Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] recommendation for machine

Hi Carl:
The job you're describing would likely be best done either by laser
cutting, by abrasive waterjet cutting, or by wire EDM.
An acceptable alternative would be to use a CNC router with a big enough
work envelope to handle your largest panels, equipped with a vacuum fixture
to hold the panels down.

Since your expertise is in accounting, lets look at budgets:
Capital equipment: router, vacuum, shears,brake, benches software etc
etc...budget 30 thousand or so for turnkey equipment; a quarter of that and
1000 to 2000 hours of labour to scrounge and roll your own.
(By the way, these assets depreciate at a horrendous rate because they
become obsolescent so quickly, so don't use the rates allowed by the tax
boys to calculate residual values...figure 10 cents on the dollar if you
have to firesale them; 30 cents on the dollar if you get to take your time
selling them. This is after 6 months of ownership!! Oh yeah, and leave out
the cost of the software...you don't get to resell it at all!!).

Facilities and other fixed overhead: budget for 1000 square feet, wired,
heated, plumbed, security etc etc.

Sundries: cutters, coolant maybe or stick wax, filters, spoilboards and
other assorted stuff...for full time production figure $500 per month.

Materials, stocking, scrap, rework etc etc; call it 5% of monthly
production.

Wages and salaries depend on your generosity, but a typical CNC driver, in
my corner of the world, gets $25 to $28 CDN per hour.

I plan my shop rate around $80.00 CDN per hour to justify my capital outlay
and my particular expertise.
A complicated panel, cut out like Swiss cheese should run for less than half
an hour or you're losing your shirt.

At 150 hr per month, I'm looking at $12000.00 CDN per month to justify my
investment, and I'd probably be better off if I'd bought a couple of
apartments and rented them out (but this is so much fun I just can't give it
up!!).

Are you planning to do that much volume in a month???

Gets pretty hard to justify any other way, so for anything less than full
time production, it's probably still cheaper outsourcing even if the jobbing
shops sound like they're gouging you.

A final note; this is really off topic for this group...if you have further
questions, probably best to handle them offlist.
Hope this helps.

Cheers

Marcus