COMPANY-WISE
There’s a corporate adage that goes: “Innovate or die”. There’s a lot of truth in that. A purchase of any CNC machine symbolizes a company’s decision to innovate to increase productivity. However, there are a few things that you need to note.
Review your company’s history. How long should you innovate drastically in terms of production? CNC equipment is expensive. It is an investment. In the long run, you may be forced to buy new equipment more often. Consider CNC heavily if you feel that your company innovates faster than other companies in terms of the industry that you belong to. After all, you can easily alter designs and material when you have CNC powered operations.
In most companies, “Innovation” is another word for “saving”. It means saving time, effort and space. In using CNC machines, the first two factors are sure savings while the third is not. People doing the labor and CNC machines often occupy the same amount of space. Do not romanticize a “clearing of clutter” effect when you buy a CNC machine. You will keep up, in terms of production; but CNC equipment also occupies a lot of space. So in that aspect, it’s pretty much the same thing.
Another thing that you have to be reminded of is the level of accuracy that your company needs to produce. Intricate patterns on metal/wood will DEMAND CNC accuracy. So any time that you feel your company is ready for such innovation and accuracy, consider employing CNC in your manufacturing.
At the end of the day, the last aspect that you need to evaluate is you, yourself. As the owner/head manager, you have to KNOW AND UNDERSTAND the CNC machine and the software well. This is the biggest battle that you have to face.
The equation to improvement is simple a really good machine plus a really good operator (you). Do not easily be blinded by the salesmen’s poetry.