Machine Tool Spare Parts Mini Treatise (What your mother never told you about Machine Tool Spare Parts)

Category:           Wear Items

No brainer here, The 3 “B”s - Belts, Bulbs, and Bellows (plus some things that don't start with a "B")

They are going to wear, they should be in stock, all the time.

Category:           Spare Parts

Wish it wasn’t true, but they wear out too. Any item that has sold as a spare part automatically becomes a “spare part” DUH, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stock it. Careful consideration on these items before jacking your working capital levels up where B52’s fly.

Category:           Crash Parts

Parts with ultra-long lead times that scare the crap out of you if you crash, can you say High Frequency Spindle?

This item should be negotiated when you buy the machine new. Who is going to stock it? The OEM or the customer. Depending on the machine criticality of the machine, the customer should consider keeping these items on hand.

Category:           “I have a feeling about this one”

Items customers should stock when the repeated use of a machine’s (or robot’s) axis sees high repetition compared to the rest of the machine.

Bottom line:      Always negotiate who stocks what spare parts on a machine or robot before taking it home for good. This will make sure that your Machine Tool customers experience will be breathtakingly wonderful and profitable!! And everyone wants that.

Don’t Forget!    When the machine finally wears out, consider a thorough rebuild before spending top dollar for a new machine (unless it comes with a super cool robot!), but make sure the machine rebuilder does more that replace the belts and gives it a shiny new paint job. For no disappointments, get it in writing.