Choosing the right CNC machine tool manufacturer for your production needs is one of the most important decisions of your business. There are many options to choose from but how do you make the right decision from the ones that are suggested? How do you find manufacturers who offer quality, performance, reliability, lower price? Do you go with the expensive manufacturers, and reputed ones? To get a better idea of how to choose the right manufacturer for your shop floor, think about the below points for better clarity:

1. What are your Preferences

Before going into who would be the right match, first, let’s figure out what your needs are for your facility. What are your goals, which industry do you cater to, what are the quality requirements, what materials will you be working on, what is your production volume, how much floor space can you afford, what is your budget, what turnover are you expecting, how do you project the future will be and more? Getting answers to some core questions like these will create the groundwork on which you can base your search on. Going through suppliers or manufacturers blindly is a waste of time, through this focused effort getting a match will be easier.

2. Design

Once your needs are understood, it's time to look for good traits from your manufacturers starting with the design. Most obviously the design will show whether the company is capable of catering to your needs. This defines the destiny of the machine you will pick. The design of the machine tool will outline how complex the machine will be, how much space it will take, thermal behaviour, product reliability, what amount of load it can bear and life cycle. Other important factors are. When a company invests in the right talent that can understand your needs and can suggest improvements to the same, then you’ve struck gold.

3. Value

Machine tools don’t come cheap but spending more doesn’t mean it’s the better option in the machine tools world. Setting up a manufacturing facility isn’t easy. Getting your ROI fast means choosing a supplier whose machines offer added value to the money invested. How much are you able to get out of your machine and what more support is the company offering you, will they offer part prove outs, training, accessories, essentials, spares like a one-stop-shop supplier? How about a quick Mean time to respond (MTTR) to calls, larger mean time between failures of machine (MTBF), and an overall reduction in cost of ownership. If a supplier can offer all these things, then it means you’ve added remarkable value to your purchase. Remember, if there’s more to the buy than just the instrument, that’s a steal.

4. How is the Company Performing?

An easy way to tell if your choice of manufacturer is a good one is to see how they are performing in the market. What is their share in the market? If they come on top of these searches, then you can believe that their reputation hasn’t come easily. It would have taken a lot of hard work which means they can be trusted. The opposite results should have you running in the opposite direction.

5. Ask your Peers

Asking those in the field already will give you a clue to what machines are the best sellers and who these manufacturers are. When you hear a machine tool manufacturer's name positively the majority of the time, that should tell you that they are a tried and tested company. Also find out about their approach to business, if it is customer centric that means they are ready to suit their products to their customers’ needs.

6. How are the Company's Support and Reach?

How is the company’s supply and service network? If their presence isn’t really spread out and especially not close to your manufacturing facility, support will come slow. Ensure that the company you choose has the necessary spares, accessories, and access to where your plant is set up so that your production isn’t knocked behind due to delayed response. For instance, AceMicromatic Group is spread across 55+ locations across the world, this also includes popular industrial hubs and even remote areas. With this kind of reach, their customers can rely on their supply partners for assistance in the shortest period.

7. Company Ethics

A company is like a breathing individual. Within a small period, you can easily judge them to be capable or not. Are they ethical and transparent in their processes or do you need to pull strings to get them to respond favorably? Preferring flash-in-the-pan sort of results will only take you back 5 steps. Going about your business with the right partners who have the right values and morals will stabilize your journey.

8. Look at the People

Remember to choose machine tools manufacturers who want to make a long-term relationship that makes you happy. Meeting the people behind the company or group will give you an idea of what you will be getting into. If the leadership are not people who care, then that speaks of the organization. Buying a machine tool is getting into a relationship for the long run. Therefore, choosing the right match will decide the fate of your business. So be sure to pick the right manufacturer/supplier for this journey.