[Joey]

Appologies if this isnt the correct forum.

Would your company pay for this ?

Traditionally i`ve always prefered the skill of the artisan to produce
quality machined parts directly from the drawings, but it seems more
and more manufactures are relying on their planning engineers to
provide detailed instuctions for workholding and machining methods.

I`d like to ask you guys your opinion of the feasablilty of starting a company
to offer a sub-contract service of -
1) producing 3d CAD Models.
2) producing 2d/3d detailed and fully dimensioned workshop drawings, including
any fixturing, mounted elctrodes, special tooling, stage drawings etc.
3) producing route/planning sheets, giving step by step instructions like machine operation sequences,
details of each part feature, oversize/undersize dimensions for further final machining,
work holding and handling,
4) CNC programs. Milling, Turning, Wire Erosion, Jig Grinding
using information of Machines, Ancillary equipment, available Tooling etc provided
by your company.
5) Sourcing of further sub-contract requirements for processes like surface treatments, welding,
honing, engraving etc.
6) Disussions with Production Management and staff to assist in a quicker understanding of
the parts to be produced.

Of course i`d expect a degree of resistance from some people, thinking i was trying to undermine
their own ability, but if they look at the bigger picture of improving timescales, quality and ultimately
the company profits. Why spend hours trying to figure out complex part drawings when it can be expalined
by someone who`s done all the planning.

any comments welcomed.

[Sharpshooter]

Hello,
That sounds like a great idea. But, a lot of us already get paid to do all of that stuff as well as run the machines. Were I work, we already do all of that stuff and then some. I can see a lot of problems with doing a thing like that. It is easy to sit back and think of how things may or should run. They usually never go as planned. Then, if they were not the ones to reverse engineer the part or print, they have to wait for a answer to how to fix the problem. Thus costing them more money. Maybe it would work for someone out there but not anyplace that I have worked. Heck, doing all of that stuff is the fun part. So, yeah, that does sound like a great idea.

[ViperTX]

Joey....offer your services to a client....find the first one....it's a good plan....a company can hire you to do an item.....they pay a bit...and then you're gone....not on their time.....so, it's a win-win situation for everyone! Find the first client before you venture out!

[Joey]

thanks for your comments :wave:

Sharpshooter yeah you`re right, i been doing all that and running 2 cnc lathes at the same time, so if i can find a niche in the market why not do it for me instead of someone else. Initially i`ll look to target smaller companies and might pick up work for example, where there`s a sudden influx of work and their planning guys are too busy to cope.

ViperTX appreciate your advice mate, small steps at a time. But always try keep the momentum going.

I`m busy putting together a full sample pack and building a website, then it`s time to get the shoes on and hit the road.
Once out there hopefully customers will be telling me what they want and there might be an area i can concentrate.

[a1cadcam]

i have done a bit of that on contract basis... as ViperTX has mentioned, but that is what they wanted; an in-house solution from an outside point-of-view with no strings afterwards..
you might consider as I have found, every shop has a different way of doing things and to get a shop to 'run it your way' might be difficult.

good luck

[Joey]

hi again

i`m no website designer but i have tried to build a site for the new business.
please have a look here and post any comments or critisism, all feedback is
very welcome.

http://www.planning-precision.co.uk

regards

[ViperTX]

Joey, it looks good. I'd add some more explanation on the upload section of the website and a disclaimer "Information provided to Precision Planning will not be shared or divulged to any other source."

[mxtras]

Joey, it looks good. I'd add some more explanation on the upload section of the website and a disclaimer "Information provided to Precision Planning will not be shared or divulged to any other source."

Something along the lines of what Viper said was my first thought - secrecy is going to be an issue. The companies you target don't want to hear details about the most interesting things you have been associated with - will their project be the source of your next sales pitch?

It's a tricky situation - everyone wants their info kept secret, so I would suggest that you think along those lines when you are talking to your clients - keep previous projects secret to gain their trust.....but how do you get the business without divulging your experience?? I think this is going to be a tricky thing to sell - at least at first.

Scott

[Joey]

cheers guys, thats good advice and is taken on board.

by the way that oil manifold component was made for a formula1 race team that
dont exist atm.

:cheers:

[Don Peterson]

Sorry to break into this thread, but how does one create a new post? I just joined this forum and it's not real obvious to me. Thanks Don

[Joey]

hi Don
looks like you got it right first time mate

[Don Peterson]

Well, not really... I would like to start a new topic. What I have done is interrupt this one. There must be a way to start a new Post, but I don't see it on the list. How did you ask your initial question that started this thread? Don

[mxtras]

Go to the forum home, pick a forum and near the upper left corner of the title area you will see a button for New Thread.

You have to be in one particular forum for it to show up, so go to the forum you think best suits your topic and hit the New Thread button.

:banana:

Scott

[mxtras]

.....by the way that oil manifold component was made for a formula1 race team that
dont exist atm. :cheers:

Nice presentation on your site, Joey. It looks very clean and professional.

I hear ya on the non-existence of the racing team but it will still leave a sense of insecurity with your potential customer. I would suggest removing any of that type of stuff if they are in your target market - use very generic stuff or info that is already public knowledge for your advertising. Again - I have no experience in this area - but I have been on the flip side with sensitive information and trying to get someone I was comfortable with - that would not divulge my project in the future as their latest accomplishment, ya know? It's a very sensitive thing.

I would suggest sticking with your skills and not showing anything too sensitive as a past accomplishment, stating that many of the projects you have worked on in the past are of proprietary stature and may not be revealed. Get approval to use any names of previous companies - and do the same with future customers - get approval to use their name (not their part) for advertising purposes.

Just my impressions, Joey. It looks like you might have a winner with your site!

Scott

[skippy]

Hmmm...... The shift drum has me interested. Let me take a stab in the dark here. (Ynneb is better at this than I am but here goes) The shift drum is from a sequential shifting gearbox which means motorbikes, or F1 or similar high level motorsport vehicle. Bike units are normally made from steel and have a very small shaft to rotate them. (a) This one appears to be aluminium or titanium and seeing as a shiftdrum has to have case hardened surfaces due to the contact with the shift forks I'll go for hardened titanium. (b) the inner shaft size is of a large diameter suggesting it is powerdriven (electric or hydraulic or pneumatic).
Including the fact that you live in England, I'll go for a hydraulically activated shift drum from a sequential shift transaxle from an F1. So if that's true, it means that the non existant F1 team does actually exist.
Ynneb would be proud of me!
Joey, now's when you get to burst my bubble.

[mxtras]

Would that be an 8 speed non-existant transaxle, Skippy? ( I only see 4 courses on that drum....)

[skippy]

Scott, I purposely didn't comment on the number of courses because I don't have a clue what might be happening inside, but hey, it was fun guessing even if it's wrong.

[Joey]

hey skippy
you`re actually spot on with your analysis.
It is aluminium and was the CNC prove out part.
hehehe if i turned it around you`d see a huge gouge mark where the programmer went walk-about

The rate at which F1 teams change their component design is amazing. We could do 3 or 4 variants, leading up to the test season, and the barrel shown is at least 4 seasons old.

I went to see a customer today and asked permission to show model views
and was told no problem as long as there was nothing linking the part to them.
I do take the point of being careful about any content used and as soon as i`ve got a few jobs in i`ll modify the site to suit the new content. (permission granted of course)

I will seek permission from the team we made the parts for, although they are out of F1 atm maybe they race other classes.


check out the new buttons man .................... clever stuff this html.

[mxtras]

You are no fun!

I know just about nothing about F1 cars....except that I would give one of my kidneys to drive one!

My bikes have something similar with 3 courses and they are 5 and 6 speed trannies - shift forks on both sides of the spool. I assumed the layout is similar in one of those non-existant transaxles.

Are they 8 speeds?

:wave:

Scott

[mxtras]

Make sure you put that on your site - that you HAVE PERMISSION from these kind, generous customers to display the images....it would add a layer of confidence for future clients.

I really like your site. I like the 'feel' of it. I am going to visit it from time to time to see updates, so keep it up!

I need you to do mine for me...I am embarrassed!

Scott