need help convincing boss

[Stone]

My boss doesnt want to spend the money to purchase the maintance agreement for mastercam he thinks its a waste of money. I feel it is very important that we purchase it. If any one has any advice to help convince my boss to purchase it would you please let me know. please help Thanks

[Harryman]

If he wants to stand on his company's toes while the rest of us run ahead... let him.

 

As soon as the economy improves enough to find a smarter boss, do so.

 

Welcome to the forum!

[P_Scott]

Stone,

 

There are plenty of reasons for getting the annual maintenance for Mastercam. First you'll never have to ask the accountant for the fee to update from one version to the next, when you didn't have it in the budget from last year. It's the same amount every year so it's easier to budget for it. Sort of like the machines they're paying for. Second, it will keep your software as up to date as possible. That will maintain your company's original investment and keep them competitive. Third, only Maintenance customers receive ALL enhancements for the software first, before anyone else. Those without Maintenance will only get Service Packs, or fixes to the software, not enhancements. Fourth, those without Maintenance will actually be paying a greater fee for updating, especially if a version or two is skipped when getting the latest version.

 

In short, your company will actually be paying less and getting more for their investment with the Maintenance package than if they continue without it. Doesn't your boss want the most for his investment? Doesn't he want to be competitive and have the advantage of the most technically advanced tools available? If he answered "No" to any of these questions, I would seriously question whether you would want to continue being in his employment. HTH

[Camdude®]

it never fails to amaze me that a company will spend tens 9 or hundreds )of thousands of dollars for a machine,

but not spend a couple of hundred to keep that machine preforming at peak effeciency.

[biss03]

it is only beneficial if your boss intends to update everytime it changes, otherwise it isn't a wise investment (maybe this is your bosses logic).

 

(i'm still using V8.1 )

[Rekd™]

biss, I'm sorry.

 

You're really missing out on some extremely valuable and time/money saving features.

 

'Rekd

[crazy^millman]

Well it is what I like to call penny wise and $100 dollar dumb. I was given this part to do this week a plain lathe part and told to do it on the Mill. I figured it would have taken us about 2 hours a part to make a good looking right tolerance part. I have 72 parts to make so it was going to cost my department about $9360 to do the job I sent it out to a company with a lathe with live tooling and had it done at 1/4 the cost and the owner is mad at me for sending it out and not having 2 people one of which is hurt since they refuse to pay me stay there all weekend to get it done. This other owner was happy but not the other one wasone.

 

I guess the point is that as long as we keep doing and tying that is all we can do. There will always be people who do not understand what we do and what it takes to do our job becuase they could care less to walk in our shoe. I like what I do and like making chip and parts that are right and I have found that this a majority of the time does not fit into someone else idea of how to run a business. I would think if you make a good product, make money doing so and can keep your customers happy then that would be the most important thing but more often than not we don't see this. People all have things about them that are different and if we learn to find a way to bridge that gap and show the importance of our trade and profession with the right tools in the world then it might make more sense to the people that just don't see it. Patience is always a good thing but sometimes a little shaking the joint up is called for also. I fight my fights where I must and do my job to the best of my abilites if someone chooses not to let me make them more money and help them grow as a company that is on them not me and if they do not see the error of what they are doing that all you can do is show him the path it is up to them to take it and up to you to make the path you need in life if the one you are on is not the right one for you.

 

 

Ok off the box now sorry for the Highjack.

[CNCme]

Good Day,

 

Owner/manager:

 

Thats a 5 minute job...a mini-program

and didnt the new machine come with

cnc programs..!?!

___________________________________________

 

OMM = Owner/Manager Mentality

___________________________________________

 

Programmer:

We need another fixture for the job !!

 

Owner/manager:

Can't you use a piece of wood with a couple

of dowel pins.

____________________________________________

 

 

Owner/Manager Mentality...it will not change

 

 

Tony G

X Beta site

Almost Employed Senior Programmer

N.E Massachusetts - Southern New Hampshire

_________________________________________

End mills and tooling are like The "AMMO"

And coolant and chips are like the enemy

Under your boots as you advance in the

Manufacturing Battle

--------------------------------------------------

[Salahuddin]

isn't your boss late, the maintance offer had been ended as I know!!!

so no advice will be useful..

[Jimmy Wakeford from Barefoot CNC]

Look at it lie maintenance on the machine. You keep it oiled, cleaned , etc.

 

I amazes me that company's have a 10,000 dollar monthly tooling budget, amd will pay 50,000 for a function on the machine, but wont spend money to keep the software updated.

 

I have some customers running V4 and it is hard to support them. After a new release comes out we remove older versons from our pc's within a couple of months.

 

Also sometimes it is easier to show mangers what it costs not having maintennce. There are sooo many ways to save cycle time now and more coming out that your cyc times are going to be way greater than your competitors.

 

edit// ONE BIG point, most forum members are on maintenace, and it is easier for them to help if everyone is on same version.//

[jimspac]

I was able to get my company to switch to Mastercam from Surfcam and got the maintenance agreement. As times are tight now and Ver X is coming out sometime, I am glad I do not have to fight them to purchase the upgrade. If you can still get maintenance on Ver 9, push hard because X from what these guys on forum say is a worthy upgrade.

[J Coulston]

What are your customers’ mottos? All my customers say Better Faster Cheaper. Ask your boss if your customers are loyal only to you, don’t care when you deliver and think money is no object. I wish my customer thought that way.

[DC Gorn]

IMO its worth it just for the translators. Dam CAD systems are releasing new version or major update atleased once a year.

[Mike Mattera - TFM]

There is no advantage in skipping a version. I've seen customers do that i the past. Skip 8 and go to 9. First off, they waist too much time trying to get out ot date software to do todays jobs. Then when they get the new version the learning curve is greater than if they bstayed up to date.

 

There is no good reason for not keeping up to date. Unless you plan to go out of business. Before, if you skipped a version, the next update cost the same amount. NO MORE. An update costs more than maintenance and you only get the updates up to that point. If they make a change the following week, you dont get it unless your on maintenance.

 

biss03: Do your boss a favor - Convince him to update NOW, before X is released. Or he's really going to pay the price for falling behind.

 

Mike Mattera

[Stone]

Thanks for advice talked boss into buying maintenance contract today.