Can we talk about how Haas machines changed the whole game?

I was reading through an old trade magazine from 1998 I found in my shop's break room. There was an ad for a Haas VF-1 for $38,000. That same machine today is pushing $70k. But back then, everyone laughed at Haas because they were made in America and people thought they couldn't compete with Japanese and German stuff. Now half the shops I know run Haas as their main workhorses. Did any of you guys start out on those early Haas machines? What was your first impression?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmam322d ago

Oh man, I remember my old boss swore by them and said they were just glorified Bridgeports with motors.

skyler_fox721d ago

Oh wow, that's funny... I had a buddy who worked at a shop that got one of those fancy CNC mills and they spent the first month just trying to figure out basic stuff. He said the old guys would stand around it like it was some kind of alien technology, refusing to even touch the controller. Eventually they just used it as a really expensive drill press most of the time.