Re: Hello everyone, bespoke spectacle maker in London pulling my hair out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cropwell
I would tend to favour the Boxford VMC route, especially if you can get one from a Technical College (are they still called that?). They tend to have little use and be just the basic spec. ('scuse the pun).
Sorry again got to disagree.?
While VMC or Mills are stiff enough and offer size n resolution Etc they nearly all fall down on Spindle speeds for using small tiny cutters.
Re: Hello everyone, bespoke spectacle maker in London pulling my hair out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JAZZCNC
No sorry, your wrong in this approach.? I've helped many people with small business ventures who have taken this route and without exception, all have regretted it and lost sleep, money and in some cases customers doing so.
When first starting out your approach appears to work until things ramp up. Often new CNC users underestimate what the machines can do and how much they can increase productivity.
Often when creative juices kick in it soon starts to lead to increased sales. It's here when shit hits the Fan.!
They quickly realize the cheap machine they bought cannot keep up or wears out in matter of weeks as production ramps up. Yet the orders keep on rolling in.!
This quickly leads to pulled hair, lost sleep not to mention lost income and lost or very unhappy customers.
It's the worst route any business, large or small could take.
And that's just on a business approach, don't even get me started on the cheap machines them self and all that comes with them..!!
I stand corrected then, I won't argue with someone with more experience than me on this! ;)
My worry is going over the top, as it sometimes happen, and companies buy expensive machines that they barely use or that are too spec'd for their requirements
Re: Hello everyone, bespoke spectacle maker in London pulling my hair out.
My appreciation of your aims at the moment is to save time cutting out from the blanks and getting the frame nearer to the finished shape than you get with a saw. There seems an awful lot of skilled hand working to get the product finished. On youtube there are a number of videos about CNC cutting wooden framed sunglasses and these look to be novelty rather than quality.
Sure, cutting out and pocketing the hinge recesses would save you a lot of time, but isn't your business based on hand-made quality rather than volume production?
On that basis, initially you would need a good quality small machine, maybe even as small as A5. If your business grew to the point where that machine was inadequate, then you would just get another one the same. That way if one broke down it would be an inconvenience not a disaster.
Re: Hello everyone, bespoke spectacle maker in London pulling my hair out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cropwell
Sure, cutting out and pocketing the hinge recesses would save you a lot of time, but isn't your business based on hand-made quality rather than volume production?
I think the main point of this work is that the DESIGN is bespoke and made to suit non-standard customers. The labour-intensive manufacturing process is then something that merely increases the cost and reduces the accessibility.
I do like the multiple small machines idea. This will be the least expensive for a given quality of result and allows for expansion as cropwell suggests. It would also allow for reduced set-up time and tool or jig changing if, for example, all the hinge pockets were the same, all the frame blanks would mount up in the same way before bespoke machining. You could build up to having a row of machines each doing one task on a production line basis and concentrate the hand finishing work where it's really needed.
Kit
