6 Advantages of CNC machining over conventional machining
February 13, 2017
Do you use conventional machines in your personal shop or at your business? They do have some benefits, but so do CNC machines.
If you’re considering adding CNC machines to your production processes, here are some reasons you may or may not want to:
With conventional machines, you do need a long period of experience to get the most out of them. With CNC machines, experience still is a great benefit. You’ll always be learning new things and better ways to improve your production and quality. But, you can start in CNC machining with less experience and still produce at a high quality.
Conventional machining works well when you need to make a single custom piece. If you have high production quotas where you need to cut the same part many times, CNC machining makes more sense. CNC machinery lets you program your machines to make the same cut over and over.
Conventional machinery needs help from an experience operator to make similar pieces. And even then, there’s still small differences among the parts.
Investing in CNC machinery can cut your labor costs. Conventional machinery requires more experience and skill, and more laborers to do the work. With CNC machines, you can get the same quality while hiring less skilled workers, and fewer of them. And, you’ll also continue to have high production levels.
More advanced software can help you manufacture products which are difficult or nearly impossible to make on conventional machinery. You can also update the software as necessary to improve your CNC machine’s functionality.
With conventional machinery, you have to replace parts, which cost time and money. And you may have to buy a whole new machine too.
CNC software lets you simulate the production of your idea. You don’t have to actually produce a prototype, which costs time and money. And neither do you have to create revisions to the prototype – except through the software. You could save weeks or months of production time.
Many of the mathematical and analytical skills necessary to successfully operate conventional machines aren’t as emphasized in schools as they used to be. As a result, in one sense, there’s a less skilled workforce available.
However, the modern workforce knows how to operate software and technology. And CNC machines certainly fit that mold better than conventional machinery.
So hopefully, this post helps you understand when CNC machinery or when conventional machinery makes sense to use in your operations.
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