Buying a used five-axis machining center?
Collect this before you call the seller.

1. Manufacturer, model and generation as printed on the data plate, plus the serial number and build year. Ask for a photo of the plate.
2. Control type and version, and any control or software options installed (for example probing, 5-axis transformation, tool-center-point control).
3. Table type and size, axis travels, spindle taper, maximum spindle speed and tool-magazine capacity, as configured on this machine.
4. Any modifications, retrofits or replaced major components since delivery, and who carried them out.

1. Original order confirmation or machine acceptance documents, if the seller has them.
2. Operating, maintenance and electrical manuals for this serial number, and the parameter backup of the control.
3. Service history: dated service reports, spindle work, ballscrew or guideway repairs, and any crash history.
4. Proof of ownership and whether any lien, lease or finance agreement covers the machine.

1. Control-on hours and spindle-run hours, read from the control screen, with a photo of the screen.
2. The last spindle runout and vibration check, the last ballbar or geometry check, and their dates.
3. Coolant, lubrication and filtration condition, and how long the machine has been idle.
4. Any alarms in the current alarm history, and what was done about them.

1. Tool holders, cutting tools, workholding, fixtures, probes and pallets included in the sale, as a written list.
2. Chip conveyor, coolant-through-spindle, mist collector, bar or pallet automation, and their condition.
3. Software licences and whether they transfer with the machine.

1. Supply voltage, phase, frequency and full-load current from the electrical cabinet plate; a European machine may need a transformer for a U.S. supply. Have a qualified electrician confirm.
2. Compressed-air pressure and flow, machine weight, footprint and door clearances for your building.
3. Foundation requirements from the manual, and the leveling and anchoring method.

1. Whether you or your specialist can inspect the machine under power, cut a test part, and check geometry before purchase.
2. Removal status: is the machine still installed and running, disconnected, or already crated?
3. Who disconnects, drains, secures the axes, rigs, loads and crates the machine, and who pays for each step.
4. Export documents, packing standard (ISPM 15 for wood packaging), shipping terms and insurance during transit.
5. Items that need the seller or a qualified specialist rather than a checklist: condition, geometry, electrical adaptation, rigging plan and valuation.

The DMU 50 is a widely traded five-axis machining center built over several generations. A field example, not a real listing: a buyer finds a DMU 50 offered by a European dealer and wants to judge it before calling.

Start from the reference record. MBB's reference page for the DMG MORI DMU 50 (3rd generation) carries MBB Model ID MBB-M-FH9WM6 and the manufacturer's published specifications. Use it to check that the listing's generation, control and configuration match what you are being offered; when they do not, ask the seller which is right.

Read the used asking-price evidence. MBB records published asking prices by model and year. Asking prices are not sale prices; they show where sellers start.

• DMG DMU 50
• DMG Mori Seiki DMU50
• Deckel Maho DMU50
• DMG Mori Seiki DMU50P
• DMG Mori Seiki DMU 50 ECO

Set it against a new five-axis reference. DMG MORI does not publish list prices. Haas does, so MBB uses Haas new five-axis prices as a reference point. These are different machines, not equivalents: compare what the money buys, not the specifications line by line.

Then work the checklist. For a used DMU 50, ask in particular for the spindle-run hours and the last spindle service, the control version and the five-axis options installed, the table type, and the electrical supply the machine was built for. Shipping from Europe adds crating, freight, import and electrical adaptation costs to the asking price.

This checklist does not certify condition, appraise value, design an electrical connection, plan a lift or rigging job, quote shipping, guarantee a transaction or endorse any seller or marketplace. Use qualified specialists for those. Find them in the lifecycle directories, including machinery appraisers.