Mac/Ashlar Vellum Cobalt & PowerCADD User with Questions

[navigator7]

Hello All!
First post.
I'm in the market for a ShopBot for fun and profit.
Mostly fun .... if there is a profit! ;-)
I'm 54, healthy, fit, strong....but sooner or later......

I owned and operated a concrete pumping, crane service and a 3D printing service in a remote section of washington state.
Biz was good for many years concrete pumping, growing for crane work and poor for 3D printing. The housing market crash last fall devastated my biz so I'm starting over. I work construction now but I am owner operator material! I've tasted self employment for a decade and must get back to the fight.

I owned a $60K Zcorp 3D printer that printed parts made from plaster. Great for rapid prototyping but I found it very limited making items I could sell between paying customers. It was just too darned expensive to run the machine to produce scrap. I bought the machine hoping I could stay busy during the very long winters here. I made molds mostly for hobby metal casters and printed a house models as sales gimmicks for Realtors and contractors. (It was a poor buying decision or maybe poor marketing on my part.) The housing crash affected me big time so now and I'm back to square one.

Anyway....

I'm a mac fan, own a $3,500.00 3D Ashlar Vellum Cobalt 3D solids modeling program. I do well with this program. I also own a $1500 2D PowerCadd program. I'd say I'm pretty good with this program.
Got a great mac for file creation.
Importing a files into the ZCorp 3d printer was a snap and I had few problems operating this machine with import and export of files.

My question to you users is:

1. How is easy is it to import files from other programs into the ShopBot without major headaches and tool destruction if things go awry?

2. I can export dwg, dxf, .igs, .iges, sat, eps, .cgm, .wrl, .raw, .stl, .w3D,. pict and a few others.

I can also export as Catia5, Cosmos, FormZ, I-deas, Think3, Vellum solids, 3dMax, Adobe Illustrator, CadKey, Autodesk and 3D and a few others.

Do any of the tools I have put me into a postion of operating a ShopBot without a huge learning curve? I was also a machinist in a past life, welder, fitter, and understand rpm's, tool feed speeds, depth of cuts and the law of unintended consequences when you turn on rotating machinery!

3. Has anyone created any stone patterns/molds or done any custom work for home construction? I have/had a very good customer base and I am finding lot of work in custom concrete stamping/staining and anything that is not run of the mill. I believe I could sell ideas to my former customer that they would include in their concrete stamp work.

I tried to accomplish this with the 3D printer but the product cost more than what anybody was willing to pay. I've got wood coming out my ears!

(It could be sawdust.)

Am I nuts to be thinking about a ShopBot?

Nav

[rb99]

You are exactly what we are looking for!

No problem...you will need to learn how to make toolpaths etc. but should pick it up quickly.

There are lots of people with no cad experience doing 3D stuff.

Good luck,

Richard

[bob_s]

This is a very diverse community. Most are using the machines for wood working, but not all. The common thread is how very helpful you will find this group to be. If you have a problem doing something, learning something, ShopBot related, Just post it and you will be astounded at the amount of time and thought put into the helpful answers. I have dealt with technology for 25 years, and too often when a company is on model 2.0 they no longer support model 1.0, not ShopBot. They seem to take great pride in helping everyone, no matter how new or old the equipment.

I believe if you have business ideas and a market it's worth the leap. I din't have the machining or cabinet making background so my guess at start up (learning) time was off a little, but for me it feels like a great "late career" choice.
good luck
Bob

[ken_rychlik]

I would suggest you find a local botter and get them to help you with a few samples. Then see if you can sell the product. If you can't sell the product for decent profit, then you may have a big blue boat anchor that you will be getting rid of.

They are pretty good machines, but buying one that you "might" find a use for sounds risky. If you secure the need of what you will use it for it makes more sense. Also spending time with a user will help you become familiar with the machines strenghts and weaknesses.

Kenneth

[gary_n]

You need to contact Joe Crumley in Norman, OK. He has cut letters to be used in making concrete signs for housing developments. His email is:
joecrumley2@sbcglobal.net (mailto:joecrumley2@sbcglobal.net)

[navigator7]

Wow..thanks for the responses!
I'd like to give you guys some more background.

I live in a rural remote area. It seems like we are 50 years behind the rest of the country.

I had the first concrete pump in the area and the first large crane.
The economy has more or less collapsed here and no longer supports what I used to do. All my work was risk risk risk! The only reward was utility. Then comes the winter...which is 4 to 6 months and the wolf takes away the profit.

The real market here at least, as I see it, is quality custom work specific to homes and home improvement. One customer at a time and word of mouth. My location is perfect
o Concrete stamping and staining is big here. People want a personal touch and it is hard to deliver unless you are a techie with the tools to create art, shapes and the ability to create your own rubber molds.
o People here love personalized home signs. There are many ranches and recreational properties that are party havens for people escaping the big city. For example...tongue in cheek : I could retire if I had the capacity to create a 2.5D "Drunk Crossing" signs. Another popular sign here is "Go Away" with a background of cowboys on horses with brandishing rifles.
o It may sound stupid but bird houses that look like a customer's own home or vacation are popular here as well.
o Rock bubblers are another up and coming biz for the guy who can impart unusual art into the creation.
o We live in vacation land and there is an abundance of gift shops. (I personally hate these places as they seems like high end yard sales selling glop. You see the same glop going from shop to shop. Nothing is really original except signs. The economy hit most of these places hard. The sign guys....are doing ok, however. I know the best of the best here. To my knowledge, nobody here has a 3D sculpting machine...but a few have the CNC plasma machine and there are more and more vinyl cutters. They are booked 3 months out.
o Concrete counter tops is also growing. Making molds for these things could be a huge plus!
The use of monofilament and in-counter lighting, custom lettering, soap catchers and custom drains and drain boards sells itself.
o It seems to me a fella has to be outlandish, original and make each part something that creates word of mouth. There is just no market for doing things by hand unless you want to starve or you are an artist of exceptional talent.

@ Richard:
I very nearly purchased a Streamline Automation 3D foam cutting machine for many more dollars than we are talking about .
It seems that in the last three to four years...technology has drastically reduced prices for the technology.
Are you related to the ShopBot Team?

@ Bob,
Since the close of my concrete pumping biz, I'm working construction. Hard times right for all contractors now but I'm holding my own with the young bucks. However my creative instincts and business sense are howling like a locked up hound dog. I've used the change in perspective to listen to what the customers really want. Recreational home customers we have here are all about themselves. If it's different, unique, about them, not seen in Walmart ... they want it! And they have the money to buy it.

@ Kenneth,
I know exactly what you mean by a "Big Blue Anchor". My 3D printing experience taught me this ugly lesson. If I was to create a 2' x 2' x 1" sign complete with letters, graphics, 3D custom stuff.....my cost would be about 3 grand in product. I'd need to sell the work for more than 6 grand.
It simply didn't add up.

I'm pretty sure there isn't another botter within 300 miles of me. I might be able to make a trip or two but hey....this forum isn't chopped liver! ;-)
You wrote: "They are pretty good machines, but buying one that you "might" find a use for sounds risky. "
That's all there is here is risk. The top business here are ranching, growing alfalfa, apples, or logging.
All are in the dumpster and I'm allergic to alfalfa hay!

Most contractors were doing great here until last fall. It was booming in fact. We've had a huge thinning of the herd here. More of a mass die off. I know all remaining contractors. I think providing them with a custom, quick, relatively cheap foam or wood patterns for use when they pour concrete slabs and walls and such would be my business plan and built in market. I already have, name recognition, a large customer base and years of experience with the contractors
All want to impress their company logo in the concrete. With my 3D printer, I simply couldn't produce a product the customer was willing to pay for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can you guys tell me if the 3D creation tools I already own can be imported into the ShopBot software?

And if so, what import files seem to work best.
I have the most experience with exporting and importing .stl files.

Thanks agin guys!

Nav

Here was some work I did with my 3D printer for comparison purposes:


4048
4049

[rb99]

Wow nice work! No I am not related...I only own an old machine...

Do you have a garage you can put the machine in without having to rent a shop?

Also you can start making sandblasted signs by hand and if you get a bunch of orders then get a machine...

RIB

[ken_rychlik]

Shopbot sofware is really just for running the toolpaths that you create in other programs.

It looks like you are a good candidate for Vectric Aspire. This would accept your files and allow you to make toolpaths that the bot will run.

A basic shopbot is a 2d cutting machine. With Aspire you should be able to run 2 1/2 D stuff. With an indexer you can start doing some 3d stuff. The indexer spins your part while the machine works on it.

Kenneth