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I don't get the hype around 5-axis machines for small job shops
Talked to a guy at a trade show in Cleveland a few months back. He runs a one-man shop doing mostly brackets and custom parts for local manufacturers. Said he was looking at dropping $150k on a used 5-axis. I asked him what he was running now. A beat-up Bridgeport and a Haas TM-1 from 2005. He admitted half his jobs could be done on a manual mill. Felt like everyone at the show was pushing 5-axis as the only way forward. But for a guy doing 50 parts a week? Seems like overkill to me. Am I missing something or does the industry just want us all to upgrade before we need to?
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jessica_hall493mo ago
How long does it take to even break even on that kind of investment when you're not running complex parts? I sat through the same sales pitch at a show in Chicago last year and all I could think was, "show me the parts that actually need this, not the fancy demo." Holly_walker76 hit it right, the learning curve alone would kill most small guys for months.
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holly_walker763mo ago
That trade show pressure is real. Everyone's trying to sell you the next big thing even if your current setup pays the bills just fine. The guy with the Bridgeport and the Haas TM-1 probably makes decent money already. Dropping 150k on a used 5-axis just to make the same brackets he's making now sounds like a recipe for a year of payments before he sees any real return. For a one-man shop doing 50 parts a week, the learning curve alone could kill his productivity for months. What's the typical job count for a small shop that actually needs that kind of setup?
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