Small Biz Owner

Welcome to the forum, Brittanie.

Welcome. I'm trying to figure out how you can do WWing and take a nap at the same time.:wink:
Others can help with your question. I did see a demonstration at a Woodcraft open house with a CNC unit- can't remember the brand. Should be on the Woodcraft website.

Welcome to the Forums. There have been a number of discussions recently on buying a first CNC. Notice that it's called the Router Forums, there are a number of forums, including one dedicated to CNC, where you'll find exactly what you're looking for. I am a business consultant specialized in vision care marketing. Somewhere in the CNC forum or if you run a search, you'll find a fairly extensive post on marketing CNC services. Personally, I'd love to hear more about your business. I've been in business for rmyself for 35 years and don't think I'd ever go back to being an employee. My daughter actually runs my business these days, she's my retirement plan, should I ever bother to do it. BTW, don't forget that if you've got the marketing down, you can contract out the CNC work--for example, there are lots of folks here with CNC machines who might like some retirement income. You may also also find my marketing post by searching my uploads and posts by name.

Hello and welcome to the router forum,Brittanie

Welcome to the forum !


Gary

Hey, Brittanie; welcome!

Welcome to the forum, Brittanie! Where are you located? You might be near someone here who has a CNC and wouldn't mind showing it to you. Some qualifying criteria might get you a little further down the road - What's your budget, what will you be making, what volume do you expect, how much room do you have, etc.?

David

Welcome, Brittanie. There are a ton of options when it comes to cnc machines so you'll have to narrow your criteria down somehow by finding answers to questions like: What is my purchase budget? What do I want to make? How much space do I have?

Budget and space may be the biggest issues. The little Piranha XL for example can cut a 12" x 24" area and has footprint of about 20" x 30". It comes fully assembled and can easily be put away somewhere when not in use. It sells for around $2,500. After that, things begin to get much bigger, heavier, more expensive and will require a dedicated space and table. My Shark HD4 cuts can cut 24" x 24" and weighs in around 300 lbs., requires a little assembly, and with the support table I built takes up a 36" x 45" footprint and is in the $4,000 price range. Others here on the forum have experience with and are very satisfied with other brands and sizes. I'm sure you'll be hearing their suggestions.

Welcome aboard, and I'd like to know more about your business also.

We need to know two things,.

1) Cost you are wiling to spend.

2) Maximum size you need for the parts you want to make.

3) Type of project you will make most is very helpful as well.

4) Do want it plug and play

Without know these things tossing out name brands or particular machines doesn't mean much. I my experience one manufacturer doesn't make the best option for each size.

Welcome to the forum Brittanie.

Thank you for the info, I will certainly look into the machines you mentioned.

Welcome to the Forum Brittanie

The forum is a great read everyday. You can find lots
of information on CNC topics. Look forward to read more
about the type of business you have and about your location.

Lillian

Hi, Brittanie.

Ladies are welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum Brittanie, and good luck in your quest for a cnc . Someday I will hopefully be doing the same ,but at the rate I'm going though lol .
Herb , you doing anything special ?

reselling

I'm just wondering if I get a cnc router and decide after some time that it's not the right size etc. what are my options? Do any of you have experience with reselling your machines?

@ONUG Generally speaking, used tools sell in a range from 40 to 60 percent of their new value, and resale value goes down with age and quality and appearance of the machine. Most of the machines I've sold have sold for less than I'd hoped, and took a little time to sell. You also want to sell for cash--no checks or CC deals, and that means the buyer has to have the bucks available and lots of folks are credit rich and cash poor. With CNC you also have software and Operating System issues to contend with such as support, updates, license transfer. Why should they support you if you haven't paid them? So if I were buying used, it would have to be a fairly recently manufactured unit, and I'd probably be reluctant to pay a dime more than 40 percent of the new price and it would have to include the computer that runs its, especially if there is a proprietary dongle or code. Used computers are selling at about 15-20 percent of new.