Just as with a family cook or professional chef, having the right tools are an important part of the process. General fabrication is no different other than you don't make meals, you manufacture products. Perhaps you are planning to manufacture cookware, that would tie this analogy together. Bottom line, metalworking and fabricating equipment are an important part of the manufacturing process.  General fabricating equipment, in our view, tends to be the machines that don't fit just one category and/or are a more peripheral use as opposed to a production line use.  Let's talk about your specific needs and see what machine, make, model, options and tooling work best for you!