[elmor fudd]

We had 3 large 4000 watt lasers which cost around £350,000 each (around $600,000) and we charged £150 an hour plus the customer paid for the entire sheet of steel even if they only needed half and the rest was used for other jobs and paid for by the new customer.
We ran these lasers for 24hrs 6 days a week making around £70,000 a week for us.
We also had 2 1700watt lasers making £120 an hour and 1 2000watt water asist laser making the same amount an hour.

Total per week £119840 plus the profit of the steel from the next customer.

Running these for 51 weeks a year on 2 12 hour shifts with 5 men to control and load plus 1 forktruck driver who deliverd the steel to the machines when needed.

Giving a grand total of £6,111,840 (around $11,000,000) a year income plus what ever income the profile machine and milling and turning made over the year aswell.

We only employed 30 people at the time aswell.

[KTP]

Wow, but just think if you had bought 50 4000 watt lasers for 600,000 each you could make 24hours x 6 days x 50 x $257/hr = $1,850,400 per week!

That is $96,220,800 a year!

You guys missed out on some serious money! (chair)

[fireman_1977]

Gentlemen,
Ahh.. A pipe dream. I am the Foreman of a Laser cutting shop. We have 1- 3 axis 4000 watt laser and 2- 3000 watt five axis Lasers. The 3 axis makes around $125.00 an hour but... costs about $90 per hour to run. So in reality you make about $35 per hour profit on a good day. And yes initial investment is around $750,000.00 for a quality machine.

[elmor fudd]

Ha ha....your in america mate and im in the UK.
Out of £150 an hor we made £123 profit and for breakdowns we bought insurance and extended warrenty so if they broke down then it got repaired free with parts and labour thrown in.
They didnt break down very often.

[KTP]

See in the UK electricity, rent, and consumables like laser gas, etc. are free....us blokes in the states have to pay for all that nonsense.

I should move across the ocean...

[elmor fudd]

gas and electricity donr cost a lot and when your consumables last a lot longer when treat correct. yes maybe you should move over.
4000 watts = 4kw.......4kw hr = 48p +gas at around £1.50 an hour and nozzels and lenses get change about once a week and then nozzels are reclaimed.
America has got a high pay rate for workers and we only got £6.50 an hour ($11.40)

[fireman_1977]

Elmor,
How does your insurance work over there? We have to pay a deductable of about $5,000.00. We also have the incurred cost of paying for that insurance. If you have the extended warranty I would assume that you are still making payments on the machine also? Is that taken away from the 150 an hour? How much do they pay operator's there? What about building expenses? I believe that you make a good amount of profit but I think your number's are exagerated. I have a couple friends in the laser service buisness that came from the UK and they have said in the past that profit margins on Lasers there are about double what we get here. That would mean that you guys make somewhere around 70 an hour for a low number? Look I don't want to start an argument but I'm just wondering what is taken out of your hourly rate for operating? Is it just the quoted price of the part X how many parts you made in an hour = profit?

[KTP]

Dang, you guys even have better technology than us blokes.

In the states, CO2 lasers run at a maximum of 20% efficiency from electricity to optical power out. That means the 4000 watt laser consumes around 20,000 watts of electrical energy. This is not even taking to account the vacuum pumps, blowers, chillers, etc.

Forget my last post...sell your 100% efficient CO2 lasers to us for $$$$ and forget cutting steel!

But seriously...$11.40 an hour labor? And you have to PAY to watch broadcast TV....hmm, I think I will stay on this side of the pond...

[elmor fudd]

The machines are already paid for mate.
They earnt there money back in 3 years.
The buildings bought and paid for but we still have to pay rates ect.
With regards to the servicing then we take out 5 year service warrentys for around £5k a year.
When it boils down to it the lasers are the backbone of the company but we offer a one stop facility right from the drawing coming in to the finished product going out.
Lasers, milling, turning, drilling and taping, press brakes, welding and fabrication, surface grinding, puching, guiloteaning ect
If youve ever watched the WORLDS STRONGEST MAN contest then you will have seen all the equipment made from steel.
We made all of it and most of it on the lasers including the holes in the box section.( when i say we i mean myself and 4 more blokes)
If you buy your steel in bulk you get big discounts so you can then charge more for the steel but still make it cheaper for the customer to have the parts laser cut.
Some jobs where charged per item and others by the hour.
One offs for example where charged per item plus program fees of £50.
I remember 1 job we had where one offs and they took about 12 mins each and where charged at £48 each plus £50 one time program fee and i spent around 71/2 hrs doing these so it made around £490 an hour.

[elmor fudd]

$11.40 an hour..........tell me about it.
Last job i did was self employed and got £25.00 an hour ($44 hr).
Been looking at jobs in the states myself for a few weeks and it seems that $65000 a year is about average over there. Thats a top wage that is.
wouldnt mind moving over but dont think i could work in inches after spending years working in MM's..........lol