Re: $250 machine .. what about the 'big boys'?

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, Ron Yost <musik42@c...> wrote:

>
> I wonder why one of the 'biggies' in home-shop/construction tools

hasn't

> come out with an 'affordable' smallish CNC gantry machine/router. I'd
> think Makita, Ryobi, etc. could produce one for a decent price.
>
> And that's just flatbed stuff. Why aren't there any reasonably priced
> smallish-scale 3-D (prototype) machines yet?? Why are we still building
> these things ourselves?? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
>
> Guess they don't see a real market for such a thing ... or their
> designers don't have much 'vision' .. or both?? I know they're mainly
> in the home construction game, but tools is tools. :)
>
> Here we are in the 21st century, and they're pretty much still trodding
> on, remaking the same very basic tools, in an occasional new set of
> clothes, over and over. No real innovation from any of them, that I

can

> see.
>
> Sorry to hijack the original poster's thread, but this has been bugging
> me for some time now. :)
>
> Ron Yost
>

I talked to an engineer about that very thing about a year ago.

first, no one knows what market there is. Sure there are a bunch of
internet groups, but one needs to sell a million units a year.

then, what size ?

They would be much more complicated than, say a table saw. so would
easily start in the $1,000 range.

Followed by software and service and then the lawsuits as people lost
fingers and such.

It is much cheaper to build a DVD player and sell it for $100 and take
a huge market. This market is 100% risk.


Dave