I work for a strange company, and one thing that puzzles me is that they have a number of CNC machines that I've been told are 'dead'. The story goes that they've been disconnected from power for so long that the memory batteries are gone, the parameters lost, and the cost to restore them is more than the machines are worth. I have no idea if any of this is true, but it's frustrating to see all that equipment gathering dust while I get by with manual machines and one Kent CNC bed mill. Here's what we have:
Acra VMC, model FVMC-1020E with a Mitsubishi control. It does power up, but I can't get it to move or do anything. Appearance-wise, it looks like it's had very little usage, as all the machines look.
Kiaturn 15 turning center. LG-Yasnac control. Not even connected to power.
Charmilles Roboform 40 EDM. Again, spotless condition. Tool changer and tons of 3R tooling. Appears to be connected to power, but does nothing at all when you try to turn it on- no relays kicking in or anything.
Sodick Mark 25 WEDM. Also doesn't power up at all, but appears to have power.
Shigiya GPS-30 ID/OD grinder. Fanuc 0i-TB control. Looks virtually brand new. I haven't messed with this one at all.
The only functional EDM we have is one of those crappy Taiwanese 'Charmilles' that weren't worth the bother when they were new.
As I said- it's a strange place. We have 12 guys in the tool room working on molds, but all we do is preventive maintenance and some minor repairs. They spend tens of thousands per month on replacement tooling that we could be making in-house. I've been told that our people 'don't have the skills', when I know that at least 6 of us do have the skills and experience. I have 40 years experience designing and building molds, but they just have me doing grunt work. They are using about 20% of my potential. For some reason, management HATES the tool room. I've never experienced such contempt, and I've worked in a lot of shops over the years. I would leave, but it's close to the house, and I'm close to retirement, so I'm trying to ride it out for a few more years. I worked my way into making parts for their specialized assembly equipment, so I'm reasonably happy.
Back to the original topic- Are these machines really worth nothing? I asked why they don't sell them, as the shop is very jumbled and crowded. Apparently, they've used them as collateral for borrowing money, so they can't sell them. BTW- This isn't a small Mom-N-Pop; we have over 200 employees and do over $15 million a year.
Acra VMC, model FVMC-1020E with a Mitsubishi control. It does power up, but I can't get it to move or do anything. Appearance-wise, it looks like it's had very little usage, as all the machines look.
Kiaturn 15 turning center. LG-Yasnac control. Not even connected to power.
Charmilles Roboform 40 EDM. Again, spotless condition. Tool changer and tons of 3R tooling. Appears to be connected to power, but does nothing at all when you try to turn it on- no relays kicking in or anything.
Sodick Mark 25 WEDM. Also doesn't power up at all, but appears to have power.
Shigiya GPS-30 ID/OD grinder. Fanuc 0i-TB control. Looks virtually brand new. I haven't messed with this one at all.
The only functional EDM we have is one of those crappy Taiwanese 'Charmilles' that weren't worth the bother when they were new.
As I said- it's a strange place. We have 12 guys in the tool room working on molds, but all we do is preventive maintenance and some minor repairs. They spend tens of thousands per month on replacement tooling that we could be making in-house. I've been told that our people 'don't have the skills', when I know that at least 6 of us do have the skills and experience. I have 40 years experience designing and building molds, but they just have me doing grunt work. They are using about 20% of my potential. For some reason, management HATES the tool room. I've never experienced such contempt, and I've worked in a lot of shops over the years. I would leave, but it's close to the house, and I'm close to retirement, so I'm trying to ride it out for a few more years. I worked my way into making parts for their specialized assembly equipment, so I'm reasonably happy.
Back to the original topic- Are these machines really worth nothing? I asked why they don't sell them, as the shop is very jumbled and crowded. Apparently, they've used them as collateral for borrowing money, so they can't sell them. BTW- This isn't a small Mom-N-Pop; we have over 200 employees and do over $15 million a year.