Makino Equipment Financing

Makino sits at the premium end of the metal-cutting market. The buyers who reach for the brand tend to be running the kind of work that leaves no room for error. Die and mold shops, aerospace part makers, medical component producers and high-mix precision job shops choose Makino because the machines hold accuracy over long unattended runs and because they keep that accuracy for years. That reputation is exactly why financing a Makino, whether new or used, deserves a considered approach. The acquisition cost is real, the useful life is long and the resale floor is unusually firm. This page walks through the Makino lineup that most commonly comes across our desk, what the current used market looks like and how iLease Capital structures financing so a shop can add capacity without draining working capital.

We are an equipment finance broker. We do not sell machines and we are not tied to any single funding source. That independence lets us match a Makino acquisition to the funding partner whose appetite fits the deal, the vintage of the machine and the profile of the borrower. We finance the full Makino lineup, new or used, with deals running up to $5 million plus, which covers everything from a single graphite mill to a multi-machine automated cell. Call (866) 545-3273 if you would rather talk through the numbers before you apply.

The Makino lineup we finance

Makino builds across several families. Each one carries a different price point, a different buyer and a different resale behavior. Getting the model and control designation right matters, because the wrong description on a used unit can cost a shop real money at appraisal.

PS-Series vertical machining centers

The PS-Series is Makino's production vertical machining center line. The current family pairs the PS65 with the PS105, which replaced and expanded on the earlier PS95. The PS65 offers X, Y and Z travels of roughly 26, 20 and 18.1 inches on a 36.2 by 20 inch table, while the PS105 stretches the X travel to 36.2 inches with a 46 by 20 inch table. Both come standard with a 33.5 horsepower, 14,000 rpm CAT40 spindle rated at 130 foot-pounds of peak torque, a 30-tool changer that upgrades to 60 tools and Makino's Professional P control. The PS line is the entry point into the brand for a lot of shops. It is priced accordingly. A new PS runs from a base near $250,000 up to roughly $350,000 fully optioned.

F-Series graphite and hard-milling centers

The F-Series, led by the F3 and F5, is built for die and mold electrode work and hard milling. These machines chase tight-tolerance three-dimensional geometry, so they carry high-speed spindles, fine-pitch ballscrews and scale feedback. The F3 runs a 20,000 rpm HSK-63A spindle. Both the F3 and F5 hold positioning accuracy to about plus or minus 0.0015 mm with repeatability near plus or minus 0.001 mm. The graphite variants add a dry-cutting process and heavy dust collection so a shop can machine electrodes without contaminating the rest of the floor. F-Series units of this era typically carry the Professional 5 control.

a-Series horizontal machining centers

The aNX horizontals, the a51nx and the a61nx, are the workhorses for high-volume palletized production. The a51nx is a 400 mm, 40-taper machine with travels around 560 by 640 by 640 mm, a 14,000 rpm spindle and 240 Nm of torque. The a61nx steps up to a 500 mm pallet with travels near 730 by 650 by 800 mm and 303 Nm of torque, with a tall-column option that extends the Y travel further. The updated aNX machines run the Professional 6 control. It is common to see used units described with a Fanuc-based Pro 6 designation. Horizontals are where automation lives, so these are the machines that anchor pallet pools and lights-out cells.

EDAF sinker EDM

Makino's sinker, or ram, EDM line is the EDAF-Series, principally the EDAF2 and the larger-envelope EDAF3. These machines burn complex cavity detail into hardened tool steel that milling cannot reach. Makino builds the dielectric reservoir and the tool changer into the base casting to save floor space and adds active liquid cooling of the Y and Z structures for thermal stability during long unattended burns. The generator technologies carry names like HyperCut, SuperSpark IV and ArcFree. The current machines run the Hyper-i control with a 24 inch touch interface. The EDAF3 adds larger strokes and a three-sided drop-tank for easier automation.

U-Series wire EDM

On the wire side, the U-Series covers the U3, the U6 and the U6 H.E.A.T. Extreme, along with the UX6. These machines run the same Hyper-i control as the sinkers, which lets a shop cross-train operators across both EDM types. The U6 uses 0.016 inch coated wire for fast feed rates and can be set up with wire down to 0.004 inch for the finest detail. Automatic wire threading, integrated filtration monitoring and onboard training tools are standard, which is a big part of why these machines run so well unattended.

What Makino holds on the used market

The case for financing a Makino instead of paying cash rests on how well the machines hold value. Strong resale gives a funding partner confidence in the collateral. That confidence usually shows up as a better structure for the borrower. Here is what the used market looked like when we checked it.

A 2018 F5 with a 20,000 rpm HSK-A63 spindle and the Professional control was listed at $199,000, which is a striking number for a machine that sold new at a considerably higher figure and speaks directly to how the die-mold market values these mills. On the horizontal side, used a61nx and a51nx units have been trading well below their replacement cost while still commanding solid prices for their vintage, which frames how much runway there is between a fresh machine and a serviceable used one. Exact pricing on any given aNX horizontal varies with year, hours and included pallet or automation tooling, so a specific quote is best pulled at the time a shop is ready to buy.

EDM values are just as durable. Makino wire units across all models were listing in a broad band from roughly $25,000 up to about $89,500 with an average near $57,250, while cleaner recent U6 units were commanding a noticeable premium over that average depending on year and condition. Sinker EDM with automatic electrode changers, the class the EDAF machines fall into, generally trades from about $50,000 to $150,000 and up, and Makino tends to sit toward the premium end of that spread. All of these observations were pulled from active dealer and marketplace listings in September 2026. Used pricing moves with condition, hours, control generation and included tooling, so treat them as market context rather than a firm quote. A shop should also weigh remaining service life, available parts support and any control retrofit the seller has already done, since those factors swing an appraisal as much as the model year does.

The takeaway is consistent across every family. A Makino depreciates slowly, which protects both the buyer and the lender. That durability is the single most important reason these machines finance well.

How iLease structures Makino financing

Because the useful life of a Makino runs long, the financing can be structured to match. We commonly write terms from 24 to 84 months. The right length depends on the machine, its age and how the shop books the work it will produce. A production horizontal feeding a pallet pool can support a longer term than a single manual-load EDM, because the revenue is steadier and the collateral is stronger.

Buyers generally choose between two paths. An equipment finance agreement, sometimes called a dollar-buyout lease, is built for shops that intend to own the machine at the end and want the full cost on their books for depreciation. An operating or fair-market-value lease keeps payments lower and leaves an option to return, renew or buy at the end, which suits a shop that expects to refresh technology on a cycle. Both structures work for Makino. The better fit depends on tax posture, cash flow and how long the shop plans to run the machine.

We also finance the whole installed cost, not just the machine tag. Tooling, a pallet system, a robot or gantry, a chiller, an oil mist collector, freight, rigging and installation can all be rolled into one schedule so the shop is not writing separate checks for the pieces that make the machine productive. For a used Makino bought at auction or from a dealer, we can often fund the purchase plus a retrofit or a controls refresh in the same transaction.

Application is straightforward. For most requests we start with a soft credit inquiry, which does not affect the business owner's credit score, then we ask for basic details on the machine and the shop. A hard credit pull may come only at final approval once terms are agreed. Smaller transactions often move on an application-only basis with no financial statements, while larger acquisitions ask for business financials so we can present the deal to the funding partner most likely to approve it on the best terms. We work with new shops, established shops and buyers with less than perfect credit. Because we place deals across multiple funding partners rather than one balance sheet, a decline in one place is not the end of the conversation.

Why finance a Makino instead of paying cash

Even shops that could pay cash for a Makino often choose not to. Cash tied up in a machine is cash that is not covering payroll, raw material, a second shift or the next job's tooling. Financing converts a large one-time outlay into predictable monthly payments that line up with the revenue the machine generates, which keeps a shop liquid and ready to take on more work. Section 179 and bonus depreciation can also let a business expense a large portion of the equipment cost in the year it is placed in service. Pairing that treatment with a finance agreement can improve after-tax cash flow. We are not tax advisors, so a shop should confirm the specifics with its accountant, but the combination is a big part of why financed acquisitions so often beat a cash purchase on the numbers.

There is a strategic angle too. A Makino that holds its value is easier to trade up later. A shop that finances rather than buys outright preserves the borrowing capacity to grow when the next opportunity lands. In a market where a single aerospace or medical contract can justify a new cell, having dry powder matters.

Ready to move

If you are pricing a Makino, whether it is a new PS-Series VMC, an a-series horizontal for a pallet cell or a used EDAF or U-Series EDM, iLease Capital can structure the financing to fit the machine and the shop. Deals run up to $5 million plus, applications start with a soft credit inquiry and we place each request with the funding partner most likely to approve it well. Call us at (866) 545-3273, start your application at ileasecapital.com/apply, it takes about three minutes and there's no hard credit pull, or reach the team at /contact.

Frequently asked questions