Goemon,
I think we are comparing apples and oranges here. As far as I can tell, neither Datron nor Haas sell a true 6-axis machine. Furthermore, the Datron machines are vertical, not horizontal. And the Haas machines do not have absolute encoders on their linear axes, unless you add them as an option, which starts at a whopping $15,895. You also do not get a high-speed spindle on a Haas, unless you go for the CM-1, but in that case you get a cutting envelope that is 8 times smaller, and your spindle is 3 times less powerful. And most of the rotary axes on these machines use regular servo motors, not torque motors. I would also contend that the SINUMERIK platform is a lot more powerful than the Haas platform.
The following spreadsheet outlines our design and components in details:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1109769669
If you spend the time to review it carefully, you will see that very few machines are built with this type of components in that price range. In fact, as far as I can tell, there is none. For example, once you load the Haas CM-1 with all the options that would bring it closer to what we are building, retail price reaches $113,915, and you still have an envelope that is 8 times smaller, and you still do not have linear encoders. And did I mention that your piece cannot weigh more than 1.4kg once you put it on the TRT70 2-axis rotary table? I have yet to do all the maths, but it's quite likely that our rotary table will support pieces with weights in excess of 250kg...
Regarding the fact that we are planning to sell a kit, I totally agree that it will reduce the addressable market, but this is just a way to get started. If the machine works, nothing would prevent us from selling fully assembled machines if there is a market for it. And I am convinced that there is a market once people understand the benefits of a true 6-axis machine.
Regarding the focus on the education market, it's just a way to get started as well, because it will be very difficult to convince a commercial shop to make a gamble on an unproven company with an unproven design. But a school will look at this type of risk under a very different light. For progressive-thinking schools, the availability of the machine as a kit is actually a plus, because they can use it as a training opportunity. And the release of the machine's design into the Public Domain is a huge benefit, because it will allow their students to extend the machine. This is how Open Source software works, and this is why it is prevalent in academia. I do not see any reason why something similar could not be done with hardware, and it's already happening for electronics with platforms like Arduino.
Finally, as mentioned in earlier posts, I believe that an entry-level version of the kit can be sold for $80k to $90k once you get some volume (10 or 20 units) and you switch to more affordable components (NUM instead of Siemens, Fagor instead of Heidenhain, HIWIN instead of NSK). But from an engineering standpoint, it will be a lot easier to go downscale rather than upscale, because a machine's accuracy is only as good as its weakest component, and when you start from the bottom, you have no way of knowing which one that is.