DIYbanter - View Single Post - Poll: Feedback/opinions on CNC router kit idea

(in
) said:

| Just personally, I think it would matter how technical the work
| would be before I would jump into a kit like that. It doesn't
| sound too bad the way you describe it.

I don't think it'd be hard for the average person. In truth, I don't
think that these things will sell to 'average' people. My guess is
that buyers will be tinkerers and explorers and people who like to
expand their personal horizons.

| So that would lead to the age old question: what is the value of
| the completed machine compared to the finished machine? If the kit
| only saves me 25%, I would probably rather have you build and most
| importantly WARRANT your work. That would certainly be easier on
| both of us than endless frutrating phone calls back and forth only
| to find that the instructions were correct, the assembly was
| correct, but one of the parts was defective.

Yup. I'd be comfortable with a warranty that says the machine will cut
a square square and a circular circle in a supplied piece of baltic
birch immediately after correct assembly and setup.

After that, all bets are off because /everyone/ will be using the
machine to do stuff they've never done before. Think about that a bit.
I have and it's both exciting and frightening. _Somebody_ is going to
cut titanium on their machine! Will the machine survive that? I dunno,
but I'm pretty sure I don't want to get caught up in a ****ing match
if it doesn't...

I'm not joking. Today I routed aluminum parts for the first time (and
broke three solid carbide bits before I got it right - follow the link
in my sig for photos) with a machine intended for routing wood and
MDF. Whose fault is it that the bits broke?

Still, your point is a good one. Let's really open Pandora's box: post
the warranty you'd like to have and let's add and subtract here on the
wreck. Keep in mind that the warranty _will_ affect the price.

| I think you are correct in wondering that some/many would be
| uncomfortable drilling, shaping, tapping, connecting and any other
| processes that come along in the project might be more than they
| want to tackle. Even if they can do it, they may not want to. A
| lot of folks would rather be working on projects rather than
| building tools.

Yup again. I'm already convinced of that. See my response to Odinn.

| What are your target price parameters on this?

Under US$2K - but that could be affected by the extent of the
warranty...

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/JBot.html