Originally Posted by UKRobotics My hobby interests are everything really. Over the last 8 years I have been heavily involved in robotic combat, robotwars (battlebots) etc but I consider myself a bit of an inventor and in my spare time have made everything from electric scooters to water pumps. |
Lack of focus can kill a start up but so can lack of flexibility. Something to keep in mind.
While I'm still at uni at the moment, I plan to start my own business in the near future specialising in CNC machining providing a service for people who want custom parts for what ever their purpose will be. I have already proved the feasability of this with a small cnc mill that I have at the moment and now I have the larger workshop I can replace that with a bridgeport series 2 or similar machine.
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There are two theories as to buying tools, quality or cheap. At this time I can walk over to my tool box and find tools that where new to me when I was in high school as a result of buying quality. Tooling bought due to limited $$$$ or other reasons can't be found today in the box. That doesn't mean that from time to time cheap stuff isn't the best investment for the task though.
In any event if you already have a small CNC mill why not consider getting a real CNC machining center. You are not likely to want ot do this while still in school but I would think that it would be a very high priority right after school.
To that extent, and as per my original question I need to buy quite a wide variety of tools to cover a huge number of potential projects.
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No this is exactly what you don't want to do. Cash flow is important with a startup, you need to limit purchases to jobs you can do immediately. It cna be very frustrating to have to decline a job because all your cash is tied up in tools that you don't need immediately.
Certianly a basic selection of tools is needed to get started but you don't want to go hog wild.
I have complied a list of everything I can think of off the top of my head but I'm sure I have missed some essentials that perhaps you might be able to suggest.
Hand tools & measurement
Big red tool chest
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Make that chests or at least have a enough room to keep the cutting tools seperated from the rest of the tools. Sometime after you get your business established a Vidmar type cabinet woould be in order.
Rivet gun
Rivnut gun
Industrial crimping tool
Large glue gun |
Why not get a shotgun too?
Seriously though these things should be addressed whn you need them.
Digital Vernier
Digital micrometer
1m stainless steel rule
300mm stainless steel rule
Engineers square x2
Temp. controlled solder station
Selection of hammers & mallet
Punch Set incl. centre punch
Cobalt drill set
Cobalt reamer set
Cobalt tap & die set |
Cutting tools should be justified based on need. If you don't have a project demanding Cobalt save yourself a few bucks and get a reasonably good HSS steel drill set. Upgrade the set as needed.
Ratchet spanner set
Metric & imperial spanner set
Metric and imperial socket set
Large screwdriver set
Precision screwdriver set
Allen keys (metric and imperial)
Allen keys (ball end)
Torx drivers
Torx drivers (with hole in middle)
Small Electric Tools
Makita cordless electric drill
Makita corded drill
Jigsaw
4" Angle grinder x 2 or 3 (cuttiing, grinding, sanding)
9" Angle Grinder |
Starting out I'd get one corded drill and a small angle grinder. It is not like this stuff isn't available when you need to expand your inventory.
Big tools
Abrasive Chopsaw
Floor standing pillar drill
Vertical band saw
Horizontal band saw
Lathe
Non abrasive chopsaw
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Seems a bit over kill initially. A Horizontal band saw, lathe and drill press would be a good start.
Depending of course upon how you expect to focus your business this could change. While some might argue other wise a drill press can be a significant time saver in my estimation. Don't skimp on the lathe either.
I know there are things I've missed off this list some of which i dont know the name of, and other things I dont know exist.
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I'm surprised you don't have a surface grinder in there or a bench grinder. These along with a belt sander would be very important.
eg.
dial gauges ... never heard of them until i came accross cnc zone, here everyone talks about them. still I dont know where to get them from, if there are different types I need and how to tell what is a good quality one and what is a naff one.
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I suspect you need more education with respect to the craft.
those things used to de-burr the edges of aluminium parts which is effectivly little more than a specialised odd shaped stanley (exacto?) knife.
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A Shavie by chance?
In any event you really need to get a handle on nomenclature. Get a MSC catalog and study that for a bit.
I asked an engineer a while back if there was such a device that could tap perfectly straight holes in large flat pieces of metal, I rememer saying there was somthing that you could put in a drill press which would do just that and it had a special name which I cant remember now.
Then there were these things I was using in the uni workshops last term which i'd never seen before used for accuratly marking out lines for cutting or drilling on materials. It basically consisted of a weighted base with an upright post and a pencil type marker and a rotating lever similar to that would be found on a micrometer for accuratly setting the height of the marker.
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I have serious problems with the above statement. Either the university you are at is totally worthless or you are a complete slacker. It is extremely important to be able to communicate in the language of your field. Personally I think it is poor form to allow somebody to use a tool they do not know by name.
Not trying to be abrasive here but if you expect to go out into the world and compete with established businesses you need to look like you know what you are doing. Customers will take note.
These are the types of things I really want to know about, the types of tools that I may not even aware exist or only have limited knowledge of which would allow me to work with much greater accuracy and precision and create pieces with a better finish.
So perhaps with that in mind, some of you will be able to give some helpful suggestions/additions to my tool list 
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A tool list is problematic as it becomes a point of focus. A business is not in existance to aquire tools (atleast most aren't) rather it is there to satisfy customer needs. Satisfy the customer and you rake in the dough.
Think about what you need to satisfy the customer and go from there.
Dave