MikeWazowski
Plastic
- Joined
- May 27, 2018
Hi all,
I hope this is the right forum to ask for some pointers about starting a small machine shop from the ground up. This is my first post, and a very fresh idea that I'm trying to expand on, so bear with me for the amateur questions.
I've been programming CNCs for about 5 years now for various prototyping shops. I feel that I have enough knowledge to make good parts, but I understand that is likely less than half the battle when owning a machine shop.
-Is it best to spend money out of pocket if funds are available, or to use small business loans?
I have about $30,000 to spend out of pocket on a machine(s) and tooling. Not sure if that is smarter to avoid loan interest, or if loans are smarter if the company flops and bankruptcy is the only option. (I'll be taking some business courses soon, so that might help with this question).
-What kind of machines are best to start out with?
I suppose it all depends on the market of what kind of parts are needed in my area. I'm torn between spending around $10,000 on something like a Tormach 770M (770M Compact CNC Mill | Tormach) to give myself some breathing room while starting out, or to splurge on something like the decked out Tormach PCNC 1100 (PCNC 1100 - Tormach Inc.) for $26,000 which would spend most of my out of pocket funds, but would provide most of the tooling and machine capabilities I'm looking for.
I'm open to looking at brands other than Tormach, but I could use some advice in competing brands.
There's also the option of financing a brand new HAAS. I'm very familiar with the VF series, so this way I could avoid a steep learning curve when starting off.
LOTS of options, but also lots of time to research and think about this. Any advice/tips will be appreciated.
Thanks
I hope this is the right forum to ask for some pointers about starting a small machine shop from the ground up. This is my first post, and a very fresh idea that I'm trying to expand on, so bear with me for the amateur questions.
I've been programming CNCs for about 5 years now for various prototyping shops. I feel that I have enough knowledge to make good parts, but I understand that is likely less than half the battle when owning a machine shop.
-Is it best to spend money out of pocket if funds are available, or to use small business loans?
I have about $30,000 to spend out of pocket on a machine(s) and tooling. Not sure if that is smarter to avoid loan interest, or if loans are smarter if the company flops and bankruptcy is the only option. (I'll be taking some business courses soon, so that might help with this question).
-What kind of machines are best to start out with?
I suppose it all depends on the market of what kind of parts are needed in my area. I'm torn between spending around $10,000 on something like a Tormach 770M (770M Compact CNC Mill | Tormach) to give myself some breathing room while starting out, or to splurge on something like the decked out Tormach PCNC 1100 (PCNC 1100 - Tormach Inc.) for $26,000 which would spend most of my out of pocket funds, but would provide most of the tooling and machine capabilities I'm looking for.
I'm open to looking at brands other than Tormach, but I could use some advice in competing brands.
There's also the option of financing a brand new HAAS. I'm very familiar with the VF series, so this way I could avoid a steep learning curve when starting off.
LOTS of options, but also lots of time to research and think about this. Any advice/tips will be appreciated.
Thanks