Milland
Diamond
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2006
- Location
- Hillsboro, New Hampshire
Hi guys,
Here's a preliminary post that's meant to be edited, made punchier, and then pushed as a "Declaration of Rights" for Haas customers. Please go over this, suggest changes or additions, and let's show Haas we're not going to accept their retreat from proper support!
Hi fellow Haas owners,
Haas used to have a great reputation for making simple, functional machines, well supported by a network of repair techs and vans stuffed with commonly needed parts. Many of us bought our first Haas due to this support, as well as the pride of buying from a "Made in the USA" machine tool company. Whether your machine was brand new, or one from the '90s, you knew you could get the machine fixed rapidly if it went down.
This has changed over the last decade. Newer machines were released with somewhat buggy software, and not always updated in a timely manner. But even more concerning, critical parts of the control system for older machines have been declared "obsolete" by Haas, and in some situations your machine can only be repaired by a systematic replacement of the electronics and control elements, at a cost in 2018 approaching $20,000 USD. This is much more than even 2017, when it was less than half that.
Now, Haas is an independent company, and they can price things as they see fit. But they must also factor in consumer (that's us) reaction to their policies. As business owners, a company that tells us "tough luck" when we ask why older control boards aren't available may not be one we want to deal with. And if we work for a larger company as skilled machinists, we have to explain to management why their expensive labor and machinery isn't producing.
It comes to this: Does Haas want our business? Do we want to be subject to arbitrary decisions regarding "end of life" electronic components? And make no mistake, there's no such thing as an "unavailable" processor or chip, as there's specialty "foundries" that will make fresh silicon at reasonable cost. And instruction sets don't "vanish", they're either archived at the factory or still present in older, functioning boards.
As grumbling individuals, we're reduced to either paying up, or abandoning our investments and getting newer machines. From other vendors, because why would we buy from a company that's damaged us?
But there's thousands of Haas machines represented on Practical Machinist. How many? Well, let's find out! Are you willing to add your name to a polite statement to Haas CNC that requests they re-think their policy on support for older machines? If you own newer versions you should sign too, as this could be your fate in the future.
Give your thoughts on this thread, and we should be able to hone a well executed statement to Haas. Once we have that, we can present it to Haas management. Their response will determine whether they truly value us as customers and as partners in manufacturing, or whether we're just as disposable as their older machines.
Here's a preliminary post that's meant to be edited, made punchier, and then pushed as a "Declaration of Rights" for Haas customers. Please go over this, suggest changes or additions, and let's show Haas we're not going to accept their retreat from proper support!
Hi fellow Haas owners,
Haas used to have a great reputation for making simple, functional machines, well supported by a network of repair techs and vans stuffed with commonly needed parts. Many of us bought our first Haas due to this support, as well as the pride of buying from a "Made in the USA" machine tool company. Whether your machine was brand new, or one from the '90s, you knew you could get the machine fixed rapidly if it went down.
This has changed over the last decade. Newer machines were released with somewhat buggy software, and not always updated in a timely manner. But even more concerning, critical parts of the control system for older machines have been declared "obsolete" by Haas, and in some situations your machine can only be repaired by a systematic replacement of the electronics and control elements, at a cost in 2018 approaching $20,000 USD. This is much more than even 2017, when it was less than half that.
Now, Haas is an independent company, and they can price things as they see fit. But they must also factor in consumer (that's us) reaction to their policies. As business owners, a company that tells us "tough luck" when we ask why older control boards aren't available may not be one we want to deal with. And if we work for a larger company as skilled machinists, we have to explain to management why their expensive labor and machinery isn't producing.
It comes to this: Does Haas want our business? Do we want to be subject to arbitrary decisions regarding "end of life" electronic components? And make no mistake, there's no such thing as an "unavailable" processor or chip, as there's specialty "foundries" that will make fresh silicon at reasonable cost. And instruction sets don't "vanish", they're either archived at the factory or still present in older, functioning boards.
As grumbling individuals, we're reduced to either paying up, or abandoning our investments and getting newer machines. From other vendors, because why would we buy from a company that's damaged us?
But there's thousands of Haas machines represented on Practical Machinist. How many? Well, let's find out! Are you willing to add your name to a polite statement to Haas CNC that requests they re-think their policy on support for older machines? If you own newer versions you should sign too, as this could be your fate in the future.
Give your thoughts on this thread, and we should be able to hone a well executed statement to Haas. Once we have that, we can present it to Haas management. Their response will determine whether they truly value us as customers and as partners in manufacturing, or whether we're just as disposable as their older machines.