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$65,000 and you can have brand spankin new DMG VMC

I can't get the photo to work, but they have a full page ad in the latest Manufacturing News magazine that shows it a small photo.
 
They are made in China on German tooling - or so i hear. I'd like o be a buy American guy on all things but in machine tools I think I'd go for one of these as opposed to a HAAS or Fadal for the same money.
 
Don't know about this one....perhaps it would be a great machine. But history would lean toward it not making the grade. In the past ,companies that made their reputation delivering high end products have been relatively poor at designing "Down" to make a price point. (Mercedes is a prime example).
Seems after years of having a design aim, high end companies just have trouble cutting corners.

On the other hand, moving from an economy focus to a higher feature and cost target is easier (re. Toyota/Lexus).

I am not a huge Haas fan, but they might well be better than DMG at building an economy machine even considering the country of construction.
Cheers Ross
 
I'm primarily talking from a control standpoint - the only machines that have H Hain controls are DMG, Hermle, Lagun and I think the high end B Ports.
 
Don't know about this one....perhaps it would be a great machine. But history would lean toward it not making the grade. In the past ,companies that made their reputation delivering high end products have been relatively poor at designing "Down" to make a price point. (Mercedes is a prime example).
Seems after years of having a design aim, high end companies just have trouble cutting corners.
My impression* is Mercedes highest end cars are just as unreliable as their lowest...maybe even worse due to extra complexity. Do you have any examples in the machine tool world ? Only one I can think of is Okuma, that made some "entry level" CNC machines that were certainly not as good as their "regular" line, but still better than Haas for just a little more money (esp the Okuma turning centers vs Haas turning centers, where Haas HT's have bad reputation)

Having said that I suspect companies like Haas, Supermax, Milltronics, Yang, and other "entry level" builders would be way better at after sales service as DMG may end up treating these things like an ugly step child ;)

*impression gained not from a cousin or "rumors" but Consumer Reports data and other sources.
 
I'm primarily talking from a control standpoint - the only machines that have H Hain controls are DMG, Hermle, Lagun and I think the high end B Ports.

Well thats not entirely true. Alot of the Taiwanese manufactures have HH controlers too, like YCM, YANG, First... but they don't import them here except by special order, they mostly go to europe. Most of the European manufacturs have HH! Kern, Alzmetall, Mikron, Kondia, Parpus, Depo...

But here is something that may be of interest, you can order a HAAS with a HH controller. I heard about this for years and thought it was BS but just recently I have seen a HAAS with a HH and it was bought that way from the Haas factory. The company in question wanted to buy an Americain machine but with a HH controller.
 
Believe the low end Hardinge lathes were not all they could have been even at reduced prices....Think that was the "Cobra" line.

Cheers Ross
Hmmm...could be...never owned a Cobra but have seen a few at auctions that didn't look too impressive. OTOH, the last two I saw were filthy dirty like they had had the ever lovin hell run out of them...and they still ran...dunno if accurate though...maybe they were turning candle molds ;)
 
Hmmm...could be...never owned a Cobra but have seen a few at auctions that didn't look too impressive. OTOH, the last two I saw were filthy dirty like they had had the ever lovin hell run out of them...and they still ran...dunno if accurate though...maybe they were turning candle molds ;)

Or perhaps they looked like crap because they did not weather well.....

Ever stop to wonder why even old Deckels usually clean up pretty well.....Think some of it is because they have great paint...not all the cost and value of a more costly machine has to do with the mechanicals .....good fit and finish along with better design of the enclosures/ way covers etc. all enter the picture............
Cheers Ross.
 
But here is something that may be of interest, you can order a HAAS with a HH controller. I heard about this for years and thought it was BS but just recently I have seen a HAAS with a HH and it was bought that way from the Haas factory. The company in question wanted to buy an Americain machine but with a HH controller.
Wonder if it has anything to do with Haas-Mikron collaboration ?? but the Mikron badged Haas machines (seen online)still have Haas control.
 
DMG folks at Westec flat out told me they are made in China, apparently in a DMG factory (they said something clear, I've forgotten that detai.) One of their high level people is a guy named Thorsten Schmidt (spelling?) who I chatted with for a brief time in '06 - he was running DMG China and running DMG USA while they looked for new USA head. Struck me as a very bright guy. And obviously China was/is a focus for them, likely both as a market and a supplier.

None of that tells us squat about how good they'll be, how their support will be, etc. I guess we'll find out over time. But I imagine that higher-technology products will be coming from the PRC, partly because the folks who run the PRC want to export higher end stuff (or so it says on NPR.)

That same Thorsten Schmidt was quoted somewhere (I can't recall were) saying that DMG would likely have to move some production to the US, mostly due to $$ exchange reasons.

By the way - G&L told me that if you order one of their $1.2M or so HBMs, you can have an HH, or a Fanuc, or a Siemans controller. (Which is true of at least some DMG mills as well, it's a check box on the order form.)
 
Eco line

Hi!
I was speaking to the DMG Scandinavian and they told me that the Eco line was produced in their factory in Poland. They have tried to produce the Eco line in China for the Erupeen market but the transport too long because every machine is made to custom specs. The seller had difficult to explain why a 3-axis monoblock was tree times as expensive as a Eco...

Mats
 
Funny how these "where it's made" mysteries never seem to get resolved...DMG at Westec "flat out" says China and yet DMG Scandinavia says Poland. (But did they "flat out" say Poland ? That could be the key.. ;) )
 
I cannot imagine anybody claiming it was made in China in preference to Poland.

In any case, it might be both. Made in PRC for North America, made in Poland for EU.....

You could go buy one and tell us what the import label on it says :D
 
You could go buy one and tell us what the import label on it says :D
IMTS coming up real soon... I'll snoop around their booth after my DMG beer is chugged at their "hospitality platform" Then I'll do some interviews for a "flat out" confession ! ;)
 
They even have a separate web site for them:

http://www.dmgecoline.com/en_np/welcome.htm

http://news.tootoo.com/Industry_Supplies/Power_Transmission_Equipment/20080514/100045.html

"The foundation upon which this performance pledge and best price guarantee is based," said Dr. Schmidt, "is in particular due to the manufacture of large lot sizes and the efficient production structures in the GILDEMEISTER plants in Shanghai and at FAMOT in Poland. The CTX ECO universal lathes and the DMC V ECO vertical centers are just the start of whole new product generation that will be expanded in both technological fields and in the segment of economy machines."

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/dmg/dmg273.html :
"The Shanghai plant is scheduled to build 600 Eco machine tools during 2008, while the Polish DMG Famot plant will build a further 330 machines."
 








 
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