[Gary-Wiant]

I'm new to CNC so pricing is still tough for me to get my head around. I have a customer with a portable saw mill that asked me to surface planks for him that he sells to customers. These are typically wider than any plainers in the area (24-36" wide) he said typically plaining is $.30/board foot but these are to big & won't fit.
I dont want to over charge but I also don't want to under charge. I did tell him I would probably charge by the pass.

Thank you
Gary

[ger21]

$100/hour of machine time, plus time for programming, loading and unloading the materials.

It's going to be MUCH more expensive than a planer.

[awerby]

This can work well, but only if the board is reasonably flat on one side. Otherwise, you often have to do multiple passes, and end up with something that's too thin.

[Gary-Wiant]

Typically his planks have been pretty close I have done a couple for him in exchange for some planks for me to play with & to get an idea of the amount of work needed. On the one plank I did a pass at .0625" deep and it was good the other took 3 .0625" passes. I probably could push it a bit harder (deeper) but I wasnt sure what to expect so i went slow.

Gerry is that a general rule no matter what I'm machining $100 / hour? How does anyone sell the 3D routed scenes? I thought they took a couple hours to make?

Thank you
Gary

[ger21]

Gerry is that a general rule no matter what I'm machining $100 / hour?

Charge what you need to to make money. If you are charging a lot less, than you are not making much (if any) money. Any work you do should be paying you an hourly rate, as well as paying for the machine. If you're hourly rate is less than $50, then you aren't making very much.

How does anyone sell the 3D routed scenes?

Most are charging way too little. 3D carvings are not big money makers, unless you are very good at designing and modeling, and are getting paid a lot for your work.

[asuratman]

Most are charging way too little. 3D carvings are not big money makers

This something related to artcam, aspire, etc ? The reasons for that are too many people do it and many 3d file around so people can easily do it. So the highest paid may be making cabinet.

[Gary-Wiant]

I'm not saying $100 is to much I'm just asking where I should be as far as charging a fair price. We are in rural western Pa the bad part is its rural so less customers the good part is less competition. I'm planning on our big money maker beingsigns since that is our current business. We are one of the higher priced shops in the area because our designs are better and we only use high quality materials. Cutting corners cuts quality.

Thanks

[he1957]

How long did it take to plane the test pieces? How much faster could you do it without losing quality and/or tooling?

I'm also curious how much to charge and it seems that machine time per hour (with a minimum of say 30 minutes) and the other factors Gerry mention seem quite reasonable but I'd like to avoid pricing myself out of the market too.


Thanks,

HarryE.
===

[Gary-Wiant]

Harry - it didn't take very long at all maybe 15 min. for the one that took 1 pass it was 20"x56" if I remember correctly and being it was the first time I did this I wasn't pushing it at all I ran it at 150ipm. I'm sure I could run it much much faster but even at 250ipm would make a huge difference. I'm in the same boat I I definately want paid but I don't want my new machine just setting there.

Thanks
Gary

[ger21]

it didn't take very long at all maybe 15 min. for the one that took 1

I bet you spent closer to 45-60 minutes total on it, when you add up all the time spent handling, programming, etc.

What tooling are you using? If you are only cutting 1/16" deep, you can probably cut closer to 400IPM. And you can probably cut a little deeper, too. Going too slow will dull your tools faster, costing you more money. But there's also a balance between tool life and finish quality.

[ger21]

One other thing to consider is your efficiency.
It's not fair to the customer to charge $100/hour, if you are only capable of doing half the work that a competitor can do for the same price.

Meaning if my machine can do twice the work in the same amount of time, you shouldn't be charging the same rate that I do.

[Gary-Wiant]

Great point Gerry, I think I'm going to do a couple more just to get an idea of actual time of mounting, design & surfacing and see what I come up with.

Thanks Gary

[milo30]

I doubt when you calculate out machine depreciation, wear on bits, your time to handle material and set it up and then machine time, there is any money to be made on planing boards. I would be seeing this as a trade opportunity. He has a portable saw mill and wood costs him very little. You have a CNC and actual out of pocket to machine the wood is relatively little. I would be looking to have him trade X number of boards for you to keep for X number of boards you machined. You both send customers each other's way. Sometimes arrangements like that can make both of you more profits than just collecting a small payment for one job. Just make sure he understands that there is more to it than just slapping a board on your table and hitting a button on the computer.

Since you are new to CNCs, you can never have too many contacts.

[Gary-Wiant]

Milo, yeah that's what we've been doing he gotten me 4 jobs so far (other than plaining) so we'll probably continue on with our current agreement, my only concern is that his boards are air dried and not kiln dried.

Thanks
Gary

[KH0UJ]

As long as you use a Carbide Router bit 12mm or higher, you can run it all week before resharpening, it doesnt matter if it`s a hardwood, kiln dried or air dried sir. the shop has been plaining very hard wood (indoneasian hardwood) for a year now and I only bought 3 pcs. 12mm double flute straight carbide tool bits ($1.85 each) I never broke it yet so far.

[Gary-Wiant]

You are planning with s 12mm bit? Doesn't that take forever? I have n 1 1/2" surfacing bit & just purchased this one to level my vacuum table pieces when I get it made.

Thank you
Gary

[ger21]

I'd get one of these:

https://www.toolstoday.com/v-13329-rc-2255.html
https://www.toolstoday.com/v-14368-rc-2263.html

[Gary-Wiant]

Is that because of the replaceable cutting edges?

Thank you
Gary

[ger21]

That, and it'll be almost twice as fast as the 1-1/2" bit you are using.