There are many types of machines within the business world and they are put together with a variety of machine parts. To meet the eclectic needs and desires of the population, many different machine parts, types and styles exist. Whether your business stocks machine parts and you want to make the most popular pieces available to consumers or you have a piece of equipment that needs repair, it is helpful to know about machine parts you might need.

It is important to realize that if and when a machine part breaks, it becomes one of the most essential machine parts at the moment to that business or individual needing it. As such, you should familiarize yourself with machine parts that most affect your business, such as:

1. Machine parts for printing machines, including copiers, fax machines and printers.

2. Computer machine parts, such as screen or monitor, mouse, keyboard, hard drive and memory.

3. Farm equipment machine parts types and styles.

4. Parts for automobiles, including transmissions, valves and spark plugs.

5. Electrical machine parts for generators.

6. Various indoor and outdoor machine parts types and styles for alarm systems, air compressors and paint sprayers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Review printing machine parts

Printing machines parts types and styles include all those which may be found in printing equipment. Common business printing equipment includes fax machines, copy machines, printers and printing press machines.

I recommend: Screen printing and pad printing manufacturers and suppliers are just some of the vendors found on GlobalSources.com, offering printing machine parts. The site also features a CNC machine for use in printing machines. Spare parts such as laser printer parts may be found at LaserRepair911.com and spare parts for Xerox copy machines are listed at WorldofFax.com.

Consider computer machine parts

Computers are quite complex machines and rely on their machine parts in order to function properly or at their optimal pace. Machine parts in computers may include, but are not limited to, CD-ROMs, memory, hard drives and motherboards.

I recommend: Computer machine parts, specifically HP computer machine parts for the replacement of broken parts, can be searched for on 2HP.com. Various computer replacement parts are located at SMCElectronics.com and include regulator boards and interface boards.

Investigate farm machine parts

Farm machine parts help with the running and maintenance of farm equipment. Popular farm equipment includes tractors and riding mowers, but farms also rely on specific equipment and machines related to their specialties, such as crops or livestock.

I recommend: Tractor and combine machine parts are located at AbileneMachine.com. Their parts include John Deere and Ford tractor machine parts, types and styles. Meanwhile, BakerSalvage.com has new, used and re-manufactured machine parts for tractors, combines, cotton pickers and sprayers.

What is it with machine parts? They seem to break down constantly. The only thing that costs more than the parts is the service fee. Constantly removing your wallet from your rear pocket to pay the charges is a pain in the tush. What can you do about it? For starters, if you find machine parts and learn to replace them yourself you will save a bundle.

Sometimes you pay many more times more in labor than the cost of the machine parts. The owner of a print shop in Utah, for example, paid a press repairman to come in from out of state to fix the problem. The bill came to over $3,000 for the repair, including travel time and expenses. What's more, the press still didn't work right. The repairman said he would charge again to return. The print shop owner opened the press, found the broken part that the repairman had overlooked, and fixed it himself for less than $100. The print shop owner has done all his own repairs ever since.

1. Locate a dependable machine parts provider near you for quick delivery.

2. Keep extra parts on hand—just to be safe.

3. Purchase used parts to save money.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Order machine parts somewhere nearby for fastest delivery

Machine parts are generally delivered more quickly if you order them from a business near you. If the business is in the same state, some parcel delivery companies will have the parts delivered the next day even when you don't pay extra for next-day service. However, if you are on the East Coast and the company you order parts from is on the West Coast, it might take a week or more for the shipment to arrive.

I recommend: You can get replacement parts for your lawn mower, tractor or other outdoor power tools at Outdoor Distributors in Shelby, Alabama. Order parts for your Sharp copier or fax machine at Olson Brothers. Olson Brothers ships all orders from its warehouse in Minneapolis.

Buy extra machine parts such as belts and hoses that break down often

Some machines just don't hold up like others. Broken machine parts waste valuable production hours. When the machine doesn't work, nobody can. Keep several belts, hoses and other easily breakable items on hand.

I recommend: Order extra parts for your Jorgensen Conveyor from a machine parts list at Jorgensen Conveyors in Mequon, Wisconsin. Order extra specialty hoses from Eaton Corporation in Ohio.

Get used machine parts for extra savings

Don't waste money on new machine parts when used ones will do, especially those parts not apt to break again any time soon.

I recommend: The Ronco Group has used parts available for many types of machines. Ronco is in St. Augustine, Florida. You can buy used parts for tractors and combines at Abilene Machine.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Buy a used machine just like the one you use at work. It doesn't have to function, just keep it around so you can cannibalize machine parts from it. Use those parts to repair your working machine when you need to. It can save you a lot of money over time, especially if the machinery is no longer in production.

If you deal with machine parts as a customer or manufacturer, there are a lot of terms to learn. Industrial machines and machine parts are used to create much of what we see around us on a daily basis.

There's no way to learn all the machine parts by name, but you can learn some common parts and related terms that apply to many of them. Knowing the basics about laser etching, CNC machines, ball bearings, taps, pneumatic cylinders, and seals and gaskets will help you be more informed when the subject of machine parts comes up.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Laser etching

Many machine parts are laser etched for identification and tracking purposes. Laser etching can also create logos on machine parts.

I recommend: Electrox discusses laser etching applications.

Computerized numerical control (CNC)

Many modern machine parts are made by computerized numerical control (CNC) machines. CNC machines use exact measurements to make parts to programmed specifications.

I recommend: CNC Concepts has a great primer on computer numerical control machines.

Ball bearings

Ball bearings are generally spherical rolling elements that maintain a separation between two parts to reduce friction. Common everyday applications include swivel office chairs and Lazy Susans.

I recommend: HowStuffWorks has an explanation and an illustration of how ball bearings work.

Taps

Taps are rotary machine parts used to carve screw threads into a hole so that things may be attached by screw or bolt to the hole.

I recommend: Tapmatic Corporation has illustrations and descriptions of a wide range of taps.

Pneumatic cylinders

Pneumatic or air cylinders are mechanical devices that use air in an enclosed cylinder to push, move or lift objects.

I recommend: Check out Peninsula Cylinder Co. for a wide range of aluminum and steel air cylinders.

Seals and gaskets

Seals and gaskets are used as barriers to keep gases or fluids from freely passing from one side of the seal or gasket to the other. Most commonly they are made of rubber or plastic.

I recommend: EPM carries a large selection of seals and gaskets and has a good FAQ page for basic seal and gasket information.