Hello all,
I apologize for the shameless attempt at an attention getting title. My name is Tom and I have just recently come across this forum on the internet. I have about 8 or 9 years of NC experience, but it was from the early 80's through 1991 and haven't done anything in the field since. About two years ago I inherited a little South Bend lathe, then I bought a little milling machine, then some plans off of eBay for a homemade CNC router (which I have not built yet), now I'm hooked all over again!
So now, as the title implies, I am wondering if there is sufficient demand for CNC services to make a go of it? I have been assuming that much of the CNC work has been offshore outsourced, is this so?
Just to provide a little more background, I went to a trade school after high school and worked for a couple of years running mostly 4-axis E-Cell-O and K&T machines. I then went to work for Boeing and was put through their 320-hour NC programming course. I programmed in APT, mostly 5-axis stuff, for about 6 years. They were transitioning to CATIA during the last year or so I was there. I also worked for about a year for LTV Aerospace programming a CMM, but really preferred to make chips.
I'm sure a whole lot has changed in the last 17 years, but I feel that the basics are all pretty much there. I'd love to buy a little Haas mill and run it in my garage of an evening and on the weekends (sounds familiar, eh) but don't know if it would be a losing proposition.
Thanks for any thoughts or words of wisdom,
Tom