Sherline Tools Is Going Out of Business

Sherline Tools 即将停业

Sherline Tools, a USA manufacturer known for precision lathes, mills, micro-machining accessories, and more recently small CNC machines, has announced that they are “winding down manufacturing operations.” Following are some highlights from Sherline’s recent message to their customers. Sherline Tools 是一家以精密车床、铣床、微型加工配件以及近期推出的小型数控机床（CNC）而闻名的美国制造商，该公司近日宣布正在“逐步缩减制造业务”。以下是 Sherline 给客户的最新消息中的一些要点。

Sherline Products, Inc. has begun the process of winding down manufacturing operations. When we took over the company in 2017… we invested in new products and designs, modernized our computer systems and manufacturing processes. Unfortunately, the manufacturing environment has changed dramatically. The effects of COVID, increasing manufacturing and operating costs, and significant changes in consumer purchasing habits have made it increasingly difficult for a small American manufacturer such as Sherline to maintain the workforce and production levels necessary to remain competitive. We have reached the very difficult conclusion that continuing manufacturing operations is no longer sustainable. Sherline Products, Inc. 已开始逐步缩减制造业务。当我们于 2017 年接手公司时……我们投资了新产品和设计，并对计算机系统和制造流程进行了现代化改造。遗憾的是，制造业环境发生了巨大变化。新冠疫情的影响、不断上涨的制造成本和运营成本，以及消费者购买习惯的重大改变，使得像 Sherline 这样的小型美国制造商越来越难以维持保持竞争力所需的劳动力和生产水平。我们得出了一个非常艰难的结论：继续维持制造业务已不再可持续。

We plan to continue building and selling machines, tooling, accessories, and replacement parts to the extent our remaining equipment, materials, staffing, and inventory allow through the end of October [2026]. Some manufacturing operations, particularly those requiring our larger production equipment, will necessarily end sooner; some products may become unavailable before others. 我们计划在剩余设备、材料、人员和库存允许的范围内，继续制造和销售机器、工具、配件及替换零件，直至 2026 年 10 月底。部分制造业务，特别是那些需要大型生产设备的业务，将不得不提前结束；一些产品可能会比其他产品更早断货。

We plan to maintain an online presence and make replacement parts available as inventory permits. We will also continue to address warranty issues in accordance with our warranty obligations. Sherline emphasizes that they won’t simply disappear or leave customers without support. They also say they will maintain their archive of technical and educational information and resources. 我们计划维持在线运营，并在库存允许的情况下提供替换零件。我们也将继续根据保修义务处理保修问题。Sherline 强调，他们不会直接消失或让客户失去支持。他们还表示将保留其技术和教育信息及资源的档案。

Production is coming to a halt. Equipment is being “removed from service,” which sounds a lot like a liquidation sale. It seems Sherline is effectively shutting everything down and is likely closing the doors. 生产即将停止。设备正在“停止服务”，这听起来非常像清算甩卖。看来 Sherline 实际上正在关闭所有业务，很可能即将关门大吉。

Update: one of the owners posted to a Facebook group page, saying: “We are not sure of the actual final day, but it would suffice to say that by the end of the year at the latest, Sherline will no longer be in business.” Such sad news for a storied USA micro-machining brand. 更新：其中一位所有者在 Facebook 群组页面上发帖称：“我们不确定具体的最后一天，但可以肯定的是，最迟到今年年底，Sherline 将不再营业。”对于这样一个久负盛名的美国微型加工品牌来说，这真是令人悲伤的消息。

Reader Comments / 读者评论：

Comment: What a sad and surprising moment. I have long had one of their miniature lathes and a miniature mill. Beautiful little pieces of equipment. If I had to guess, it is the newer generations of CNC desktop mills that wiped Sherline out; they had some CNC integration with their mills but it wasn’t very modern. 评论： 这是一个令人悲伤且惊讶的时刻。我长期以来一直拥有他们的一台微型车床和一台微型铣床。这些小设备非常精美。如果让我猜的话，是新一代的桌面数控铣床淘汰了 Sherline；他们的铣床虽然有一些数控集成，但并不够现代化。
Comment: According to the owner’s posting on Facebook, there simply wasn’t enough money being made. They targeted specific needs with new products, and each category saw small growth that together wasn’t bringing in enough money. The market for their types of products has grown too small. 评论： 根据所有者在 Facebook 上的发帖，公司赚的钱实在不够。他们通过新产品瞄准了特定需求，每个类别都有小幅增长，但加在一起带来的收入不足。他们这类产品的市场已经变得太小了。
Comment: There’s a huge market for small machines. They failed to innovate. 评论： 小型机器的市场非常巨大。是他们自己没能创新。
Comment: This is a huge bummer. I have much of their traditional catalog and use the lathe regularly. Agree on not innovating – their CNC tools were not competitive. 评论： 这真是太令人沮丧了。我拥有他们传统目录中的大部分产品，并且经常使用那台车床。同意关于“未能创新”的观点——他们的数控工具缺乏竞争力。
Comment: It’s always sad to see an American manufacturer close their doors, but I can’t say that I am surprised. Sherline is in a difficult spot: Asian imports undercut them on price and there are now the various different desktop CNCs like [others] mentioned. I think that the average hobbyist would be more drawn to machines like that. 评论： 看到一家美国制造商关门总是令人难过，但我并不感到惊讶。Sherline 处境艰难：亚洲进口产品在价格上压倒了他们，而且现在还有各种不同的桌面数控机床。我认为普通爱好者会被那类机器吸引。
Comment: In their Facebook post, the owner laments that Sherline fell behind in search rankings behind cheap import machines. But what did they do to change this? What did they do to spark conversations? They failed to innovate, and failed to do much on the marketing or communications front. 评论： 在 Facebook 的帖子中，所有者感叹 Sherline 在搜索排名中落后于廉价进口机器。但他们做了什么来改变这一点？他们做了什么来引发讨论？他们未能创新，在营销或传播方面也做得不够。