I’m thinking of my laser as an investment now as I will be dumping a fair amount of money into it ($~500). How many of you make money off your machine? Can you provide some specifics on $/hr you shoot for, $/job and some metrics on how many jobs I’m looking at to pay for this to break even? How long did it take you to break even?
Thanks in advance!
I aim for $30 to $40 an hour of cutting time,I do not charge for file creation as I mainly do this while waiting for laser to is cutting.I avoid engraving as takes to long. I have about 6 people I sell to on a regular basis and give discounts for Bulk orders over 10 items.
It is not so much the laser cutter that Costs the most but all the extras paid $500 for laser cutter and $2000 on replacement tubes (2) powers up ply, air assist,watercolor, aircompressor etc.
My tube lasted 600 hours a cording to my hour meter (not all cutting 75%0
Oh wow, so rough estimate at 600 hrs x $35/hr = $21,000. So so $21000-$2500 = $18,500! How many months for this work? Do you need help to get more output?
@Phillip_Conroy why two tubes in 600hrs, aren’t they 1000 hes each?
@Phillip_Conroy what coolant do you use?
Not quit more like $7000 ,a lot of first couple Hurd red hours was learning ,some hours make 50 others 10 .the tubes are rated at 1000 hours ,if tested in one go maybe ,not in real life ,power for most of these hours was 10ma.
For coolant I use cheapest car radiator green stuff.
To do lets say a cutting board or kitchen spoon what is a reasonable price? As stated before trying out the bamboo cases when i get up and running. Still $7k is respectable. What time frame is that in? All year or around Christmas?
All year
@Phillip_Conroy Cool. Yearly how much do you think is possible part time?
Depends on how many hours you put into it .I make for a couple of resellers on facebook ,so for them only charge $30 -hour of cutting time?
Abe what items are you thinking of selling
Maybe find a local cake shop and make custom cake name toppers,
Where in the world are you
Thats a cool idea! I’m in Portland, Or. I was thinking the cell and doing portrait engravings for wedding photos. Possibly engraving the toasting glasses. Thoughts?
Portland a tourist town?,if yes than make something with a Portland theme and call into local shops with a sample
To e grave glasses you will need a rotary attachment.engraving a glass would take 10 to 15 minutes .at 10 minutes a glass and 6 per hour to make 30 = $5 to engrave each glass ,not including buying the glasses
It is a big tourist town! I have a few ideas, has anyone done watches? The glasses sounds like a good idea. I know when I got married we spent about $60 bucks for two and like $100 for the cake knife and spatchula
Don’t forget this is hobby quality, not especially reliable or durable. Not all that great for business use, and not something you’d use for commission work. Good for learning and a fun hobby, but you really should think about a better quality laser to go into business with. Maybe spend that $2500 up front on a better unit, even that’s probably pretty light. Then plan on more devices if you’re starting to be successful, need a spare or two, when you can’t afford to be left without a usable tool. Don’t forget the cost of supplies, learning time, etc.
This happened a lot in the early 3D printer days (and probably most new/cheap gadgets). Spend a few hundred dollars on a printer with dreams of big dollar signs, followed by lots of frustration and disappointment, and a bot in the back of the closet or in the trash. Sure, there were a few that made a little money, but if it were that cheap and easy you’d see one on every street corner. Don’t bet the mortgage or rent payment, just what you can afford to lose.
@Kirk_Yarina my plan was just for fun, but I just figured if I could break even at $500 doing a few jobs and learning at the same time, I could justify to my wife why I am spending so much money on a toy haha
@Kirk_Yarina when and if your conversion is done properly these units will be every bit as good as a commercial unit.
From a software perspective they will be better than what I have seen.
That said if your in this to get the same quality but cheaper that’s not going to happen. Also if you in this not for the fun of doing the conversion then this is also the wrong place to be. IMO