I'm sure you're aware that machines have to go somewhere if they're replaced. And only one of those NMV-3000s in CA have gone anywhere other than the original owner. I could point you to three or four NMV3000 owners who would bet you 3/4 million dollars that the NMV is superior to the MAM. Would they be right? That's in the eye of the beholder, but the machines are certainly making good parts day in and day out.

Technically you've only replaced 1, at darmark, since Warmelin still has both of theirs (even though they added a MAM). Mori sold more NMV3000s in the time they've existed, than Matsuura has sold 35Vs in that same time. I hardly think 3 for sale by two users is a solid condemnation. Just a little food for thought That said, I'd take a MAM72-35V over an NMV every day that ends with a Y. Great theoretical engineering doesn't always lead to great real world results, as Mori's "octagonal ram" and "DCG" attest.

^That site harvested those from the Metalworking Insiders Report Scorecard. Some of the private companies, like Mazak, don't report anymore. Mazak, Mitsui, Matsuura, and some others haven't reported in 5 years or so : You can see the whole list here: http://www.metalworkinginsider.info/?event=scoreboard The most fascinating thing is how tiny the machine tool market really is compared to other industries. There are people right here on the forum who work at machine shops that have higher revenue than well known brands like Mitsui Seiki, Fidia, Kuraki, etc.

Unfortunately I don't have his number. It's been a decade since I've been in Niigata purgatory. I do know he is still active, and he is very good. Linkedin is probably your best bet at contacting him, or maybe call the socal Niigata dealer (whoever it is this week) and ask if they have it floating around? If there's any positive thing about Niigata (aside from the beefcake machines), it's that they didn't make very many different machine models, so a good guy that's been working on them for 20 years has seen everything.

What year is the machine, and what's wrong with it? (I probably can't help, but I just feel like re-living some old nightmares). This guy is the bomb, and travels all over: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/tim-chizo/13/363/8b

^This. You could probably get an EDM guy to wire it for less than that 8" saw cost. Although, if you have 1000 to do, gonna need to figure out the saw. Worst case scenario if wire isn't an option - use your existing saw to cut every other slot. Then fill them in with a low melting point metal, and cut the rest of the slots.

Easy to solve, you just need to decide if you want to make the change in the tool setter, or the spindle probe. I don't have any Blum anything, so I don't know how you'd do it on that end. But if you just want the spindle probe to match: face off a part with a tool you just set on the tool setter, then run the 9801 calibration macro for the spindle probe, measuring on that surface. Or skip all that, and just add/subtract .0015 to the tool length of the probe in your tool offset register and call it a day.

Since you're looking at the lower end, check out YCM as well. No opinion on their double column machines, but a buddy of mine has a bunch of their 40x20 verticals and loves them. http://www.ycmcnc.com/english/01_products/01_list.php?cid=2&id=22

If you have to work anywhere within 200 feet of that thing, you're really going to wish it was still sitting idle as a rat's home.

^This. I haven't ever looked real close at the Makino matrix magazine, but I know Mazak and Toyoda have an entire standalone control that runs the magazine. So all of the logic and servos running the matrix magazine are independent from the machine's control. If Makino's matrix magazine works the same way, then integrating a different brand of magazine (the Cellro unit in particular) should be a slam dunk, since they should already have a parameter setup that passes off the needed data.

Yeah it's an aerospace shop in socal. They have big bridge mills and whatnot. They had an old Mori SH-50 FMS that they replaced with those Toyodas. It's a different ball game when 630mm horizontals are the "small part cell". LOL

How about we take a 90 degree turn - I bet you could snag this for less than those two magazines and an MMC are going to cost you. You'll need a new building though. http://www.machinerynetwork.com/buy/detail.cfm?inventoryid=33728

Yeah I would guess the current pricing will be more like $200k. I was just saying if they could make it happen for $100k, they would sell a mountain of them. I don't see any reason why the integration couldn't be rock solid bulletproof, as long as Makino and Fanuc will share all their little secret handshakes. (Mori had to strong-arm Fanuc by putting Mitsubishi controls on machines, before Fanuc would give them the keys to all the stuff they wanted to access with their MAPPS front end.)

Bob, did you place an order yet?

^Now that looks like a legitimate, viable option. It's fast enough that you can just throw away the existing 60 tool magazine, instead of trying to hodge podge some crap together where you have a robot trying to load and unload the existing pots. If they can sell that fully integrated for $100,000 - they'll have more customers than they know what to do with. I think you have a snowball's chance in hell of getting Makino and Fanuc to give the integrator access to everything they need to implement it, but you never know until you try.