Pricing out labor for using shopbot.

[goodtogo@frontiernet.net]

Hey Shopbot owners,
I have been recently ask to cut out a canoe for someone and wonder what you charge for this type of labor when you are cutting it out with a shopbot.
Thanks,
Steve

[mcw]

I have the same question. I was contacted on Friday from a local sign company to cut out lettering from 3/4" MDO. What is the best way to handle this, flat rate or material + hourly rate with a minimum? They are using Gerber software, and can supply me with a PLT file, but I am not familiar with it. They can also export in DXF, but when I tried a test cut, there are points on the letters where it cuts a little circle, but when I open it in CAD, there is nothing there to edit out. I feel this is a good opportunity to start getting a lot of work from them, and they are on a tight schedule for the letters, so I need some help please :o)

Brain Miller

[danhamm@abccom.bc.ca]

I have been cutting letters and making wood signs
for 3 sign co. for about 6mo. and have learned not to use there files. I just want to know the
font and the size and whether they want straight wall or profiled letters.. I charge $60.00 per hr.
plus comp.time plus a % of the bits..there catalogue alternative is much more expensive..

[jkforney]

Brian
Is it brain or brian? The circle cuts in text is usually a resolution problem. If you are bringing the dxf file into Vector and then offsetting the tool path, just change-break-interpolate before generating code.
If the arc is really small, shopbot or Vector sees it as an arc that starts and ends in the same place i.e. a circle.
Do a search on Fred Smith on the forum and I think you will find a more detailed explanation.
If not try the support forum at vectorcam.com and do a search there.
John Forney

[ssanda@nvbell.net]

After having a laser for awhile, we have found that Dan's method is best. That is, provide products that you design, understand and have made before. If you try to cater to every one-off product you will be wasting alot of time in R&D and materials that you cannot recoup on that one job.

IMHO, the shopbots advantage is not in variety- it's in repetition.

[swims@mindspring.com]

Well, I'd have to respectfully disagree w/ Rick.

If I were competing for the repetition $, I'd have to consider one of the *monster* CNC routers that can crank out furniture components 24/7. Maybe your ShopBot can handle that, but mine just isn't hefty enough for that kind of use. I see my niche as the custom work that the large production facilities can't be bothered with.

My font, your font, my design, your design... my machine doesn't care. It's all 1's & 0's to it.

[danhamm@abccom.bc.ca]

Steve you have it backwards,
the monster's have to compete with you.
at $180.00 per hr. that they need to survive
gives you a lot of freedom..
I have a trick I use with sign shop graphics I
get. I take them into the program I use,convert them, break them apart, then make all the lines
in the file the size of the bit I am going to use,
quite often I will print this and send it back and
tell them to fix it.

[swims@mindspring.com]

Point taken that they have to compete with me.