Future Shopbotter needs advice

[toddmaci]

All,

[dray]

My only thoughts on it is.. My bot takes up little space, but building what my bot cuts and material takes up alot of space.

I guess it would depend on what you are going to be making with your bot.

It sounds reasonable to me if you were making signs or small knick knacks it should be no problem.

I would draw up in scale your work area, you will need dust collector, cnc, building table, space for PC, material and misc space for projects

[myxpykalix]

I have mine in a 16x24 uninsulated shop. It is made of wood on brick piers and 4x4 floor joists and 3/4 and 1/2 plywood floor. When i built the shop it was not with a shopbot in mind or i would have made it alot bigger. The problem you will have is that the shopbot is not the only tool you will have in there or add to your collection. You will run out of room fast.

A couple reasons you do not want to put it in your basement. Easy access to bringing in material. Also no matter how good of dust collection you have you will accumulate a lot of dust over time that will find its way to your furnace and to your air ducts. Not to mention the noise, i hope you're not married!

I bought a propane forced air heater and in the coldest of winter i was able to heat my uninsulated bldg to 55 degrees within 5-10 minutes and worked in T shirts. I haven't found a solution to working in the heat, other than not to.

Regarding zoning you shouldn't have a problem as long as this is JUST A HOBBY and NOT A BUSINESS.

[ed_lang]

Hello Todd,

My shop is on the same property as my house. I am zoned for business and there is another shop not too far away from me as well.

My shop is 1100 square feet and I find it too small for the tools I have in it. The products I make are small so I get by. No cabinets or furniture. Cutting boards, boxes, ornaments and such. All of my equipment and benches are on wheels except for the ShopBot and lathe. I can configure the shop for the product I am producing at the moment. I have plans to expand by another 1100 square feet someday.

My shop was build by my wife and I. It is frame construction and insulated. Heat and A/C keep it nice year around. One thing I would do different if I had it to do over is put up a metal building, not wood. My business insurance would be cheaper.

If you want to make it work, it will!

[jhicks]

Todd, just another voice out here but you will very quickly find thats not enough space.
I had a 5 x 10 in a 14' x 22' shop and yes it did allow me to get a few things done but quickly realized expansion was necessary and added on another 25 x 22 for a total of about 900 sq ft.
Much better but still too small so we moved into a larger space with a friend and wonder how we ever did what we did in that small box.
That transition took 2 1/2 years but today I still wish I had the shop big enough behind the house rather than a commute away.
On the positive side IF you recognize all these limitations and work through them knowing expansion is almost mandatory, you may be able to make enough to pay for that education and expansion as you go.
In CT with such a small space will be challenging and you'll definately want some good dust collection and heating system plus space to work and store other materials as Danny says.
Good Luck.

[toddmaci]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Todd