Newbie- Need some opinions

[Sam325ci]

Hi all,

images below: these images are for 3D parts I designed/sculpted using a 3D sculpting application (Zbrush) … my questions are:
Do you guys think I should pursue the idea of building or buying a CNC machine to produce furniture piece like this?
Do you guys think I will find a market for it?


Thank,
Sam

[LLSHAWNLL]

I think you would need to simplify it a bit. You would need a 5 axis for some of that stuff. But your designs are sick. how much is that software?

[FandZ]

There is always a market for pretty things. That does look like you would need a 4 or 5 axis machine though. for some of the parts.

Even if you don't end up selling your items you should go for it. Designing something has its rewards but holding your design in your hand is so much better.

I did see zbrush can export dxf and obj files, so hopefully it wouldn't be problem to get your files into a cam program.

A question on Z brush, how much control do you have when setting up how big something is? Can you set meshes to certain lengths etc in inches or mm?

[bgolash]

Hi
I have 30 years doing cabinetmaking and some furniture. This going to sound negative but. Woodworkers greatly appreciate woodwork. For the most part people don`t appreciate or understand the amount of work that goes into a fine piece of furniture. As a result, they can`t understand the higher price associated with high quality. If those pics were from China and it cost $200 people would buy it.
Barry

[ger21]

Sure, there's a market, if the price is right. The problem is making them cost effective. Typically, parts like that are made on machines with 10 or more spindles, so basically 10 in the same time it takes to make one. Not cheap machines. As was mentioned, you'd probqably want to remove the undercuts so they can be done on a 3 axis machine, or possibly do them on a 4 axis machine. I don't think you could make any money using a 5 axis machine to make those.

Fantastic modeling job, btw.

[Sam325ci]

Hi LLSHAWNLL, thanks for your reply, I think your right, I might need to simplify them a bit, but I was trying to learn how to use Zbrush, so I wanted them to be as complicated as they can get, I know I need a 5 axis machine to get parts like this, I’m working on some machine designs that I will shear with you guys (hopefully you guys can help me build it). Zbrush is not really that expensive but it’s not as an easy application to use. You can find for around $600 or bit less … checkout there site www.pixologic.com

[Sam325ci]

Hi FandZ, thanks for your reply, you don’t really have control on the size of the object your designing in Zbrush, so you will need to depend on a CAD application to control size… I crated a simple box with the required dimensions in Rhino and then imported it into Zbrush and used it as a guide for my model, after my model is complete in Zbrush, I exported it back to Rhino and adjusted it a bit to fit my dimensions.

[Sam325ci]

Hi Barry, thanks for your reply, I don’t consider your reply negative, your giving me your point of view depending on your long experience in this area, and it much appreciated….
My idea was to design reproductions baroque and rococo furniture, I know that this type of furniture has a market in Europe and the Middle East, but I don’t really know about the US, but I always believed that a good design and quality has its place where ever you go.

And I can assure you these models ware not from china … I live in Delaware USA and they cost me around 4 weeks of work… but I was just learning to use the app… I think I can redo them within a week or so.

[LLSHAWNLL]

I have 30 years doing cabinetmaking and some furniture. This going to sound negative but. Woodworkers greatly appreciate woodwork. For the most part people don`t appreciate or understand the amount of work that goes into a fine piece of furniture. As a result, they can`t understand the higher price associated with high quality. If those pics were from China and it cost $200 people would buy it. Barry

Very true. The nature of americans or maybe all people is they want to be paid
$100 for doing a job, but would only want to pay someone $20 dollars to do the same job.

[Sam325ci]

Hi Gerry, thank you for the reply; I’m planning to build a 4-axis machine, and remove the undercuts as you mentioned and hopefully upgrade it to a 5-axis later on… thanks for your comment.

[CarbonKevin]

This may be a gross oversimplification of things, but what if you made the table as one part, then the complicated decorative parts as secondary components, to be bonded to the main unit afterward?

In fact, if you could do one side of the decorative part, then flip it to do the undercuts, it should then be possible to accomplish all this on a 3-axis machine.

As I said, this may be completely out to lunch; but it may have something to it.
Could it be a business? It has to be at the right price that people will want to buy it, and it has to be many times cheaper for you to build. Figure at LEAST 500% markup by the time it hits the end user, if you went with the distributor-retailer network route. If you wanted to do this in much smaller runs, and sell direct to retailers, you could get away with smaller markup percentages, leaving room for higher material and labor costs.

One thing, though, make sure whatever you sell these at, it completely pays for itself, and it pays YOU for your time and input.

If you can satisfy that, you might have the makings of something nice. If you can't, make it a hobby, have fun with it, but don't let it turn into a lifetime obsession.

Good luck!

[rlwoodjr]

Originally Posted by bgolash Hi I have 30 years doing cabinetmaking and some furniture. This going to sound negative but. Woodworkers greatly appreciate woodwork. For the most part people don`t appreciate or understand the amount of work that goes into a fine piece of furniture. As a result, they can`t understand the higher price associated with high quality. If those pics were from China and it cost $200 people would buy it. Barry

Many years ago, my partner and I took a shot at high end furniture. Barry explains it well. We had customers that new quality and were willing to pay for it, but the majority do not. We found that we could not buy the material for what most wanted to pay for the finished product.