If initial purchase price is your primary focus when evaluating new CNC machining equipment, the following comments should be of interest to you:

In OKUMA's cumulative 120+ years of manufacturing high-quality machine tools, continuous market feedback confirms that a machine's total cost of ownership and actual value are far beyond it’s asking price. In some cases, the initial purchase price represents only 15% of the total cost of the equipment throughout it’s life.

It is common to observe that 85% of it’s cost comes from factors such as it’s tools, guarantees, reliability, technical support, availability of operation, the duration of its precision, downtime and rejected parts, among others. The life cycle of the machine is extremely important and based on this, our questions at the time of making the purchase evaluation begin to change from: “What machine costs me less today?” to “What machine costs me less in the future of it’s useful life?”. 

A STRONG FINANCIAL IMPACT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT 

The total cost of ownership of a piece of equipment begins with it’s structural integrity, kinematics, rigidity, and physical/mechanical stability. Not all machine tools are designed the same; it’s design and construction will increase or decrease its profitability throughout it’s useful life. When evaluating the specifications of any piece of equipment, a simple indicator of it’s quality and expected longevity is it’s total weight. The physical mass of a machine tool directly influences it’s ability to produce quality parts both today and for years (or decades) to come.

Let's explore two specific ways a high-quality, robust machine tool can quickly pay for itself: 

SAVINGS ON THE COST OF CONSUMABLE TOOLS 

 Do we have accurate information on how much we spend on inserts and cutting tools (per month, per part, shift, etc.)? If we know the amounts, let's see the following and then do an example: 

Consumable cutting tools are a very significant recurring cost in any machining operation. It is common to accumulate damaged inserts and tools, hoping to recover some of their value if we happen to recycle them. Have you ever evaluated the impact of this cost on your operation? Do you think that this recurring cost of tools could be reduced?

 The most important factor directly affecting the life of your cutting tools is uncontrolled energy and low equipment stiffness at the precise point of cut (where the tool makes contact). This out-of-control energy is heard as a “screech,” felt as a vibration, seen in your finishes, and leads to high costs for worn or fractured tools.  

 These problems have the same root cause – the machine is of unstable and inadequate design and construction. The strongest and heaviest machines, designed with optimum structural integrity, buffer and dissipate this energy away from the tool, into it’s structure and from there to the machine floor or foundation in your shop or plant. Precise control of this energy at the cutting point of the tool produces better parts, less scrap, better tool life, higher productivity and therefore higher profitability.  

By combining the above with advanced technologies such as OKUMA Machining Navi (real-time optimization of cutting parameters), your recurring cost for tooling and scrap parts drops immediately. The following is a simple exercise of the real savings on cutting tools alone, that our customers realize when purchasing a new high quality, robust and modern OKUMA CNC machine.

If we know our spend on consumable cutting tools, let's replace the starting number with our own current monthly spend (1) and do the following exercise to estimate how much OKUMA equipment could contribute to your operation: (example)

$10,000(1) Average current monthly spend on consumables (inserts, bits, cutters…) for a light machine tool. 

$2,000 – 20% monthly savings due to the features of the OKUMA machine including it’s mass, equals $24,000 annually.

15 years – conservative useful life of OKUMA equipment.

TOTAL CONSUMABLE TOOLING COST SAVINGS = $360,000 (over life)

HIGHER YIELD AND PRODUCTIVITY WITH FEWER REJECTS 

 The immediate benefits of improved tool life are increased spindle utilization, increased productivity and lower reject rates. Improved tool life also means less downtime for part checks, tool replacement, better chip control and fewer parts rejected due to tool failure. 

Structurally sound machine designs also offer:  

• Potentially more productive machine. 
• Ease of performing more aggressive or high-speed machining depending on the part. 
• Ease of production of parts with greater precision.  
• Maximum aesthetic appeal and quality due to better finishes in pieces. 

Another way OKUMA equipment reduces out-of-spec part rejects is the industry-leading approach to thermal change control. The Thermo-Friendly Concept (TFC) starts from the initial equipment design, where predictable and consistent thermal growth patterns are created in the structural casting of the equipment.

By designing a machine with it’s structural integrity and behavior against thermal changes in mind, we can apply the intelligent technology of Thermo Active Stabilizer (TAS). The real-time temperature measurement of all the critical components of the equipment during its operation feeds the control algorithms, automatically performing physical compensation for thermal movements. It also eliminates long machine pre-heating cycles before starting production, as well as compensation after a stoppage.

Finally, operator intervention with it’s probability of error is another potential cause of part rejects or equipment accidents. The greater the manipulation of parts or the control panel of the equipment, the probability of error increases. It is important to reduce these activities as much as possible and the OKUMA OSP CNC control is smart enough to reduce these activities. OKUMA equipment is designed to manufacture quality parts 24/7, with minimal operator intervention.

MAKE YOUR MACHINE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY 

The challenge of every company is to maximize it’s profitability by increasing revenues and minimizing costs. We must identify all the factors that generate a negative impact on our results and your machines must also be prepared for this challenge. Imagine the possibility of eliminating all activity that reduces your productivity, changing it for income-generating activities. The equipment purchase decision may be the most critical factor in your success, so we must proceed with great caution.. 

If you decide to make the long-term investment in a high-quality and robust OKUMA machine, you will be reaping these and many other benefits of the machine, as well as it’s highly trained local distribution network to support you anywhere in the world. You will obtain greater productivity and profitability on a constant basis, making optimal use of your resources.

These comments scratch the surface of Total Cost of Ownership and there are factors that affect or benefit it. Share with our experts your challenges and areas of opportunity for improvement in your plant or workshop. They are at your entire disposal, at all times.