[DaveNW]

I work at a job shop that has both 2D Flow waterjets and Trumpf LASERs. I'm looking to find a vertical machining center that we can add to our repertoire that complements our existing services to our customers.

We currently do work for a huge variety of customers (from decorative signs to U.S. military work) but don't have any specific product line. So, I guess I'm looking for a versatile well rounded machine that's easy to program either on a computer or at the machine.

I anticipate a budget of around $50K. With this apprx budget, is it better to get a new basic machine or a used higher end machine? I really can't stand salesmen, so they only pricing info I've received is from the Haas website. I've read that Okuma is generally easy to program at the machine and is very reliable, but am no means set on anything.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

[underthetire]

50K is not going to get you much IMO. You really need to figure out the bulk of the type of material your going to cut. If it's mostly aluminum open tolerance stuff, go for the HAAS. At least you'll get a warranty even if the HAAS warranty is one of the worst in the market. You should also get some training with a new machine. The Okuma's are usually kind of behind everyone else in the milling side, but make terrific machines. They will cut steel and harder materials much better than a HAAS. You might want to broaden your search if you go used, you could possibly find a Mori or Makino, OKK, or Kitamura etc. The okuma mills won't be a whole lot different to program than any other Gcode machine unless it's a IGF control. Mori has a similar package standard on the newer machines.