There are many factors that go into choosing the right lathe: price point, technical specs, age of the model, but one of the biggest is definitely brand. Buying from a trusted brand is a great way to guarantee not only a standard of quality, but also more hidden benefits like customer support or ease of finding replacement parts. With that in mind, here are the top five brands of CNC Lathes.

5. DMG Mori

DMG Mori (briefly known as DMGMORISEIKI) is a global presence in the machining world. The Japanese company has locations in every continent but Antarctica, and it didn't get there for nothing. Their lathes are high quality, and they offer a 24/7 customer service hotline. DMG Mori machines are also great long term investments, as they sell affordable replacement parts with 24 hour delivery. In addition, buying a used Mori Seiki machine is also a great investment; if your machine breaks down, the company offers affordable parts from their massive spare-parts inventory. Better still, they guarantee 24 hour delivery on all spare parts, or the piece is free, and offer a 2-year warranty on all spares purchased through their services.

4. Mazak

Mazak has been contributing to the development of the machine tool industry as a leading global company for nearly a century. As one of the higher end machine tool manufacturers on the market, they're known for producing large, powerful tools of all kinds, especially lathes. Despite the higher price points of their products, Mazak CNC machines are known for being some of the easiest to operate. Their unique Mazatrol programming language is quite intuitive and brings versatility and ease of use to your production line. Mazak machines retain their value quite well, so used Mazak lathes can be easily resold if your production needs change in the future.

3. Doosan

Doosan, formally known as Daewoo Machine Tools, is one of the largest CNC manufacturers in the world.  The company is the number one producer in Korea and ranks in the top six globally in terms of market share. Key advantages to Doosan's machinery include their durability and long lasting functionality of products. Their lathes also boast various multi-tasking features to increase productivity. They also name their machines after big cats, so that's fun.

2. Okuma

Okuma is a juggernaut, with over one hundred years of manufacturing experience and the largest distribution network in America. The company is the industry’s only single-source provider, with the CNC machine, drive, motors, encoders, spindle and CNC control all manufactured by Okuma. The company is known for their innovation, with features such as the Okuma App Store. The virtual storefront functions much like the iPhone app store, but instead offers various applications for Okuma CNC machines and lathes. Their lathes come with an Absolute Position Encoder, allowing for the immediate return to production in case of power loss or other machine interruption.

1. Haas

The largest manufacturer of machine tools in the western world, Haas is consistently considered the gold standard when it comes to CNC lathes. While perhaps not as cutting edge as Eastern companies, Haas more than makes up for that in reliability. Their machines are relatively affordable, yet still known for being incredibly durable, so even used Haas lathes should be able to give you a fair amount of mileage. The company also offers great costumer service, with manuals and video tutorials all easily available online. Being as successful as they are also brings its own benefits, as replacement parts are easy to come by, and there will likely be a technician in your area. For American buyers, its worth noting that Haas manufactures all of its parts here in the US.

While there are many quality brands out there, you can't go wrong sticking with any of these five. If you're interested in purchasing a used CNC lathe from any of these fine brands, Machine Tool Bids has a large array of them available right now.