How much the Shopbot has increased your Production?

[astrain]

Hi first I want to apologize for my english.

Im very interested in buying a SHOPBOT PRT ALPHA 96, I want to use it to make kitchen cabinets in a small-medium production shop.

So far I ve read about what a CNC router is capable to do, but I havent seen one in real use, so in paper it seems great, but in real use I dont know if you end loosing a lot of time clamping or adjusting the CNC beetween each sheet of material that you cut.



So How much would you say that the shopbot has increased your production, something like a 70% or something closer to just a 10% increase?

For now I not interested in cutting curves, wich I know a CNC is very helpfull, Im just interested in making as many kitchen cabinets in the less time that I can.

Any help is apreciated.
THANKS!!

[gerald_d]

Welcome to this forum Jesus!

For background, How big is your production shop at the moment? How many people and how many saws?

[Ryan Patterson]

I can cut a few hundred 4x8 sheets in a weeks time. The cutting includes drilling holes for shelves and dados. I can easily cut 50 sheets in one day. I have a video of my Shopbot cutting cabinet parts you can download it here. http://www.cabinetpartspro.com/sbcuttig.wmv The video is 42 min. long and shows 6 sheets of 5/8” melamine being cut. The time it takes to load and unload is about 2 min. per sheet. I use vacuum for hold down so there are no clamps or screw to mess with. It is hard to say how much a cnc would increase your production. I no if I did not use the Shopbot for cutting my parts my production would go down at least 70%. I can not imagine going back and doing it the old way.

Ryan
www.cabinetpartspro.com (http://www.cabinetpartspro.com)

[dhunt]

Your English is fine!
- I've seen worse, right here!!

Once you get things "wired" and the file routine sorted out,
your production increase is more on the order of 70%
(rather than 10%,which would hardly be worthwhile).

Although this example(below) was not Kitchen Cabinetry,
I can tell you that I was cutting around 8 sheets of 1/2 inch marine ply per day,
cuting it up into five 9-inch strips of decorative fascia-boards(to be hung on roofs).
One day everything went real well and I cut TEN sheets,
but some days with probs, maybe just 7 sheets,
but on average it was about 8 - 8.5 sheets per day
(140 sheets total! - took us four weeks!!)

Now. Figure how long that woulda taken you with standard power tools,
and you'll see that CNC production up's your output perhaps waaay more than just 70%. It depends!

[mikejohn]

Jesus
Remember this.
Once the Shopbot is cutting, you have nothing to do with it until it stops cutting.
You can be doing other things.

.............Mike

[dhunt]

Yes, you can be doing other things..
but it had better be with within 25 yds. of the machine,
with your hearing ever-tuned to the sounds coming from the machine.

Don't ever think you're going to leave your "auto-machine" unattended
while you take The Wife grocery-shopping,
or stuff like this..
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/312/14636.html
might happen!!

FIRE's are not unknown.
Stick close by!

[astrain]

Thanks everyone for your help!!

Gerald, Im in the process of open it, I plan to open it formally by january or february, and want to be able to offer production work, so one of the first purchases for doing this is the shopbot. I currently have the basic machinery, wich I plan to change or upgrade in the following months. tablesaw, a 14" bandsaw, 13"planner, 12" sliding miter saw, 8" jointer, router table.

Ryan and David, thats what I wanted to hear
, I just wanted to be sure before plunking all that money. I guess Chris form shopbot is going to own you part of the sales comision.

Ryan, thanks for the link to the video, by the way Ive been using the free version of your program wich seems exactly what I need, I will be emailing you in the next days to ask a couple of question.


Mike, yes I have consider that , Im planning to try something like a line of production, at one side of the shopbot Ill have the material sheets to feed the shopbot and in the other side a table to ensemble the cabinets while the shopbot is cutting the next sheet, that way Im going to be just a few feet of the shopbot to keep an eye.


mmm, it seems that Im going to need a extra fire extinghiser.

[dhunt]

- or a 5 gal. bucket of water,
like the BigIron guys keep handy!

[terryd]

Jesus,
In my shop it did not increase production at all. What it did do was replace two employees that thought they were indespensable. That $60k per annum now goes directly into my pocket. Quality has increased and is consistent and reworking parts to fix someones error? doesn't happen. No more overtime, hungover sawyers, slow sawyers, absent sawyers....Still have the saw and still need to use it but the guys have seen the writing on the wall and realize that I am willing to change my business to suit my Shopbot. Now if only she could do 5 pc doors.....maybe, just maybe..

Terry D

[astrain]

Terry, its sad to say it, but you have a really important point there, I have consider it and it is one of the main reasons in wanting to buy a shopbot, also without mention anyone about the shopbot almost everyone that knows that Im openning a shop has mentioned in some way what you posted(or worst things), including my accountant and a couple of people that have construction companies.

Thanks.

[astrain]

David, after reading and seiing the pictures on that thread, I dont know why I couldnt stop laughing, even now Im laughing, just imaging having a bucket of water its kind of illarious.

Thanks again for the advice.

[dhunt]

Don't laugh,dude!
This bucket of water thing appears to be real for some operators!

We had a long thread about Fires going for awhile,
which got around to the necessity for keeping a fire extinguisher handy -
and someone submitted that they knew of 'BigIron' owners who did keep that bucket handy!!

Hard to believe ...in the face of such expensive hi-tech,
but you gotta admit that water kills fire,
even if it might cost you a new baseboard,vac.plenum and spoilboard:
- cheaper than losing the whole machine!

[astrain]

Hi David, Im not laughting in a bad way, and I really apreciate the advice that you are giving me incluiding the link to the thread, I didnt knew that it was a common problem, so I really apreciate that you pointed that to me and because of this Im planning to take serious measures about it.

Im sure It wasnt a nice experience. My reaction was more of surprise or like when your computer doesnt work and you hit it and sudently starts to work, the couple of times that that has happened to me I laught, Very high tech problem very low tech solution, it seem s like sometimes the most elemental solution is what it works best.

Thanks Again.

[brian_h]

I've had two CNC fires in the last 6 years. The funny thing is I've put both of them out with my 5-gallon bucket of water I keep by my torch area.

If you ever have a fire in your shop that you want to put out, stay low! The hot smoke and fumes rise and they will really affect you quickly. It chokes you immediately. You feel suprised by the speed and there is a moment of "duh, I knew that". I held my breath and ran to the overhead door to throw it open and let in breathable air. Then I grabbed the bucket and ran over to the dust collector bin to throw the water on the flames.

Right after the fire, clean off and lubricate all bare metal surfaces you want to keep from being severely rusted---saw blades to cast iron tops to bar clamps. I had to deal with a lot of corrosion after the fire.

[gerald_d]

...you could add an anti-corrosive to the water in that backet - same as your car radiator....

[dhunt]

Wow!
- the stuff you learn here....!!

[stickman]

Its not so much the water that causes the corrosive action, but the chemical makeup of the smoke

[brian_h]

Yes, it's the smoke, not the water that causes the corrosion. For instance, my bandsaw blade was rusted just on the 14" it was exposed. My bar clamps on the other side of the room are all rusted. Etc. It was a nuisance, but it could have been much worse.

It was a good thing I didn't have anything combustable near the dust collector bin. If you want to learn anything from my experience, imagine what would happen if your dust collector bin started on fire and imagine what you could do to minimize the damage. Those with vacuum hold-down systems probably should think about that as well.

[terryd]

Gentlemen,
Having run a wood furniture business supplying IKEA for many years I use to get frustrated with the constant inspections by the fire marshal and the insurance company but one day when I took the insurance inspector out to lunch and had a long chat with him. He produced statistics that show every woodworking business will eventually burn. Not maybe BUT WILL burn to the ground. Maybe not today or maybe not next year but it will burn.... If your accept this as a truism it changes the way you look at the big picture. I still check everything before closing up regardless of how tired I am. BTW the factory I ran did have a massive explosion/fire cause when an employee accidently dropped a scraper into the overhead sander. The 75 foot dust high collector went off like a roman candle. The flame gate was found 100 feet from the collector. I still thank god no-one was hurt..
Terry