Used Citizen Machines We Buy

Who Makes Citizen Cincom and Miyano Lathes

Citizen lathes are built by Citizen Machinery Co., Ltd., whose capital is financed wholly by Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. It is based in Miyota, Nagano Prefecture, and its Karuizawa Headquarters there also houses the Cincom Miyano Automatic Lathe Museum. Its corporate profile names one line of business: the development, manufacturing and sales of CNC lathes.

The lathe business grew out of the watch company. Citizen Watch Co. was established in 1930 and began producing machine tools in 1936, and in 1970 it developed the Cincom D16 NC lathe. CINCOM stands for Citizen Numerically Controlled Machines, which is why a used Citizen Swiss-type is usually listed as a Citizen Cincom.

Miyano has a separate start. Toshimori Miyano began making industrial precision files in Kameido, Tokyo, in 1929. Miyano Machinery became a wholly owned subsidiary of Citizen Holdings in 2010, merged with Citizen Machinery in 2011 as Citizen Machinery Miyano, and the company changed its name to Citizen Machinery Co., Ltd. in 2015. A Miyano BNE and a Cincom L20 now come from the same maker.

Where Citizen Lathes Are Built

Citizen Machinery's profile lists three works in Japan: Tokorozawa, Kitakami and Saku. Its timeline dates the Kitakami Factory to 1991 and Saku Works to 2017. Outside Japan the timeline adds manufacturing bases in Thailand in 2001, China in 2005 and Vietnam in 2006, and Citizen's branch list places them in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, in Zibo, Shandong, China, and in Hai Phong, Vietnam. In 2014 the timeline records more than 100,000 automatic lathes shipped.

A Cincom or Miyano on a US shop floor may have come from any of those plants. The plant does not change how we look at it: the series, the type numeral and the condition set the offer.

Marubeni Citizen-Cincom, Citizen's US Arm

In North America, Citizen and Miyano lathes are sold and serviced by Marubeni Citizen-Cincom (MCC), which describes itself as the amalgamation of two companies: Citizen and the Japanese trading house Marubeni. MCC says it was founded in 1984 to market and service the Cincom family of Swiss-type turning centers; Citizen's own timeline lists the US sales office under 1985. Miyano joined MCC's range in 2010, and MCC now quotes bar work from 2 mm to 64 mm across the two brands.

MCC is headquartered in Allendale, New Jersey, has technical centers in California, Illinois and Massachusetts, and sells through an exclusive network of distributors across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America.

Cincom Swiss-Types and Miyano Fixed-Head Lathes

Citizen splits its range in two. Cincom machines are sliding-headstock CNC automatic lathes, which Citizen describes as excellent for high-precision, high-speed machining and known for their ease of use. Miyano machines are fixed-headstock CNC automatic lathes that Citizen pitches as high-rigidity machines for heavy machining, in fields such as automotive components, construction machines and hydraulic equipment.

The current Cincom list runs through the A20, B12/16E, L12, L20, L32, D25, M16 and M32, plus the R01/04 for very small parts. The M16 and M32 combine a gang tool post with a turret tool post. On the Miyano side the names start with BNA, BNE, BNJ, BNX, ANX and ABX, among others.

Citizen's own cutting technology is LFV, low frequency vibration cutting: the servo axes vibrate in step with the spindle's rotation, which breaks chips into very small pieces. Citizen's first LFV machine was the VC03 in 2013. In 2021 LFV reached a Miyano turret lathe for the first time, and the relaunched L20 XIIB5 brought simultaneous 5-axis control to the L20.

Cincom Series by Bar Size

On Citizen's spec list for its current sliding-headstock lathes, the number in a Cincom series name matches the largest machining diameter in millimeters:

From Citizen Machinery's Cincom product page. Older series that are no longer on that list, such as the C16 and K16, are not shown.

What Decides the Offer on a Used Citizen

Series and type come first. The Roman numeral after a Cincom name is the type: Citizen lists the L20 in types VIII, IX, X and XII, and on the L32 the IX and XII models carry a B axis on the gang tool post. A back spindle, a B axis and the LFV option all change what a machine can do, so the full name from the data plate tells us much of what we need.

Moving a newer Citizen takes one extra step. MCC fits a Motion Relocation Detector so that relocation follows US and Japanese export control laws. A password is required each time the machine is moved; after repositioning, the machine sounds an alarm and shuts down until MCC verifies the new location and issues a new start-up password. MCC says the detector was first introduced in 2001 and has been standard on all new machines since April 2007, so plan to contact MCC before a recent Citizen leaves your floor.

Beyond that, the bar loader that goes with the machine, the tooling, and the hours and service record of the main and back spindles all count.

The Citizen Models We See Most

Most machines under this hub are Cincom sliding-headstock lathes. The L-series (L12, L20 and L32) leads, followed by the A20 and A32, then the M16, M20 and M32 machines that pair a turret with gang tools, along with C16, K16, B12 and E32 machines. Miyano fixed-head lathes such as the BNA and BNE turn up less often.

Citizen reuses series names across generations, so the type numeral and the year matter as much as the series. Its own lists mark them: the L32 (Second generation) on the Cincom list and the BNJ51SY (Seventh generation) on the Miyano list. Some names go back decades; Citizen's museum lists an E32 sliding-headstock NC automatic lathe built from 1977 to 1981.

Early Citizen and Miyano Lathes in Citizen's Museum

The Cincom Miyano Automatic Lathe Museum at Citizen's Karuizawa Headquarters dates each machine by its years of production. The cam and NC automatics on its list:

On the museum's list, which stops at the L16 of 1986. Citizen's corporate timeline dates the development of the Cincom D16 NC lathe to 1970; the museum gives its production years as 1971-1982.

MCC Service and Training, or Selling Outright

For a Citizen you plan to keep running, MCC is the support route. It runs a help desk and takes spare parts inquiries, and its training calendar includes L-Series programming classes, BNE-MYY programming and Cincom set-up training at its offices in Allendale, Agawam, Elk Grove Village and Fountain Valley.

For a Cincom or Miyano you want off the floor, we buy it outright. MCC service records, and a list of the tooling and bar loader that go with the machine, help us price it.