First of all hi to everyone here, this is my first post.
First some background. I have worked on CNC lathes for the past 3 years (2 Mazaks - 2018 QT200 MSY, QT250M and a 1997-ish Mori Seiki SL200). Last year I opened a business with two of my friends producing electric repair stands for e-bikes. We rented my former boss's shop for a few weekends and did all the pieces ourselves. This was a relatively small batch of about 50 pcs, 10 or so different workpieces. Now we are planning a new product that is more widely accessible (home users) and are expecting batches of about 100-200 pcs. As I have some spare time I got the fine idea of opening my own side business, buying an older CNC lathe and machining the pieces myself. Would also come in handy for prototyping instead of paying someone like we are now. Would also find some other work for the machine so it's not standing. Workpieces are not very big (125mm/5" max) but some extra headroom is always good to have.
I'm thinking either just turning, having the pieces that require milling and drilling finished at the former workplace. As far as my quick research suggests, a machine like that would cost me about 10-15k EUR.
The other option I found is this Mori Seiki SL 15 M that would allow me to do some drilling and milling:
▷ Used CNC lathe Mori Seiki SL 15 M for sale - Machineseeker.com
Comes with all the tools in the photos, live toolholders and is supposedly in perfect running condition. As far as I managed to find out about these machines it's a solid choice (the SL200 I operated was on some days temperamental with a sensor or some small thing like that but continued to crank out perfect parts every day).
Unfortunately I have been in this industry far too little time to know about what to look for in a machine. What to ask the owner, what to be careful about, is there anything specific that you guys see is concerning or wrong? The offer is 23k EUR (25k USD).
What is the difference between a SL 15 M and a SL 15 MC. M is for milling and C is for C axis? But doesn't milling automatically require C axis control? All the MCs that I found listed on the internet have only SL 15 M stickers next to the door.
I tried to look up the MSD 516II capabilities but found almost nothing. Sorry for a possibly stupid question but does this machine allow for XC milling, or only fixed C operations? We didn't have milling on that SL200 so I'm a little lost here.
Right now I'm only looking at Mori Seikis (and maybe Mazaks) because I already know how to operate them. If I can somehow get a mill-turn post processor for Fusion 360 for it, I can make most of the parts myself.
Probably forgot a few questions I had, will add them as I go, just wanted to make this first post to get some replies. I'm really excited to expand my business but at the same time very unsure as to what to expect when trying to buy a machine this old.
I'm attaching photos of some pieces we're making.
First some background. I have worked on CNC lathes for the past 3 years (2 Mazaks - 2018 QT200 MSY, QT250M and a 1997-ish Mori Seiki SL200). Last year I opened a business with two of my friends producing electric repair stands for e-bikes. We rented my former boss's shop for a few weekends and did all the pieces ourselves. This was a relatively small batch of about 50 pcs, 10 or so different workpieces. Now we are planning a new product that is more widely accessible (home users) and are expecting batches of about 100-200 pcs. As I have some spare time I got the fine idea of opening my own side business, buying an older CNC lathe and machining the pieces myself. Would also come in handy for prototyping instead of paying someone like we are now. Would also find some other work for the machine so it's not standing. Workpieces are not very big (125mm/5" max) but some extra headroom is always good to have.
I'm thinking either just turning, having the pieces that require milling and drilling finished at the former workplace. As far as my quick research suggests, a machine like that would cost me about 10-15k EUR.
The other option I found is this Mori Seiki SL 15 M that would allow me to do some drilling and milling:
▷ Used CNC lathe Mori Seiki SL 15 M for sale - Machineseeker.com
Comes with all the tools in the photos, live toolholders and is supposedly in perfect running condition. As far as I managed to find out about these machines it's a solid choice (the SL200 I operated was on some days temperamental with a sensor or some small thing like that but continued to crank out perfect parts every day).
Unfortunately I have been in this industry far too little time to know about what to look for in a machine. What to ask the owner, what to be careful about, is there anything specific that you guys see is concerning or wrong? The offer is 23k EUR (25k USD).
What is the difference between a SL 15 M and a SL 15 MC. M is for milling and C is for C axis? But doesn't milling automatically require C axis control? All the MCs that I found listed on the internet have only SL 15 M stickers next to the door.
I tried to look up the MSD 516II capabilities but found almost nothing. Sorry for a possibly stupid question but does this machine allow for XC milling, or only fixed C operations? We didn't have milling on that SL200 so I'm a little lost here.
Right now I'm only looking at Mori Seikis (and maybe Mazaks) because I already know how to operate them. If I can somehow get a mill-turn post processor for Fusion 360 for it, I can make most of the parts myself.
Probably forgot a few questions I had, will add them as I go, just wanted to make this first post to get some replies. I'm really excited to expand my business but at the same time very unsure as to what to expect when trying to buy a machine this old.
I'm attaching photos of some pieces we're making.
Attachments
Last edited: