Planned investments in a machine often ask the entrepreneur what the right machine is, a new or a good used machinery. As always in life, you only find out after a certain amount of time whether the decision was the right one. However, one aspect is certain, the used machine usually ties up less capital!
The ever faster development cycles and changing requirements of the market speak for the quickly available used machine. The operator can use this immediately, without delivery time, if it can also be used directly for the application. Major modifications or missing devices can quickly destroy the time advantage.
When it comes to compromises, things always get critical with used machines. What does the used machinery not have, but what I would need for my production? Can I may be retrofit this function and what does this retrofit cost in terms of time and money?
Taking all these thoughts into account, even a used machine that at first glance seems unsuitable has the potential to be the right one.
Used machinery with a lot of special tools and devices may seem attractive at first glance, but do I really need these tools and devices or am I just wasting valuable storage space? One point to be checked would be whether unneeded tools and devices can be sold. From this point of view, buying a used machine is perhaps very different and quite lucrative.
From other areas of mechanical engineering, e.g. In the automotive industry and especially with classics, it is an absolutely common procedure to create a good usable copy from two or three defective objects. This can also be implemented in the used machine tool market. This requires a high level of expertise with the ability to implement the project with craftsmanship. As a side effect, there are usually plenty of spare parts left over at the end. Such an implementation can of course also be entrusted to qualified service companies. Ultimately, this is an arithmetic example.
The procedure must be followed through in all its steps and fully documented. Risk analyzes, operating instructions must be drawn up. It should be noted that the costs for this are not insignificant.
If a company buys a used machine or converts a machine, it must ensure that the machine meets the requirements of the Industrial Safety Ordinance before using it again.
Finding the right used machinery with all options right is almost impossible. Striving for an 80% solution is realistic. How can this goal be achieved or even exceeded?
For that there are different possibilities:
Let's take a look at what other advantages used machines have. We haven't talked about sustainability yet. Every used machine that can still be used economically in production is sustainable. No raw materials have to be extracted for them and no energy has to be used to produce a new machine. The question now arises whether the same work can be done more effectively by a new machine. This is where the ROI (Return of Investment) comes into play.
Old, used machines are also specifically searched for certain applications. These are primarily in demand when it comes to building high-precision individual machines. The machine beds of used machines that are as old as possible are the goal of desire, especially when the used machines are equipped with cast iron machine beds. Old machine beds that have been exposed to heat, vibrations and impacts over many years have very low internal tension. If these machine beds are machined again in the guides, they are a very good basis for precision machines. With cast iron beds, there is also the fact that these machine beds absorb vibrations very well. This makes it possible to build high-precision special machines that also enable machining and measurements in the µ range.
Here you can see that the used machinery definitely have a future, and this is not only due to the price and the delivery time. Another point that speaks in favor of used machines could be that the company is already using machines of the same type. The investment in this case means that there are no costs for training or equipment.