What machine business have you operated?

I agree. Sold off a couple motorcycles but in the end had to get to at least some point to be somewhat functional. Now I have to claw back but can now make some better sharpening equipment and maybe hold it s own for growth in the machine shop as well. Have to be disciplined to not cross the line. Scary today with cnc. Can t compete with that. Have to find that niche.
 
I admire anyone who can make a buck at this stuff. For me, it’s a hobby and a way to get parts for my R&D project just the way I want them. Trying to be profitable would turn this into a not so easy job instead of a great fun and useful hobby.
 
One thing for sure most people have no idea what it takes and the expense for good quality accurate machining when most people all seem to care about is the cost not quality.

I would agree. That is also what makes it difficult to make a viable business out of machined parts. Especially if similar parts are already available on a massive scale by China. I was once told by someone that China has become the manufacture of the world. Their bread and butter is pumping out cheap parts at cyclic rates, making cents on the dollar per part. So, there is little hope in competing with that monster because customers only have loyalty to the cheapest seller.
 
So, the answer seems to be that niche or product that would be considered boutique in nature is the way to go. For the folks that have taken the time to reply, thank you. I think this is insightful and makes sense. A lot of strategy has to go into making sure whatever is made cannot be commonly available with tight margins acting as a barrier to entry.
 
What's a rotor head (might it be a helicopter part?)

A rotor head as an assembly that houses the feathering shafts, main rotor blades, angel nut, and mountings for other ancillary parts.

That is a nice website :). When I was a kid, I had a Peck Polymers One Nite 28. It was a lot of fun to cut it loose in the park and then run after it and sometimes have to climb a tree to get it down :grin:.

One of my favorite models I owned was a Lanzo Record Breaker. I think it weighed one pound exactly and was powered by a Norvel .074. It was good at catching thermals. Nice plane for lazy Saturday afternoons.
 
I would agree. That is also what makes it difficult to make a viable business out of machined parts. Especially if similar parts are already available on a massive scale by China. I was once told by someone that China has become the manufacture of the world. Their bread and butter is pumping out cheap parts at cyclic rates, making cents on the dollar per part. So, there is little hope in competing with that monster because customers only have loyalty to the cheapest seller.

We have started doing ''low quality'' machining. As an example, one customer had been getting a part made by another shop that was costing him about $50 per unit. We were able to get that cost down to $8 per unit and still maintain a $150/hour machine time rate. The parts are as dimensionally accurate as they need to be, but there might be some minor tool marks that still show after tumble finishing. One caveat is that he has to buy 30 units at a time because that is what we can fit on a pallet, but at that price point he was more than happy to buy 30 units.

In some areas, it is possible to compete with China. All parts do not have to have a mirror finish nor NASA tolerances.
 
All parts do not have to have a mirror finish nor NASA tolerances.

Jim is right on. As hobby, part of the enjoyment can be making something that is extra pretty, extra elegant and the cost per part is not the driving factor. I am sure my thoughts on this will be a little controversial but these are poor habits for when you want to make money. higher quality that what is needed is wasted time and therefore unnecessary cost. I think the Chinese mfg understand this. You can get high quality parts from China but there expertise seems to be making stuff at the minimum quality that the buyer can accept and not put any cost into the mfg that is not needed to meet the buyers specifications. This is one reason why it is important who you buy imported stuff from. The reputation that old American made equipment is built to last a lifetime is a great testament to the abilities of past engineers and manufacturing companies. But how much added cost is there in a machine that works as good today as it did 100 years ago when production shops need CNC in order to keep labor and time per part low or as Jim points out a part with perfect surface finish when that is not needed for the part to function and not part of the specification.
 
I assure you that Chinese manufacturing can generate extremely high quality products, at a very advanced technology level. At one time in my career, I indirectly managed a factory in Shenzhen with 7500 line workers assembling 36 track magnetic recording heads. Think of that...don’t think there was anywhere else in the world where that could have been done. They were all working through microscopes, and the quality was impeccable.

Of course now most of my contact with Chinese manufacturing is through Harbor Freight. Pretty easy to forget that you get what you pay for. :)
 
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