Hi Redpie:
You sound like an engineer with a vision, doing some market research, trying to determine whether to commit resources to a dream you have.
If you strip away your desire to come up with some cool engineering innovations, are you still on board with this idea as BUSINESS PLAN.
To that end, here's my take:
The market for injection molding machines is small, the selection of cheap older machines is big enough that it's pretty easy to find something if I have a need, and the reality is that the molding press is only maybe 30% of the puzzle if someone is hoping to start a molding business or offer the service for real.
Added to that is the reality that to run a molding business you need a variety of machines of varying capacities and you need a source of tooling for the press along with a gazillion other things.
Now if this is going to be for hobbyists or home shop guys, 5K to 30K is awfully steep for a relatively limited hobby, of which the press is only a small piece...there are already contenders around, and I don't see any of them raking it in...they will have their adherents, and will make some sales, but nothing to set the world on fire.
I'm sure you've already looked up Morgan presses...older ones are all over the place in research labs and their owners often can't get rid of them for months when they try to sell, and get peanuts for them when they finally find a buyer.
So how much do you believe you can commit to this and still make a profit, whether for industrial customers or for hobbyists?
Moving on to my needs as a machine shop owner.
As I said earlier, my desire to take this on is pretty small, even though I've been a toolbreaker for 40 years and have a good head start on many who might be fantasizing about something like this but don't even know how to build a mold.
Since I do prototyping for a living, I confront the need perhaps quite a bit more than most machine shops, and I STILL have no serious interest, simply because of two realities:
First, there are a gazillion molders out there who have the presses, the dryers, the grinders, the plastic stock AND THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE to make my projects for a fraction of what I could do even if I had a press of my very own.
Second, I cannot, as a business owner justify all the fucking about I'd have to do with it to get good enough with it to even offer a credible product reliably...I have shit to do NOW to make money, and I don't need a time suck and a money pit in my life for such a small gain.
Until I can offer a credible service, I can't even realistically quote on opportunities, and a single cheapo press on my floor is not a credible service.
So my interest is low, and I suspect every hard headed businessman will make the same calculation, and their conclusions are going to be much like mine.
This is inevitable, even if you can build a super good press and offer it for a great price.
If I want in-house molding I will certainly factor in the cost of the press, but it's not going to drive my decision.
What you must understand is that business owners don't typically drive their decisions only on purchase price of a single capital asset.
They drive their decisions on Return On Investment on ALL of what it takes...whether it's thirty grand or 300 grand is less important than if it can make money.
If you need it and can justify it, you can always find the money to do it, so the super price point doesn't attract me at all.
Cheers
Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining