The type of Coordinate-Measuring Machine (CMM) you buy directly impacts your factory’s output quality and quantity, meaning it directly influences your company’s bottom line. A CMM machine plays a vital role on your factory floor, so selecting the right machine matters.
Various factors determine whether you are best served by a new machine, a retrofit, or an upgrade. Here are three questions that will get you started.
1. Does Your Factory Have a CMM Machine?
Are you replacing an existing CMM, or is this going to be your first? If this is a replacement or upgrade, you may already have experience with expert dealers like CMMXYZ about software and sourcing parts.
You know what you will need your new machine to do based on what the old machine did well and where it may have let you down.
If this is your facility’s first CMM, or you’re building a facility from the ground up, your needs may be more open-ended.
2. Is Buying Used an Option?
If you look at used CMM equipment, you could find a 50% (or more) cost reduction. This is a huge selling point for many companies, but don’t let cost be your sole decision-maker.
Another benefit of used equipment is how quickly you can get it. A new CMM can come with a 6-8 week waiting period for delivery. However, with a used unit, you can get it as soon as possible. If timeliness is a significant factor for your company (i.e. “We need this now”), this could sway your decision.
The best dealerships guarantee their used equipment will work, and their experts inspect it thoroughly before selling to make sure it does.
3. Where are You Buying From
If you do decide to get a used machine, where will you get it? Not all used CMMs are created equal.
Some are in better shape than others, and you need to be a trained professional to assess and vouch for the quality you’re about to buy. This is why purchasing a CMM (or any equipment) at an auction is risky. Caveat emptor, as they say.
Companies looking at used equipment are much better off to go through a dealer authorized by the Machinery Dealers National Association (MDNA). This way, you receiveessential guarantees that you can’t get by purchasing expensive equipmentthrough individual sellers or auctions.
With MDNA dealers, you have the peace of mind from knowing that they stand behind what they sell, and they will refund any mechanically unsatisfactory machinery or repair it.
You can save a lot of money by buying used, but you must make sure you’re not sacrificing affordability for reliability. Go with a new CMM machine from a trusted seller, or get a used one from a dealer authorized by the MDNA.
CMM machines can boost your factory’s output and ensure a level of quality control that would be otherwise impossible. Just answer these three questions before your next purchase, and your factory will run smoothly and efficiently.