.There are some suppliers of CNC in our aere.Some of them are good and especially in price.If you have inquire of them,i would like to help you.You can contact me on email,whbei@yahoo.com

What kind of cnc machine? Are we talking about a mill, router, laser cutter (flat sheet or tube?), waterjet, punch press, press brake, welder, tube bender, lathe... there are all kinds of CNC machines.

Hmmmm!, How long is a piece of string ?? I market CNC machines for the metal working industries here in Australia, you need to be very specific as to what you want & the type of work that you are doing & may want to do in the future. There is a humungus range of CNC machines in the market place from cheap rubbish to the finest available.

Look at after sales service on breakdown, ongoing maintenance, quick availability of spares etc. A cheap machine waiting for a spare part for three weeks becomes an expensive machine to run, check on the local agents for the control system, Fanuc, Heidenhain, Siemens ,Fagor etc. to see they will be able to provide backup if it is needed in a hurry.

Sit down and talk to a good machine sale rep. one who is going to advise you on what you really want & need, not trying to flog you the most expensive models or a floor model they are trying to get rid of.

ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS & if not sure ASK LOTS MORE QUESTIONS & get it in writing , it is your money being spent, not the sales rep's.

If you don't know a lot about CNC get a mate or someone who understands exactly what the rep. is talking about & have them carefully explain to you as the dialogue proceeds, a good rep. won't be bothered with that & should be happy to proceed slowly. We look at a machine sale to a customer as being the first of many as their company expands & grows & they will only come back if they are really happy with our company.

Brien.

For any of us with cnc experience to answer your question we need to know what you want to do with the machine. The factors are endless and others have stated many of them. Your location is also a very important factor. Choose a manufacturer who has service available in your area. Talk to other machine shops in your area and they will tell you who gives good service and who does not. Also if a sales representative wants to sell you a machine, get him to run some some samples of your parts on the machine before you buy it. Then get that company's applications engineer and training instructor to help you get going on your first few jobs. A lot of this research you must do yourself, because you will need to build a relationship with the company you buy from.

One commentator has suggested that you build your own. This is a noble undertaking with many possible rewards if you can do it. I spent several years working for a company that built retrofits and we put some great machines together. My recomendation is if you have the experience and knowledge to do it, and the time to let your project sit in limbo while you you build a machine, then go for it. If not then be very careful because you can get in over your head very quickly.

Old machinery and electronics become obsolete for a reason. Be sure you know that reason before you buy used equipment. When you buy used cnc machinery you can easily spend more than the purchase price just to keep it running after you buy it.

Bridgeport was good for slapin a flat on a bar or maybe pcd stuff but not really a machine that I would consider too versatile, Leadwells are good and so are the bigger Cincinnati machines! It all depends what you want to do! Small batch, One off, Large production runs? How many axis, 2,3,4,5 with driven tools for cross drilling in cycle, Simple turning, milling, flame cutting, concave polishing! We all need some more info otherwise the cnc machine could be a pick and place unit for all we know!

to determine the best machine you need to know what you intend to use it for as there are a large range of application, eg 2/3/4/5 axis machines, multi spindle machines, large and small. there are also machines that are programed manually(teach in) or using external soft wear. different manufactures specialize for different applications. sorry theres no easy answer.

for all around cost maint. multinational etc mill or lathe - Mazak.

yeah, I said it. Mazak, Mazak, Mazak!

In that case I suppose I can suggest Star (with gritted teeth!)