If you are looking for machine tools for your machine shop, you may want to consider used machinery. This kind of second-hand equipment offers the same advantages as new machines, but at more affordable prices. What used machinery can you find?
Machining with used machinery
You can find used machinery of every type for machining the parts you need. Before choosing used machinery, it is important to know what kind of work you want to do with it, as well as the characteristics and designs of the parts; this includes their size and the material to be machined.
In the metalworking industry there are three different types of machining:
- With chip removal. This is the most common type of machining and can be carried out on conventional machinery. Here, the cutting tool can remove large amounts of material from the surface of the workpiece. This type of machining includes operations such as turning, milling and drilling, among others.
- Without chip removal. The parts undergo deformation or transformation of their structure through the application of external forces. For example, sheet metal pressing and forming fall under chipless machining and are carried out by machines such as presses.
- Abrasion. Abrasive machining does not use cutting tools but abrasive tools that wear away the surface of the workpiece. To do this, the tools must contain an abrasive component consisting of small grains held together by a bond. This is the work of grinding machines.
Whatever type of machining you want to carry out, you can always find used machinery that matches the requirements of the workpiece. To choose the right machine, you need to know the characteristics of these machines and the work they can perform.
What used machinery can you buy?
Lathes
The lathe is one of the most widely used machine tools in machine shops. It is a set of tools used to shape different rotational parts. For the lathe to work, the workpiece must be clamped in the machine's headstock and rotate at high speed about its own axis. As the workpiece turns, the cutting tool approaches its surface with a controlled feed movement.
When the tool comes into contact with the workpiece, chips are removed. The working principle of all lathes is the same, although there are different types of machine. You will find centre lathes, copying lathes, capstan lathes, vertical lathes and CNC lathes.
Milling machines
Milling machines are machine tools equipped with a milling cutter. The milling cutter is the cutting tool of these machines and has one or more cutting edges. The cutter rotates at high speed as it approaches the surface of the workpiece to remove chips. Milling machines can also perform many other machining processes, including drilling, if the cutter is replaced by a drill bit.
There are different types of milling machines, classified by the position of the cutting tool (horizontal, vertical, turret) or by the number of axes (two, three, four and up to six). Multi-axis milling machines are the most complex and work with computer numerical control technology.
Drilling machines
Drilling machines work with a drill bit, which is used to drill holes of different diameters, depths and shapes. Drilling machines are highly versatile and are available as large floor-standing models, more compact bench models and also as portable units. The latter are not machines as such, but tools that every workshop should have.
Grinding machines
Grinding machines are fairly expensive, and the processes they carry out also involve high production costs. That is why it makes sense to invest in used machinery so as to recoup the initial outlay. Grinding machines, which may be surface, tangential, centreless, cylindrical or universal, use a grinding wheel as their cutting tool.
The grinding wheel removes small amounts of material and can machine parts to very tight tolerances and very small dimensions.
Press brakes
Press brakes are machines used to transform metal plates into sheets and other metal profiles such as flat bars. They do not use a cutting tool; instead, they apply very high force and pressure to a workpiece in order to deform it.
Used CNC machinery
CNC machinery is considerably more expensive than conventional machinery, which is why buying it second-hand is a good idea. A machine tool that works with computer numerical control can carry out a variety of jobs on parts of great complexity; it can also machine in series, cutting lead times and labour.
The used CNC machinery you can buy includes lathes, milling machines and machining centres. These machines are the most advanced in the machining industry and are highly efficient.