Online Machinery for Sale: Top benefits for buyers and sellers

Listing Online Machinery

Listing online machinery for sale has its benefits for both individuals and companies alike. For the first time in history, large companies and smaller entrepreneurs are on the same level when it comes to buying and selling machine tools.

Where a large investment of time and money was once required, online machine sales and purchases are easier and less expensive than ever.

Benefits of Selling Machinery Online

When companies decide to upgrade to larger or newer machines in their facility, they used to have a difficult time selling their old equipment. The process took a lot of time and required a fairly large financial investment.

The internet has opened opportunities that people have taken advantage of to provide places where companies and individuals can now sell machinery online with ease.

Now, listing used machines for sale can be done in minutes and reach out to millions of people all over the world in an instant. Even better, machines can be listed online very inexpensively. This can save a company or individual time and money.

These machine tools may not be valuable any longer to the company selling them, but there are many companies and individuals who could benefit from them.

Benefits of Buying Machinery Online

Companies and individuals have projects that require certain types of machinery such as lifting machinery, metal working machine tools or woodworking equipment. Often times, these machines are too expensive to buy new, so where can they look to buy used machinery?

With a struggling economy, many businesses can benefit from buying used equipment or new machinery that was overstocked or overproduced. The used machines sold are often of great quality and operate as well as they would new. In fact, most industrial machinery is built to last many decades. There are even machines in operation today that were manufactured in the 1940’s or earlier.

Finding the right equipment for your needs is as easy as searching or browsing thousands of listings of new and used machinery for sale online. Sites with machinery for sale offer the ability to see the specifications and images of the machine as well as the date of manufacture and current condition.

Even more importantly, the seller’s contact information is available to allow buyers to ask questions to make the best buying decision. Buying online also allows potential buyers to compare available machinery before purchasing.

Online Machine Sales and Purchases

Buying machines online gives the buyer the benefit of shopping around and choosing the right tool for the job without even leaving their home or office. Selling machines online gives seller the similar advantages of listing equipment from their home or office. What once took weeks or even months can now be accomplished in days or even hours. What was once costly is now very cost efficient.

An In-Depth Look at Dredging Equipment

Dredging Equipment

With many different excavation options, the only way to successfully remove silt, oil and dirt from underwater locations is through the use of dredging equipment. Without the use of what is commonly referred to as a dredger, digging beneath bodies of water like rivers, canals, lakes, oceans, ponds and estuaries is simply not possible. Whether mining underwater or creating complex navigation systems like underwater pipelines, the only way to successfully accomplish this unique construction process is by using dredging machinery.

Not only is this particular type of machinery used for building and digging in the sub aquatic, it is also essential for cleaning various types of environmental pollution and unwanted water soaked debris.

How Dredging Machines Work

For dredging equipment to properly function underwater, they are usually connected to hydrodynamic, mechanical or hydraulic construction equipment that float on top of the waters’ surface.

When using a motorized dredge, a drag line or continual line of buckets are often necessary in order for the excavation of dirt or other rubble from the bottom of different bodies of water. Moving from the dredging equipment to a large barge or container, the excavated material is then safely stored so that it will not reenter the waters’ surface.

When using hydraulic dredging equipment, the use of a sub aquatic pipeline is required to fasten to the digging machinery enabling all of the materials buried in the underwater floor to be sucked out from the bottom. Similar to a gigantic vacuum cleaner, this specific dredger is connected to an enormous hose that sucks everything up from the underwater floor. With a specialized digging tool attached to the dredger hose, this piece of equipment is able to dig while providing high pressure suction.

After the pipeline begins to drain all of the desired sediments, everything is then transferred to a specified location like a landfill site or beach area. A great example of this is the large piece of equipment, owned and operated by HESS. It was damaged in the Gulf of Mexico and leaked over 1 billion gallons of oil into the ocean waters.

Another way that hydraulic dredging is performed is through propelled machinery like a hopper dredge. Although somewhat complicated, this process uses the strong suction to transport and store the dug up materials into a hopper that will later bring the sediments to floating storage devices or offshore management facilities. An important issue that is regularly debated in regards to underwater dredging is the storage and cleanup of the dug up materials.

Dredging Equipment in the United States

Commonly practiced within the United States, dredging and its equipment are continually regulated by the American government so that waste, debris and litter are not frequently dumped into bodies of water. On top of the regulation of sub aquatic dredging, a very controversial aspect of this type of construction is the extremely high expense that is incurred. Because of the high expense of dredging equipment, along with the lavish price of storage, the process to dig underwater should not be underestimated.

Happy Independence Day: History of Machine Tools From 1776 – 2013

History of Machine Tools From 1776 – 2013

As the United State of America celebrates Independence Day on the 4^th of July, it’s important to observe its history. This annual holiday is a celebration of our independence from Great Britain in 1776. The key document which made this possible was the Declaration of Independence signed by our founding fathers.

In honor of the national holiday, we are will be taking a look at machine tools used in 1776. Looking at the history will help us to understand how machinery has advanced to what it is today.

Machinery in the 18^th Century

In the 1700’s, wooden plows were used as the primary method of farming. These early machines were powered by horses or by oxen. Other farming tools included hand tools such as hoes for cultivating, sickles for cutting of grain and flails used for threshing.

Other farming machines were developed during this era including the cradle and scythe. Other machinery inventions include the cotton gin and the very first cast iron plow.

Machine tool development boomed during in the 18^th century due to the industrial revolution. While the industrial revolution was primarily in England, America was just as responsible for it. The difference was that in England, there was an abundance of skilled workers, which began using machines to make their work more precise. During this time, America was sparsely populated, but had a huge demand for rapid and simple means of production.

Thus, newly developed machines were used by Americans to make workers more productive.

Machine Tool Evolution

Americans were responsible for solving the issues of mass production and speed during the industrial revolution. In 1798, American Eli Whitney used his “Uniformity-System” of production using inter-changeable parts to produce 10,000 army muskets for the U.S. government.

He was able to prove the workability of the inter-changeable parts concept to President John Adams. He showed President Adams that a whole working musket could be created from randomly selected parts. Whitney then took action by single handedly designing and building all machinery required to produce these weapons. Not one single worker entered the factory until he was finished.

He was also responsible for the invention the first milling machine in 1818. Later that year, Thomas Blanchard invented a rifle stock turning machine, which was used to create duplicate parts.

Other Americans responsible for inventions of new machinery include: Elias Howe and Isaac Singer who developed the sewing machines, Cyrus McCormack who created the harvester and Henry Ford who produced the first automobile.

The first boring machine was developed by James Watt as a way to bore the first steam engine. Many more machines were developed using Whitney’s example of interchangeable parts and mass production.

Modern Machines

Independence day marked the start of a machinery development boom for Americans with their new-found freedom. Several centuries have passed since this important point in U.S. history and the development of more advanced and more productive machinery has followed suit.

As demand for the production and construction of products and buildings has consistently increased, American ingenuity has continued to respond with amazing machine tools.

Ditching Machines: The History Of The Ditch Witch

The Beginning Of Ditch Witch

An American brand of ditching machine, Ditch Witch, is based in Perry, Oklahoma. Ditch Witch is known for offering well designed underground construction equipment. The company has been around since 1949 although the first machine was introduced by company founder, Ed Malzahn, in the earlier 1940’s. It was a trenching machine that was created to replace the laborious pick-axe and shovel for digging pipe trenches.

Ed Malzahn, the founder of Ditch Witch, was the son of Fredrick Malzahn who migrated from Germany. In 1902, Fredrick and his family moved to Perry, Oklahoma to get away from Minnesota’s harsh winters where he opened a blacksmith shop. An oil boom allowed the shop to prosper which later became a machine shop specializing in oil field repairs.

The First Ditching Machine

Ed had learned much from his father including how a business can adapt to meet changing demands. He began applying his mechanical engineering degree to design a machine meant to simplify the installation of underground residential utilities in the mid 1940’s. Ed and his father created the prototype of the very first compact trencher in the family machine shop. This ditching machine took several months to create and became known as the DWP, or Ditch Witch Power.

Made commercially available in 1949, the DWP was the first compact mechanical trencher used to lay water lines underground. It marked a point in history where a long-time problem that plagued utility contractors had finally been solved.

The Ditch Witch Company Was Born

The quickly growing popularity of the DWP trencher caused the family machine shop, known then as Charlie’s Machine shop, was transformed into Charlie’s Machine Works Inc. This shop became the headquarters for the current company, which remains unmoved from its original home in Perry, Oklahoma.

Trenchers were just the beginning of what this company had to offer. They quickly diversified their product line to offer various digging and underground construction machinery including earth drills, excavating machines, skid steers and more. All machines, to this date, bear the Ditch Witch name.

Ditch Witch Today

The DWP compact trencher was named one of the 100 best American made products in the world twice by Fortune Magazine. In 2002, the Society of Mechanical Engineers designated the Ditch Witch Power machine as a mechanical engineering historical landmark.

Most commonly known as Ditch Witch, the company operates under the name, The Charles Machine Works, Inc. Ed Malzahn is still the president and chairman if the board and his granddaughter, Tiffany Sewell-Howard, serves as the CEO, a position she has held since 2005.

The firm’s manufacturing plant has expanded to cover 30 acres and includes research, testing, training, and production facilities. They currently have grown to offer ditching machines worldwide and employ more and 1,300 people at their headquarters alone.

Decline In Aggregate Equipment Demand May Cause Lay Offs

CAT-Aggregate-Equipment — CAT announces layoffs.

Caterpillar’s Aggregate Equipment Plants Affected

Aggregate equipment is suffering from falling demand just as many other types of construction machinery. These declines are following industry trends, which can be attributed to a suffering U.S. economy and continue to place pressure on machinery production workers and equipment operators alike.

Mining equipment, in particular has seen a sharp decrease in demand, causing Caterpillar to announce the layoff of one third of its aggregate machinery production workforce. The layoffs affect workers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – which primarily produce electric powered shovels used in large-scale open pit mines. This means an indefinite layoff of approximately 260 workers to begin on June 24th, 2013.

Although, the layoffs are not coming as a surprise to aggregate equipment production workers, this will put a hardship on those affected. Workers were notified previously that as many as 40% of the 770 production workers in these plants were at risk of being layed off.

Mining Equipment Demand To Blame For Layoffs

While the entire aggregate equipment industry has seen a trend of decreasing machinery sales, the decline in mining equipment demand is to blame for the upcoming layoffs at Caterpillar. Mining equipment demand has dropped significantly in recent months as mines are forced to scale back investing in new equipment due to lowering prices for mined materials such as copper and iron ore.

Caterpillar initially acquired their two Wisconsin equipment assembly plants as a portion of an $8.8 billion purchase of Bucyrus International Inc., a mining equipment manufacturer, in 2011. This purchase was largely to thank for a portion of Caterpillar’s profit and sales growth in previous years as mining companies expanded production causing greater demand for equipment purchases.This demand was cut short as mining operations have not expanded at the rate previously expected.

Lasting Effects Of Aggregate Industry Layoffs

The laying off of one third of the aggregate equipment production workforce is a huge deal, but what is in store for the remaining two thirds of the workers? The United Steelworkers Union has come to an agreement with Caterpillar to freeze hourly wages for remaining workers for six years and to lower the pay scale for new hires. Fortunately, Caterpillar also agreed to give annual bonuses based on performance in place of hourly raises.

Even employee pensions are affected as they will have a cap and be replaced by a pension plan similar to a 401k. These changes will limit the stress felt by Caterpillar to rising pension costs, which is hoped to save remaining jobs and help prevent future layoffs.

Caterpillar is just one major aggregate equipment manufacturer hit hard by a struggling economy. Everyone in this industry and other construction industries, are feeling the squeeze of dropping prices and decreasing demand. However, mining companies are optimistic that there will soon be an upturn in the economy. Hopefully it will relieve many of the hardships faced by this industry including manufacturers of mining and other types of aggregate equipment.

Concrete Equipment: Maintaining Concrete Mixers

Concrete equipment is a large investment for a company. This is why it is so important for business owners to properly maintain their investment. One of the most commonly used pieces of equipment in the concrete industry is the concrete mixer. When properly maintained, concrete mixers will operate efficiently for many years.

Proper maintenance begins with the operator’s knowledge of machine operation and capability of troubleshooting potential problems. However, the most important aspect of ensuring that any concrete equipment has a long life is routine maintenance.

Concrete Equipment Maintenance Essentials

Concrete mixers are fairly simple by design, but do have several moving parts that require attention; the first of which is the drum. Dried concrete left inside the drum of the mixer can be detrimental to the machine itself. Over time, dried concrete will coat the inside of the drum and reduce its capacity.

While this sounds like a simple issue to fix, it is very difficult to remove dried on concrete residue from the inside of the drum. In fact, the drum can be damaged if attempts are made to remove dried material using hammers or chisels. The best idea is to take measures to prevent this build up in the first place.

Concrete can be removed from the inside of the mixers drum by using a pressure washer or simple garden hose with a sprayer attachment. Simply spraying out the inside of the drum while it is rotating will do the job. Obviously, this is not going to work well if the concrete is allowed to dry, so it is important to do this before the concrete begins to dry after every time the concrete mixer is used.

Concrete Machinery Monitoring Systems

No matter how well you maintain your concrete equipment, problems are bound to occur. Even the most experienced operators may not recognize the potential issue until it is too late. Modern technology allows machinery owners to see what’s going on inside.

Condition monitoring dashboards are becoming increasingly popular in the concrete industry as well as other industries that routinely use industrial machinery. These systems use innovative software which can provide information such as machine condition, life, potential issues and even location.

This is extremely useful for companies who have a large fleet of machines as the system will alert a central office of the specific machine affected and specifics as to the potential problem.

Recover Concrete Equipment That Was Not Properly Maintained

It is always a better idea to routinely practice preventative maintenance measures, but when concrete machinery has not been maintained properly, what can an equipment owner do?

Sure, you could get the jackhammer out and begin chipping away at the dried on concrete. This is likely to damage the equipment. However, options are limited at this stage in the game.

A better option could be to look into a company offering chemical concrete removal and pressure washing services. This method can be pretty expensive which is why preventative maintenance and proper cleaning of concrete equipment is so important.

There are even companies that offer concrete chipping services used to remove dried concrete build up. They use smaller cutting tools to chip away at the hardened concrete until it is all removed. Although effective, this is also a much more expensive alternative to preventative maintenance.

Proper Maintenance For Welders and Welding Equipment

Welders and Welding Equipment

Welding equipment is often used in construction, automotive, fabrication, farming and other industries where dirt and oils are present and equipment usage can be tough. Routine maintenance on welders is often overlooked, but is extremely important to ensure the longevity of the equipment.

Not only is operation efficiency compromised without proper maintenance, but operator safety is also at risk if routine maintenance is ignored. For this reason, some proper welder maintenance and safety concerns will be covered in the following paragraphs.

Operating Welders Safely

The most important thing to do with any piece of equipment is to get to know your machinery by reading the operator’s manual included with it. Safety precautions will always be in a section of its own.
When in doubt, contact the manufacturer.

Basics For Efficient Welding Equipment Maintenance

Grounding the welder is important for both operator and the welding equipment safety. If the machinery is not properly grounded, there is great risk of electrical shock to the operator. The first thing to remember is to avoid water and wet working conditions because water is an excellent conductor of electricity; even using welders when sweating excessively can be dangerous for the same reason. Standing on a rubber mat or wooden surface is the best possible scenario. When working outdoors, standing on dirt or concrete can also work well as long as the surface is dry.

Loose connections and bare spots on cables are a hazard and should be inspected daily.

Grounding the equipment itself can be accomplished by connecting one end of the grounding cable to a metal stud on the machinery. The other end should be connected to a metal stake, driven into the earth.

Inspection of welder components is important to ensure proper operation and avoidance of a number of potential safety issues.

Cables should be inspected daily for leaks or signs of excessive ware. Worn or leaking cables should be replaced immediately.

Wire feeders should be inspected to ensure the electrode drive rolls are clean and free from dirt or debris. They should be inspected, cleaned, adjusted or changed only when the equipment is off. Inlet and outlet guides should also be inspected, cleaned and replaced in the same manner.

Torch and gun assembly should be inspected routinely by a trained professional. This is to ensure the proper mixing of gasses and pressure. The condition of the gun should always be inspected by the operator, before each use. Any issues should be reported to maintenance right away.

Welder power sources should be disconnected from the power source and either blown or vacuumed out approximately every six months under moderate usage conditions.
Electrode holders should be fully insulated and should not have protruding screws.
Fully insulated lock type connectors should always be used when connecting welding cables.

Electrodes used in MIG welders, arc welders and TIG welders can get hot when the power source is switched on. The electrode wire should never be touched when the power is on – or for a period of time after powered off.

Electrical safety devices such as circuit breakers and interlocks should be connected and inspected routinely only when power is off. Terminals and electrical parts should all have insulated covers.

Gas Cylinders and regulators should be inspected daily for damage and leakage. Any faulty components found, should be replaced immediately by trained professionals.

Proper maintenance of all machinery utilized in industrial applications is the job of the operator, supervisors and the maintenance department. Welders and welding equipment are not exempt.

Custom Hydraulic Press Designed For Coining Operations

The Hydraulic Press

Hydraulic Press Production Silver Gold Coins — Coins can be produced using hydraulic presses.

Hydraulic presses are used in production facilities around the world for the manufacturing of many different metal parts. These include auto parts, shelving, medical equipment, and even punching and stamping of coins. A hydraulic press works by using hydraulic pressure to press material in between upper and lower plates or dies. These dies and press plates are specifically designed to form or stamp usable parts out of sheet metal, strip metal, and other metal workpieces.

Hydraulic presses are capable of applying tons of pressure to material, making it almost effortless to form or punch the part very quickly.

How Hydraulic Presses Are Used In The Coining Process

When it comes to manufacturing coins and tokens, hydraulic presses are used in a couple different ways. Typically, the silver, gold or copper will be processed into a thin strip, using other machinery. It is then annealed to bring the metal strip to the target hardness for the coin stamping process.

This strip is then inserted into the hydraulic press, which is equipped with specific diameter circular dies that fit into one another. Once the machine tool is activated, the top die will be pressed into the bottom die very quickly with tons of force — resulting in one or two blank coins being pushed through, onto a table or conveyor belt below.

These blank coins or tokens are then inspected, weighed and sometimes burnished to give the surface a rough appearance. Now, it’s time for the final press process, which is used to stamp rather than punch.

This process, commonly referred to as coining, begins by placing the blank coins or tokens into the bottom die. The bottom die will have circular indents the exact diameter of the blanks. Once the machine is activated, the top die will move downward quickly, making contact with the blank. Enough force is used to press the image of the dies into both sides of the coin simultaneously.

Now, this part of the stamping or coining process is also applicable in other industries such as the remanufacture brake shoes, for example. This process involves placement of the parts(s) into the press, which forms the top and bottom, according to the design of the dies. This happens simultaneously, once the machine is activated. The only major differences are the tonnage required to properly form the parts and the dies used, which are specific to the parts being formed.

New Hydraulic Coining Press

Greenerd Press & Machine Company, Inc recently manufactured a 1,000 ton hydraulic coining press with unique design traits aimed at reducing cycle time while improving part quality. This automatic press was designed for and is being used by Global Parts Networks, LLC (GPN) to remanufacture brake shoes.

This new machine tool is equipped with a 36” x 36” bed and adjustable stroke of up to 12”. It is a straight side 8-point gib guided hydraulic press with pressing rates up to 23” per minute.

The company is quite satisfied with the new custom designed machine, as it has proven reliable while significantly improving the efficiency and quality of produced parts. Finding the perfect hydraulic press for the parts being manufactured is important. It does not always take having a custom machine being built in order to properly form parts, but when efficiency and quality are important, a custom built machine tool such as this can definitely help.

Rotary Tables: The Underappreciated Machine Tool

Rotary tables are used to improve productivity in machining, fabrication and production. The idea behind this machine tool is to be able to quickly and easily rotate the work piece placed on the table. This changes the position of the work-piece around a fixed axis to drill, cut or grind the part at specific angles. Some rotary tables enable indexing operations as well.

Have these simple yet efficient machine tools been under appreciated, even taken for granted?

Before Rotary Tables

Before the rotary table became commonly used in metalworking shops and facilities, parts were placed on a flat surface and were adjusted manually during the manufacturing processes. This was very inefficient and much less accurate.

Even the very first, most basic rotary table allowed parts to be easily rotated, taking less time and effort for machine operators. Use of these tables in combination with mechanically operated machine tools did improve due to the fact that the part could be centered at the central axis of the table. However, there is room for operator error.

This is where computer numerical controlled machines and rotary tables have become a perfect fit for one another.

Rotary tables are very versatile and can be used manually to perform drilling, welding and various other machining operations by hand. However, they are most efficiently and accurately used in combination with other machine tools, especially CNC machines.

Rotary Tables Used In CNC Machines

CNC machine tools are commonly equipped with horizontal or vertical rotary tables depending on the style of machine. These machines can precisely control the positioning of the part in reference, to the tooling being used to perform various machining functions.

The distance from the center of the table and the cutting tool is measured and used as a reference to know where the work piece is in relation to the cutting tool at all times. Concentric machining can be accomplished by changing the distance of the cutting tools from the table’s center in the X-axis or Y-axis directions.

More complex angles and curves can be machined by eccentric placement of the part to be a specific distance from the center.

Versatility Of Modern Rotary Tables

Rotary tables are simple by basic design, but do offer a number of enhanced features including:

Drilling of holes on curved flanges at equal distances
Cutting of circular parts
Cutting of circular parts with protruding tangents
Cutting of arcs
Drilling or boring of large diameter holes using smaller milling machines that lack the power to drive large drilling tools
Milling of helixes
Machining of spanner flats on bolts
Cutting of complex curves
Cutting of straight lines at any angle
Cutting of arcs with the addition of a compound table on top of the rotary table allowing the operator to position the center axis anywhere on the workpiece.

Also, many parts can be manufactured on a CNC mill with tail stock that would typically require a lathe when the rotary table is converted to stepper motor operation.

The bottom line is that a rotary table can and will improve a machine’s efficiency and accuracy. Even manual cutting, welding and grinding operations can be greatly improved with the use of the proper rotary table.

5-Axis CNC Machining Center: Newest Edition To Next Intent Machinery

5-Axis CNC Machining Center

Recently, Next Intent invested in a new OKK VC-X350 5-axis CNC machining center due to overwhelming demand from the Aerospace, Aircraft, Defense industries. This new machining center will join the 6 other OKK brand machine tools currently in use in their facility. Next Intent is relied upon to provide parts with very close tolerances for cutting edge industries, and this new machine will help them continue to do just that.

Rearranging all of the machines around the shop was necessary to make room for the new CNC machining center installed last February. It was quite a feat to move all of these large machine tools in such a way that each could be most productive, but the increase in productivity was well worth it.

OKK VC-X350 machining center Specifications

Max X axis travel distance is 23.62″ or 600mm

Max Y axis travel distance is 16.93″ or 430mm

Max Z axis travel distance is 18.11″ or 460mm

Max A axis travel or work table tilt radius is 30 degrees or -120

Max C axis travel radius is 360 degrees

Spindle speeds range from 100 to 1,200 rpm

Number 40 type spindle taper

Controlled by FANUC 31-iA5 type Computer Numerical Controls

Work table size is 13.78″ wide

This CNC machining center is ready for integration with an Automatic Work Changer and includes a 60-work piece capacity magazine. The extremely rigid VC-X350 features a work table that can handle hard metals like titanium.

What Next Intent Has To Say About OKK Machine Tools

The president of Next Intent, Rodney Babcock, reported that the OKK VC-X350 5-axis machining center is an addition to their current OKK machine tool line that provides the features and flexibility required to meet customer demand. This includes 5-axis machining which allows five sides of a part to be machined at once. This is critical for accomplishing such close tolerances specs.

He went on to explain that the company already has enough demand to keep the new machine in operation full time and the high quality and reliability of OKK machines tools are partially to thank. This leaves the possibility of further upgrades to or additions of new CNC machine tools in the near future just to keep up with demand.

More About Next Intent

Aerospace, Scientific Research, Defense and Aircraft clients are among the industries that come to Next Intent with machining specifications that are close to impossible. Next Intent provides optional component assembly on top of mechanical and manufacturing support for the various projects.

As a 9100 certified company, Next Intent has earned a reputation for quick understanding of client needs. They are also known for quick development of comprehensive manufacturing plans, which are promptly and accurately executed.

OKK and Next Intent have shared a long-term relationship where OKK machine tools make up Next Intent’s main machine arsenal. Other machine tools manufactured by OKK include vertical machining centers, horizontal machining centers, blade centers, die mold machines, mass production machines and aerospace machinery.