Who is making money with their CNC...

[JavaDog]

Wow, looks like it is a pretty even mix on here!

Once my machine is finished, I hope to put myself solidly in the "I make some on-the-side money" camp.

[traveler]

I have made money with my CNC plasma table but it has mostly been a support machine used in conjunction with contracted fabricating projects. It's hard to separate exactly what to assign money to when you use several machines during a project. I can say however that if I didn't have the plasma table I could not have done several of the projects that I have completed and made money on. It's a strong spoke in the wheel of my shop.
I want to convert my mill to CNC also but have little hope of the mill making me any money. I want to just do it for the enjoyment of having it.

[ViperTX]

traveler....you allocate costs based on run time and setup for each machine....your cost to run the machine on an hourly basis should have all the maintenance, etc. factored into it.

[ViperTX]

So initially my thoughts were to make money off running the machine.....but now I'm moving into a stage of designing solutions, providing parts for people who wish to design their own systems.

[MIKE JEFFERS]

ViperTX
Tell us more,..but now I'm moving into a stage of designing solutions, providing parts for people who wish to design their own systems. solutions for cnc ? or other stuff.
mike

[ViperTX]

Solutions like:
Kit 1 (Power Supply, 4U cabinet, Interface Panel). User adds Gecko or Rutex drivers.

Kit 2 (Kit 1, Plus Servos with Encoders). User adds Gecko or Rutex Servo drivers.

Those are the 2 solutions that I'll be offering in the next 30 days.

[traveler]

Thanks for the response Vipertx, I don't see it as that simple though. If I use my plasma table for 2 hours, my welding machines for 2 hours and my hand drill for 6 hours to complete a 10 hour job, it would be out of balance to give the plasma table only 20% of the total credit. It is a much larger contribution than the hand drill that takes 60% of the time.
The set-up time is only the time to put the metal on the table because the design is in Autocad and is needed for all phases of the fabrication project. To allot any design time to the plasma table and try to separate it out, would be pulling numbers from the air. Then too how does one give credit to a machine that is a smaller part of the project but is required for the completion of the project. I see it as more complicated than it first appears

[ViperTX]

Thanks for the response Vipertx, I don't see it as that simple though. If I use my plasma table for 2 hours, my welding machines for 2 hours and my hand drill for 6 hours to complete a 10 hour job, it would be out of balance to give the plasma table only 20% of the total credit. It is a much larger contribution than the hand drill that takes 60% of the time.
The set-up time is only the time to put the metal on the table because the design is in Autocad and is needed for all phases of the fabrication project. To allot any design time to the plasma table and try to separate it out, would be pulling numbers from the air. Then too how does one give credit to a machine that is a smaller part of the project but is required for the completion of the project. I see it as more complicated than it first appears

When you purchased the equipment you had a cost associated with that machine. If you figured that the machine could be used for some period of time (either usage hours or the time that you can amortize it's cost via the IRS). So, if the machine was $40,000 and it's life was 10,000 hours of usage. The machine is costing you $4 dollars for every hour it is used. If an operator can monitor 4 of those machines then you would take their wages&benefits divided by the number of hours they work and the number of machines they can monitor...let's say that the direct labor charge is $20 per hour per machine time, that would be your direct labor cost that you would add to the $4 + $20. Of course there is the overhead which is all the non-direct labor and costs to keep the doors open. 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.

[Chamm128]

Yeah, I'm making money........................................Disappear that is, LOL.

[JavaDog]

Yeah, I'm making money........................................Disappear 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........