CNC Machine Buying Checklist: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Order

Start with the job, not the machine

The most common buying mistake is choosing a machine from a brochure and then finding work for it. Start instead with the parts you make today and the work you expect to win over the next few years. Write it down: materials, thicknesses, part sizes, quantities and the finish your customers expect. Every supplier you speak to should get the same brief, so their quotations can be compared fairly.

• 1. What materials and thicknesses must the machine handle, and in what proportion? Size it for the thickness you cut or weld every week, not the job you see twice a year.
• 2. What laser power, plasma current, welding process or current does that work need, and why has the supplier recommended that figure rather than the next one up or down?
• 3. What sheet, plate, workpiece or seam size must the machine take, now and as your work grows?

Will the machine run properly in your factory?

A well-chosen machine still disappoints if the site cannot support it. Utilities and running costs are where many buyers get surprised after installation, so ask about them before you order and check the answers against your own electricity and gas bills.

• 4. What power supply does the machine need, in voltage, phase, frequency and load, and does that match what your site actually delivers? Will it need a stabiliser or transformer?
• 5. Which gases, compressed air, consumables and utilities does it use, such as a chiller or fume extraction, and roughly what will they cost per shift at your expected output?

What exactly is in the price?

Two quotations with similar totals can describe very different machines. One may include the chiller, extraction, stabiliser, software and installation; another may list them as extras or leave them out entirely. Ask for an itemised quotation and put the inclusions side by side before comparing prices. If you are importing, also check the Incoterm, because a price that ends at the seller's port leaves freight, insurance, duty and clearance for you to add.

• 6. What is included, item by item: the machine, chiller, extraction, compressor or dryer, stabiliser, spares kit, packing, freight, insurance, installation, training and taxes?
• 7. Which software is supplied for programming, nesting or weld paths, is it fully licensed to you, and what does an update or an extra seat cost?

Timeline and payment terms

Lead time affects when the machine starts paying for itself, and payment terms decide how much of your money is with the supplier before you see anything. Both should be in writing, with the milestones clearly defined.

Work backwards from the date you need the machine running. Add the time for site preparation, delivery, installation and training to the supplier's lead time, and check that any order you are buying the machine for can wait that long. Then look at how payment lines up with progress. Terms that hold back part of the price until the machine is installed or inspected give you some leverage if something goes wrong; terms that ask for everything up front give you none.

• 8. What is the lead time from confirmed order to dispatch, and what happens if it slips?
• 9. What are the payment milestones, what triggers each one, and in which currency will you be invoiced?

Installation, warranty and support after the sale

A CNC machine is a ten-year or longer relationship with its maker. The quality of installation, training and service often matters more to your output than small differences in specification, so give these questions as much weight as the machine itself.

• 10. Who installs and commissions the machine, how many days of operator training are included, and where is that training delivered?
• 11. What does the warranty cover, for how long, from which date, and what is excluded?
• 12. How quickly does the supplier respond to a breakdown, remotely and on site, where are spares held, and how are they shipped to you?

Comparing quotations and spotting warning signs

Once you have answers, lay the quotations out in a simple table: one row per question, one column per supplier. Gaps in the table tell you as much as the figures do. A supplier who cannot answer a question in writing before the order is unlikely to answer it more clearly after you have paid.

Ask to see the machine cut or weld your own material, either at the supplier's works or on a live video call, before you place the order or before you pay the balance. For imports, also ask what conformity marking your country requires and whether the supplier can provide it.

• Performance quoted only as up to figures, with no material or thickness stated
• Software, chiller or extraction missing from the quotation without explanation
• Warranty terms given verbally but not written into the quotation
• No clear answer on who services the machine or where spares come from
• Pressure to pay in full before any inspection

How RA Machine answers these questions

RA Machine builds five families of machine in Kolkata: CNC fiber laser cutting from 1.5 kW to 30 kW, CNC plasma cutting from 100 A to 200 A for a 2 mm to 25 mm cutting range, MIG, TIG and MMA welding at 220 V or 440 V, submerged arc welding at 440 V, and cobot or robotic welding cells. There are no model numbers; each machine is configured to the buyer's job and quoted with that configuration written out.

Lead time is 8 to 10 weeks. In India, payment is 30% with the order, 60% before shipment and 10% after installation; export orders are 70% advance and 30% before shipment, usually in US dollars, with a pre-shipment video inspection. Installation, commissioning and operator training are included. Warranty is 12 months, extended on request. Remote diagnostics respond within 4 working hours, with an engineer on site the next working day around Kolkata and within 48 hours elsewhere in India. Spares are stocked, and service covers RA Machine's own machines only.