Why am I considering a $160, 000 CNC??

[rgramjet]

Are the employees that its going to replace that huge a pain in the ass?

Am I really sick of hearing grumbling about how much I pay, even when I get employee input before presenting costs to the client?  I pay a very generous percentage of the job from dollar one.  No cheapskate here.

Am I really sick of no shows, delaying deadlines and putting up with drama from artistes that know they have me by the nuts?

I say Yes! And I present to you......

www.cutready.com

[Speeddog]

I used to work for a really great machine shop.
We did well, until a major customer tipped over.
Then, the boat sank under the weight of monthly payments for machines..... So....

Can you afford the monthly payment if it just sits on the floor and does nothing?

[rgramjet]

I used to work for a really great machine shop.
We did well, until a major customer tipped over.
Then, the boat sank under the weight of monthly payments for machines..... So....

Can you afford the monthly payment if it just sits on the floor and does nothing?

Great question.

Having it sit on the floor doing nothing cannot happen. 

What I like most about this machine is you or I or my mom could start cutting cabinets within 1 minute of walking up to it.  Its that intuitive as opposed to a regular CNC.

I think of it as a very good cabinet mechanic in a box.  I have to pay it 30k/year for 7 years, then she is all mine!

Gotta wonder what's going to be available 7 years from now....

Cool part is the 3 month skip on the lease agreement.  Let's me get a head start on using it/making money.

[Speeddog]

I poked around a bit on that website, and it is indeed impressive.

Have you had your hands on one?
Anyone that's got one now that you can talk to?
How long have they been making this exact machine?

My concern is that they've developed a lot of code to make it so easy to use.
That's all fantastic.
But if the software gets (or is) flaky, and they disappear, it looks like you'd be hosed.

Conventional CNC machines have fairly simple software.
And depend on operator/programmer for the complicated bit.
My experience in the CNC world was a while ago, and it was specifically metal-oriented machines, so YMMV.

[rgramjet]

No one arojnd me has a cut center yet.  I did a real time demo via WebX yesterday during my 6 hour meeting with the rep. 

The mechanism is based on the CS43.  A time tested CNC that's been around for a long time.  I spoke at length with 3 shops that run these things.  All gave rave reviews.  One of the shops had a 43 and a 45.  Common census was "I don't know how I did it without one of these machines."

I'd love for my design program to talk directly to the cut center, it won't.  But, anyone can enter in a list of cabinets which will be nice when I am not on site.

[ducpainter]

The assemblers are going to whine.

[Speeddog]

Back in the day (mid 80's, to be accurate), I worked at Teledyne Relays.
We made really tiny relays.
Like pencil-eraser sized, double pole double throw relays.
Nearly all of the assembly work was done by hand, or human-controlled machines.

We did have one automatic machine, called 'The Bodine'.
The president of Teledyne Relays, Marv Blitz, once said....
"Man, that machine can make scrap *really* fast."

or

A monkey is entirely capable of firing an automatic weapon.
Doesn't mean handing an Uzi to the nearest chimpanzee is a good idea.

or

At the shop I mentioned earlier, we had Haas milling machines.
Good machines.
But they were perfectly willing to try to machine the vise, or scrape it off of the bed with the spindle.

or

OPERATOR - "Oops. I pushed the button for the wrong sized cabinet. Oh well, no big deal, it's only wood."
OPERATOR -"Dang, I did it again."
OPERATOR -"Shoot, this machine just won't make the right parts."
YOU - "What's this stack of panels 4 inches wide?!?!"
YOU - "Where did those ten sheets of Cherry veneer plywood go?!?!"
YOU - "Why is all the Monkey Wood veneer on the *inside* of the cabinet!?!?"

That may sound a lot like 'Get offa my lawn!'
But I think you get my point.

Machines with extreme capability need to be operated by responsible (usually kinda expensive) personnel.


If that machine you're contemplating can be operated in 'CS43' or 'CS45' mode (which I assume is more of a traditional CNC mode), by a *skilled* operator, as a fallback, then that's really good.

Dunno the size of your operation, but a $2500 monthly payment is a pretty big nut.
Especially stretched over 7 years.

[rgramjet]

The assemblers are going to whine.

Assemblers are easier to find than the Artistes.

[rgramjet]

Back in the day (mid 80's, to be accurate), I worked at Teledyne Relays.
We made really tiny relays.
Like pencil-eraser sized, double pole double throw relays.
Nearly all of the assembly work was done by hand, or human-controlled machines.

We did have one automatic machine, called 'The Bodine'.
The president of Teledyne Relays, Marv Blitz, once said....
"Man, that machine can make scrap *really* fast."

or

A monkey is entirely capable of firing an automatic weapon.
Doesn't mean handing an Uzi to the nearest chimpanzee is a good idea.

or

At the shop I mentioned earlier, we had Haas milling machines.
Good machines.
But they were perfectly willing to try to machine the vise, or scrape it off of the bed with the spindle.

or

OPERATOR - "Oops. I pushed the button for the wrong sized cabinet. Oh well, no big deal, it's only wood."
OPERATOR -"Dang, I did it again."
OPERATOR -"Shoot, this machine just won't make the right parts."
YOU - "What's this stack of panels 4 inches wide?!?!"
YOU - "Where did those ten sheets of Cherry veneer plywood go?!?!"
YOU - "Why is all the Monkey Wood veneer on the *inside* of the cabinet!?!?"

That may sound a lot like 'Get offa my lawn!'
But I think you get my point.

Machines with extreme capability need to be operated by responsible (usually kinda expensive) personnel.


If that machine you're contemplating can be operated in 'CS43' or 'CS45' mode (which I assume is more of a traditional CNC mode), by a *skilled* operator, as a fallback, then that's really good.

Dunno the size of your operation, but a $2500 monthly payment is a pretty big nut.
Especially stretched over 7 years.

Big nasty nut that's more than my rent!  But, much less expensive than my lead guy who is turning out to be very unreliable.

I'm sorry, I should have elaborated.  The CS43 is a $100k CNC, the CS45 is a $150k machine.  They can do a lot more than the Cut center, but nowhere near as user friendly.  There is a trade off.

My target market is going to mesh well with the CutCenter.  Builders that want Custom but inexpensive cabinetry, lockers, book cases, entertainment centers etc.  I've lost a lot of jobs to finish carpenters that slap shit together and call it a built in.  I plan on getting  that business.

[hbliam]

I think of it as a very good cabinet mechanic in a box.  I have to pay it 30k/year for 7 years, then she is all mine!

You need to change the title to "Why am I considering a $210,000 CNC??"

[Langanobob]

Interesting machine.  I ran a small one man cabinet shop many years ago with my main machine being a 10" Delta table saw so I'm totally outa my league making comments about your Cut Center, but I won't let that stop me.

Seems like more of a philosophical question of what direction you want your business and your life to head.  Will buying the machine open up your business to more work and money, or will you just end up working for the Cut Center finance dept? 

My experience with running a business is that you have to grow or fade away,  there's no such thing as maintaining any sort of status quo over any period of time.  It seems to me that you're really serious about your business and not just a finish carpenter trying to avoid having  a boss and I say go for it.

Bob

[Popeye the Sailor]

Finding reliable help0 is damn near impossible these days.

If I were you......



....I'd buy two.