I just lost out on a deal to pick up a CNC mill. Other deals come along, though, so at some point in the near future, I may buy one. My wife gets nervous when I talk about buying expensive toys that weigh more than a tonne. She wants to know how the mill will pay for itself. I figure that there are enough model railroaders who would want an accurate model of (for instance) a '36 Cord, or of some other millable shape, that I could make enough money to justify the purchase. I'm assuming 10-20 hours of setup for any new shape- as an example, that '36 Cord. I would need to measure and photgraph a prototype, then program the machine. Once I was done, though, I could make that auto in any scale in well under an hour. So, do you think this would fly? Would I get enough business to make buying a mill make sense?
I think you'd definitely need to expand your product base outside the realm of model rr'ing if you want a quicker ROI. There is a market for things that currently don't exist in our hobby, but don't foget about the other markets as well! (automotive, woodwork, military models, you name it) A CNC Mill is a flexible tool, and you're right about the time needed to invest in the 3D design. Sometimes you don't really know what you're capable of until you get the thing in your hands and try. If CNC Milling is one of those things you've got a gift for, you're bound to find the right projects to pay for the equipment, as well as your time. Then you'll be buying bigger and faster mills, 3D printers, CNC Lathes, then... You just won't know until you try - that's my advice. Good luck! -Mike
CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control. It means that a computer runs the mill- so that once you program in a certain shape, it can make as many of that shape as you wish without an operator milling, measuring, swearing, discarding, and retrying Once I get the mill programmed for one shape such as a VW Kubelwagen, I could have the mill make me a hundred Kubelwagens in a row and I would not have to do any more measuring and guaging (I would basically have to load in bar stock and remove finished cars [oversimplification]) A mill, if you're asking about that, is a machine that shapes metal- it is somewhat like a drill press but instead of just drilling, it cuts away metal.
Thanks Hammer, Well, would I buy? Yes, if it was something I wanted or was in the right price range. I don't think you would make money off of me.
Are you proposing working with metals or plastics? These would all be "solid" objects, correct? That is, no voids in the middle such as an injection mold would leave? I'm just thinking out loud here, CNC is an interesting device.
I suspect that I would be working mostly in aluminum but softer substances such as plastic would be easier to machine. Brass is also possible... heck, if somebody wanted severe durability then stainless steel could be used, though that is tough on tooling. The objects would indeed be solid, unless I turned them over and milled out a gap in the middle to reduce weight, allow the installation of lights, or whatever.
i'm sorry, but your poll doesn't ask me the right question. do i think that there might be a market out there. that all depends on what you make and how much you would charge for each item. if you were capable of making a slower return on your investment then yes i think it would pay for itself. but a lot of research must be done on any product regardless of whether or not it pertains to the MRR hobby. if you go brass i believe you could make a go of it. just an opinion. i used to manu. and sell spinning kites, and believe me if they don't want one there is no way to sell em one. you have to make people want to buy. why do you think it takes so long between releases of our favorite stuff. to keep the market hungry. FWIW good luck and remember anything can be achieved.
I think people have tried this and not succeeded. I know that it's a lot harder than making up a 3D model and then turning the machine on. I can do a 3D model, but I would have to learn the skill set needed the drive the CNC machine correctly. The translation can be pretty painstaking. Scaling models up and down sometimes works; sometimes doesn't. If you have the skill set, or are aware of its requirements, then great! If you don't I'd look at what it really entails to run a CNC. A 3D printer might be a better investment. I spent years in the CAD/CAM industry trying to understand and fix the CAD to CAM gap. I also believe there's not enough market in just trains.
Im also in the CAD field, like Pete. When I was in college I had the opportunity to work with a Solid Modeler and a CNC Mill. In my experience, I dont think that you could keep up with demand, since the one I worked with was relatively slow. I think you also may be forgetting the design and set up costs for manufacturing scale vehicles. You have to have a prototype to measure, trust me, guess work wont fly...you have to keep your picky customers happy or you have no business. Then, you have to scale the drawing data down to which ever scale to model in, like Pete mentioned. You'd probably have at least 16-24 hours of downtime (assuming an 8 hour day) just to develop your drawings to atleast a fairly accurate representation of the prototype....and thats if your really handy with CAD/CAM, etc... I dont think this would fly because of the costs you might have to charge for each car you had to run, the materials, mill maintenance (yes they do break down), time, studying and measuring the prototype. I noticed you mentioned that the models would be solid, I doubt this will fly well either. Theres a good chance that if a prospective buyer wants a certain car, he'll likely want it to be accurate, and if he wants it accurate he'll want to see through the windows. If you have another job and plan to do this on the side, good luck, it's probably going to take all the rest of your time. If you do it as a career, your likely taking a very big risk. Once again like Pete said..there just not enough market in the model railroading industry.
