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About nine years ago we made the leap to buy a MultiCam CNC router. At the time I wasn't exactly sure how we would use it in our business but I knew it would be cool. The business plan I wrote for Janis told how we would pay for the very expensive (and scary) price tagged machine in about a year. Janis (the smart one) suggested we finance it over a four year period. I did nothing but sample and experimental pieces for the first two months we owned the machine. We churned out more than thirty finished samples and filled the dumpster with plenty more that didn't turn out as planned. All of it was for the purpose of learning.
That effort and the machine turned out to be a wise investment that paid for itself on the very first large project only six months after we made the leap of faith. Since then we've used the machine to help us create all manners of creative projects. It was a good decision without a doubt. Six years later we traded up for a four axis model which we enjoy to this day.
Now we are about to make the plunge one more into a new technology (for us) with the arrival of a MultiCam CNC plasma cutter. As with the router before it we aren't sure exactly how we will use this machine. Like the router, we have no paying projects sold or planned (yet) to make use of it. We will instead spend the next couple of months learning the ins and outs of the machine and then start to push the boundaries of what it can do. We plan on creating some cool sample pieces which will also be selling tools in the future. Once we are at that point we can begin to design and sell new projects.
We have a bunch of sample projects in design with more still in the idea stage. The steel order arrives on Tuesday.
The tech from MultiCam also arrives Tuesday of next week to set the machine up and teach us the basics. Then we'll be ready for some great fun. Stay tuned...
[ September 06, 2015, 02:21 AM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Hi Dan...I ran a MultiCAM CNC Plasma cutter a few years ago and when everything was working right, it cut really well. The hardware side of things was rock solid, but the software package that came with the machine at that time, needed to be developed a bit further. Sometimes certain AI files we were trying to cut would leave us scratching our heads? Perhaps over the last few years, they have done some updates to enhance the performance.
I will be interested to see how this new equipment works out for you. I'm sure you will be turning out some amazing creations in no time! Looking forward to seeing what she'll do.
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Dale We'll be using EnRoute's Fab module which is a relatively new software program designed for the CNC plasma cutter and it seems to behave very well from what I've seen. Since we are already familiar with EnRoute on the router it should be an easy transition.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Wow! Our cnc router was originally made by Esab (USA), in 1989, and they were well known for cnc plasma cutters.
Like you Dan, it was a gamble, with some trepidation, before we bought this second-hand cumbersome old dinasaur, but zero regrets - and a huge learning curve! I wouldn't be without it!
All the best with your new dragon!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Looking forward to seeing what you will be creating!! I had a client who used a plasma torch by hand to cut out her design work, I was fascinated by the ability to cut through steel like it was cheese slices, I can't even imagine what a router could do with plasma cutting! Sounds like it will be a fun adventure for you
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