[redford1955]

i have had a machine job shop for twenty plus years with most of my work being non cnc. i came across a production job from one of my customers machining small aluminum wings. a friend of mine does the 3d programming with bobcad software. the original software was mine but as we went along we split the cost of the upgrades for better 3d toolpaths. all the cnc equipment and related tooling belongs to me. he has helped me on two mills to update the control and drives to something a little more modern. all expenses were covered by me. to run these parts we use my ez-trak, older bridgeport and hurco cnc knee mills that were retrofitted and fairly new milltronics cnc mill. we both run the parts but do not keep track of individual hours. he worked more hours initially but now i run more parts per hour. what is a fair way to split money in a situation like this. i have no payments on any equipment but have to consider wear and tear because we are working the Y and Z axis pretty hard doing 3d with a small step over with a ball mill turning pretty fast. what percentage should be set aside to cover machine replacement, three of the mills are only used for this work. should other things like utilities, end mills, cutting and way oils, air compressor wear and tear be divided evenly and what percentage for dividing profit? i know this is a tough question but i am just asking for your opinion so i can be fair to both of us.

thanks
keith

[keebler303]

Sounds like a setup for someone feeling they got the raw end of the deal.

The way we handle it here is that every piece of equipment has it's own "cost center". Software can be included here too. Each machine has a cost per hour based on electricity, maintenance, loan payment, tooling, etc. Also consider how many hours your spindle will put out before it needs rebuilt, how many hours before the machine is worn out, etc. Take the cost of all these things for a year and divide that by the number of hours you run the machine in a year. This will give you the cost per hour to run the machine. The computer and software can be handled similarly to include an annual software upgrade and a new computer every couple years. A job should be estimated based on how many hours the job needs to use each piece of equipment.

So you might have the total cost of the job divided as follows:
2 hours bandsaw @ $15 per hour
12 hours CAM time @ $12 per hour
40 hours machine time @ $60 per hour
10 hours tumbler time @ $7 per hour
20 hours labor @ $40 per hour

Something like that. Then each part of the business is getting paid what it needs to cover its costs. Add your salary, then some profit and now you have your quote.

If you and your buddy are equal partners then each of you should get equal pay. If you own the building, machines, etc. then the business needs to lease/rent/whatever your assets from you. So from your net income, the two of you should get equal "pay", you should receive an additional amount as "rent" and the business should retain some amount as "profit" to cover unexpected costs, additional machinery, etc.

It could be a complex system to work out but there is a "right" answer and a split based on numbers rather than feelings should make both parties happy.

Matt

[txcncman]

This is something you should have agreed on before you even started working with each other.

[redford1955]

i have learned to not rely on verbal anymore and to make sure everything is in writing. with old age comes weakness in memory.