[Chamm128]

Yeah, I'm making money........................................Disap pear that is, LOL.

[JavaDog]

Yeah, I'm making money........................................Disap pear that is, LOL.

My machine isn't even done yet, and I am pretty good at that too!

[traveler]

Vipertx- I completely agree with you if one is truly in the business of fabrication and machine shop. My machine is home built and because of the evolvution and upgrades, I cannot put an accurate cost in time or labor. Just like buliding a hot-rod it would be a mistake to assign a labor cost to it, it would be too discourageing and could well end the whole project. Most of what I do in this area is a labor of love and it has become a pay for itself hobby. The plasma table pays enough that I can consider adding more toys, IE: CNC of my mill/drill. I do realize how important it is to remove as much manual labor as possible. and follow that path as far I can. A bit of brag here, on one job, I had a large number of holes to tap in 5/16" plate and by nudging hole size a bit I was able to locate and burn all the holes, and with a tap in a cordless drill I tapped good holes in a hurry.

[trubleshtr]

If there is any interest, I could write up a business case.....Maybe the drill usage is $0.20 + $10 (labor cost).....before long you realize why it's sometimes better to remove as much of the manual labor as possible.

You Peaked my curiosity........

[MIKE JEFFERS]

traveler
you can't assign cost to machines the such as we build ,you need to assign the cost
in man hours + material .keeps it simple.
mike

[bkukowski]

kind of a dumb question (doesn't fit in this thread but I didnt think it was worth making a new one). Whats the difference between a mill and a cnc?

[DieGuy]

CNC=Computer Numerical Control=Any machine operated by computer.
MILLING Machine=a device to cut material in a linear fashion with a rotating tool

Combined they equal CNC MILLING MACHINE

[strat]

In a reality i wanna use it to make money but have to get this built(shop) and setup (web page) ect just trying to get settled in and setup so for now more hobby/learning but the day will come ... the whole reason i got involved with the cnc is so i could cut the parts i need and i can buy the material cheaper then pre made units..... but as far as cutting with out a cnc???? does your straight lines look like figure eights??????? hehehe mine did now i can get straight lines

[miljnor]

if you count all the time from when I started at 16yrs old to when I started a machine shop.. .....welll...... lost alot of money, but it was fun. Now that I own a shop with real machines. I only lost money the first year, and now I am making money lots of it, but I spend it pretty fast too So ya I make money but at a hobby level nope I was having too much fun.

Now that I am getting back into the hobby end (because work is getting pretty damn automated) I am definitely not make money (in the hobby end) but I damn sure am spending it fast. probably could of bought a minimill by now.


But where is the fun in that!

[doanwannapickle]

I better make money! This machine IS my job!

Well, this is only one of a number of machines but it is how I eek out a living. This machine was built specifically for two customers. One needs a lot of tracer lathe work so I intend to use it to make templates for them. The other client needs fixtures that seem to get increasingly smaller so I built a small machine that's a bit more suited to drilling all those .015/.035 holes.

I started it in Dec. and it has just reached the point where the cash flow should start to go in the other direction. ;-)

If anyone is interested, here's a construction album/slideshow: http://www.chicobritish.org/CNC/

Regards,
Walt

[PEU]

If anyone is interested, here's a construction album/slideshow: http://www.chicobritish.org/CNC/

Regards,
Walt

Awesome journal Walt, I'm still digesting some of your ideas Thanks for sharing


Pablo

[joecnc2006]

Not really making money but cutting parts for other to get started.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10067

Joe

[latinpapy35]

I did build aplasma cnc with flashcut controls and that machine make more money than any othe in the shop

[CJL5585]

No INcome ... All OUTgo

[Ken_Shea]

No INcome ... All OUTgo

Yeah, I can remember when it was fun spending all that money

[DieGuy]

Well, this is only one of a number of machines but it is how I eek out a living. This machine was built specifically for two customers. One needs a lot of tracer lathe work so I intend to use it to make templates for them. The other client needs fixtures that seem to get increasingly smaller so I built a small machine that's a bit more suited to drilling all those .015/.035 holes.

I started it in Dec. and it has just reached the point where the cash flow should start to go in the other direction. ;-)

If anyone is interested, here's a construction album/slideshow: http://www.chicobritish.org/CNC/

Regards,
Walt

Nice, very nice indeed! Lots of out go on that deal

[wawatobi]

So who built their CNC Mill/Router/Lathe and is making money with it?

Started using my Taig mill three years ago to make my jewellery molds. I now need another machine and am looking into servo motors. Jewellery made from my milling machine now accounts for approximately half my buisness.
Wawatobi

[ViperTX]

wawatobi...any examples of your work??

[wawatobi]

Sorry, I don't have a web site to display my work. I could send some pictures if
you're interested. I got started with cnc when I bought a computerized engraving machine for the trophy part of my business twenty years ago. I made
my own cutters and cut simple planimetric stuff. The z axis on my machine was
not programable so I had to machine level by level, resetting the height by hand
for each level. kind of tedious! I made parts for my jewellery designs rather than
whole designs. I finally took the plunge and bought a Taig cnc machine. I need another machine to avoid going to my shop on weekends to use the mill. I would like to use servos on a Taig mill but the price is too much right now for a turnkey system. That's why I joined this forum. I'd like to try to assemble a 4axis
driver using gecko 320 drives. I'm a little leary because I don't know anything about power supplies or electronics in general.
Cheers
p.s. Wawatobi is a village I lived in while working on an irrigation project in Sulawesi, Indonesia during the early eighties.

[wawatobi]

Looks like you've done a nice job with your Taig.