Used Zimmermann Machines We Buy
Used Zimmermann machines come to Machine Tool Exchange straight from the shops that own them, no auction house and no broker in between. The 97 listings here run heavily to milling: 32 CNC milling machines, 30 gantry and portal mills, and 25 filed under metal cutting, across 71 distinct models.
97 machines, page 1 of 5
Zimmermann VH1
Zimmermann FZ (2016)
Zimmermann FZ 37
Zimmermann FZ 30
Zimmermann SZ 1
Zimmermann FZ 30 (1999)
Zimmermann FZ30 (2015)
Zimmermann FZ 50
Zimmermann OZS
Zimmermann FZ-30 (2010)
Zimmermann FZ4
Zimmermann FZ 40 (2002)
Zimmermann FZ 32
Zimmermann VH6
Zimmermann FZ 33 (2016)
Zimmermann VH12
Zimmermann FZ 42 (2012)
Zimmermann VH3
Zimmermann Z-30
Zimmermann F230-5
Zimmermann FZ 38
Zimmermann BK2
Zimmermann FZ 35
Zimmermann FZ (2013)
What Is in the Zimmermann Listings We Hold
Milling is the through line here. Of the 97 Zimmermann listings in this hub, 32 are filed as CNC milling machines and 30 as CNC gantry and portal mills, so those two categories account for 62 of the 97. Gantry and portal mills alone are close to a third of the book. Another 25 sit under Metal Cutting, a broad catalog bucket rather than a machine type, so read it as where a row landed and not as a description of the machine. The rest is thin and specific: 3 CNC 5-axis machining centers, 3 CNC vertical machining centers, 1 CNC boring mill, 1 CNC vertical band saw, 1 rollforming machine, and 1 filed under CNC miscellaneous. Across all 97 listings there are 71 distinct models, so a repeated designation is the exception. Of those 97 rows, 36 record a build year, running from 1976 to 2025. The other 61 carry no year.
The FZ Families and the Models Under Them
The family roll-up here keys on the leading token of each model string, which is why FZ, FZ30, FZ0 and FZU32 land in four separate buckets even though all are FZ-prefixed. Counted that way, FZ is 36 listings, the largest model family in this hub and six times the next. FZ30 is 6 and SZ is 6. PS is 3. FF1000, FZ0, FZU32 and BK2 are 2 apiece. Those eight families cover 59 of the 97 listings, and the other 38 sit in models that appear once. The designations buyers type show up in the repeat rows: FZ 30, FZ-30, FZ 37, FZ 33, FZ 38, FZU32, SZ 2 and SZ 4. Single listings include FZP27, FZP42, FZP22, FZU 32, FZU37, FZU22, FZ 20, FZ 37-5, FZ 40-5, FZH and FX 37. That view covers 66 of the 97 listings, a sample and not the full roster of 71 models.
What Determines the Offer on a Used Zimmermann
Control type is where we start. We buy Zimmermann machines running Siemens Sinumerik and Heidenhain TNC controls, and the control generation tells us most of what a shop could do with the machine once it lands on their floor. From there it is model and year, spindle hours if they are tracked, travels and work envelope, condition including whether the machine still holds tolerance, and whether tooling, heads or accessories go with it. Year carries real weight on a machine like this. The Zimmermann listings that record a build year run from 1976 to 2025, and a late-1970s machine and a 2025 machine are two different conversations even when the model prefix matches. Jason Puuri scopes the machine and puts the number on the table himself rather than running your details through a formula. Photos speed things up and are not required. A quote typically comes back in 24 to 48 hours.
What to Have Ready Before You Call
Read the model number off the data plate, not from memory. Zimmermann designations sit close together and a single character changes the machine. Add the build year, the control type and generation, spindle hours if your records track them, and an honest note on whether it still holds tolerance. List the tooling, heads and accessories that go with it, and the ones that do not. Two photos do the rest: one of the control screen, one of the work envelope. A bill of sale or other proof the company owns the machine outright, not still paying it off through a lease, confirms we are buying from the actual owner before pickup. MTE is not a broker or a listing service. No listing fee, no broker fee, and you sell to us rather than wait on a third-party buyer. We are an affiliate of Superior Machine and Tool, buying and selling used CNC equipment since 2012.
Getting a Gantry Machine Off Your Floor
Gantry and portal mills are 30 of the 97 listings in this hub, so many sellers who land here are moving a large-footprint machine, not something that rolls onto a truck. MTE arranges rigging, crating and freight at no cost to the seller, in all 50 states. Large-format machine transport is our specialty, which is what a portal mill move asks for. Payment happens at pickup, not net-30 and not once the machine resells. On a portal machine the rigging plan is usually the long pole in the schedule, which is why a photo showing the overall footprint and how the machine sits in the bay beats a catalog spec sheet. That goes double on older units, where factory documentation is hard to track down. Tell us about the bay too: door width, ceiling height, what sits between the machine and the dock. Running production, sitting idle, or needing work, we will still look at it.
The Zimmermann Machines That Are Not Portal Mills
Not every listing under the Zimmermann name in this catalog is a portal mill. Alongside the milling core sit 1 CNC boring mill, 1 CNC vertical band saw, 1 rollforming machine and 1 filed under CNC miscellaneous, four rows out of 97. The VH series comes through as single listings: VH2, VH4, VH5, VH20 and VH30, plus a VBZ 250. SZ is 6 listings including an SZ-PICCOLO, PS is 3, BK2 is 2 with a single BK3 alongside, and there is one M3 ABC. Two raw listing titles carry their own descriptors: a PS 2 recorded as a woodworking sander, and an FF1000 recorded as a Z-Panel roofing machine. That is what those rows say, reported not explained. A model number off the data plate is enough for us to place a machine correctly. Clearing a mixed floor, we buy Mazak, Makino, DMG Mori and Starrag equipment on the same quote and pickup schedule.
Common questions
How do I sell a used Zimmermann machine?
Send the model, year, condition, spindle hours, control type and tooling. We return an offer, usually inside 24 to 48 hours, then handle rigging, freight and payment at pickup.
What details do you need before you can quote a Zimmermann?
Model off the data plate, build year, condition, spindle hours if tracked, control type and tooling. Photos of the control screen and work envelope help but are optional.
Do you buy Zimmermann machines with Siemens or Heidenhain controls?
Yes. We buy Zimmermann machines running Siemens Sinumerik and Heidenhain TNC controls. Send the control generation with the model, since it affects how fast the next shop can run it.
Which Zimmermann models do you buy?
Every Zimmermann product line, not a fixed list. That covers the FZ portal machines, the FZP, FZU and FZH designations, and the SZ and PS lines. We also buy FZ12, FZ25 and FZ100 Portal, none currently listed.
Who pays for rigging, crating and freight on a portal mill?
We do. Rigging, crating and freight are on MTE at no cost to the seller, in all 50 states, and payment happens at pickup, not after the machine moves.
Will you buy a Zimmermann that is sitting idle or needs work?
Yes. Running production, idle since a job ended, or waiting on a repair decision, we will still evaluate it. Tell us upfront what is not working.
Are you a broker, or do you buy the machine yourselves?
We buy it ourselves. MTE is a direct buyer and an affiliate of Superior Machine and Tool, not a listing service. No listing fees, no broker fees, no third-party wait.
Thinking about selling Zimmermann Machines?
Most Zimmermann calls start with two photos: the data plate and the control screen. On an FZ portal machine, add one showing the gantry footprint and how it sits in the bay, because the rigging plan is usually the long pole in the schedule. Send those with the hours and Jason Puuri will get a number back.