Stepping Up to the Next Machine Level

Two feature articles in Modern Machine Shop’s February issue involve shops that recently made a step up to machine tool types they had not used before. TMF CNC Machining bought its first horizontal machining center and G&G Precision bought both a 3+2 machining center and an eight-axis turning center (together costing more than all the other equipment G&G had purchased to date).

It wasn’t our intention to make major equipment advances a theme of our February issue. Instead, I think we are now simply in a period in which a lot of shops fit this description. For many machining businesses, activity has been strong long enough that they have been able to accumulate cash or pay off debts. Meanwhile, opportunity looks good enough that advancing to the next level of equipment sophistication seems likely to pay off. If you’ve recently bought a machine unlike any other in your shop, or if you’ve been contemplating just such a move, you’re not alone.