Machines Have Back Stories

Here is a trend I’ve noticed during the last year: Machine tools increasingly have back stories. I just encountered this again during a visit to a die shop. The new, high-end machining center the shop was using was not quite right for the shop. Specifically, it didn’t have enough capacity in the tool magazine. However, the shop bought it anyway. It was a great bargain, because the shop had bought it at liquidation. I was told how the original customer for this machine had intended to use it for making dental-related components.

Someone working for a major machine tool company told me recently that their biggest competition is now their own machines coming onto the used market. Obviously, there is not very far the machine tool maker can go to downplay a competitor like that.

Does your shop have an experience related to this? Have you recently bought a machine originally intended for a very different purpose? Have you recently expanded into a different type of machining capability because of a bargain price on a pre-owned machine? Or ... have you instead decided against a used machine, preferring the benefits of buying new? I’d like to hear from you.